This article provides basic information about PDFs. Other documents in the PDF series build on this information.
The Corporation for National and Community Service uses PDFs as a
primary way to disseminate information, from NOFA announcements to
training handbooks, so it is important to understand how to work with
PDFs.
Definitions
PDF: Portable Document Format. A file that can be read by
both PCs and Macs. PDF files retain their formatting so they look and
print exactly as they were created.
Adobe: The company that created the PDF format.
Adobe Acrobat Reader: A free software that enables you to view and print PDFs.
Adobe Acrobat: Not to be confused with Acrobat Reader,
this commercial software package allows you to create your own PDFs.
Adobe Acrobat can convert a word processing or desktop publishing file
into a PDF.
Concepts
PDFs allow people to share print information in a standard format.
Common uses of PDFs are for forms (such as tax forms provided online by
the IRS) and handbooks or manuals.
A PDF is not a word processing file. You cannot open it in
your word processor and you cannot edit it at all. Although this can be
frustrating, PDFs help solve the problem that arises when one person
tries to share a document with another person who does not have the
same software. A complex form created in a desktop publishing program
can be converted to a PDF so that people who do not have that desktop
publishing program can still view and print the form.
PDFs are identified by their filename extension -- the three
letters after the dot. For example, filename.pdf is a PDF, while
filename.doc is a Word document.
Software Requirement
The only way to view and print a PDF file is with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software. |
