Adobe Acrobat and PDF files....can someone explain this to me?

[macaco]

Please excuse my stupidity.....

What is a PDF file?
I'm hoping to go self employed from the summer and will be invoicing clients via e mail. It seems my invoice should be a PDF. Why?
Can i write a document in word and just save it as a PDF? I've been looking at Adobe on the internet, seems v expensive, do i need it?

You could create in word and save it to a pdf file using the print option.

No need to buy the whole application just to save a pdf file to send on an email.

In your Office Help icon
Search on this

Print a document to a file

and it tells you how to do it, like this

Print a document to a file
Microsoft Word supports exporting files to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. Learn about when you would want to create a printer file.

1. Open the document you want to print to a file.
2. Click Print on the File menu.
3. Click Output Options on the pop-up menu on the left side of the dialog box, select the Save as PDF file check box, and then click Save.
4. In the Save As box, type a name that is different from the original file name.
5. Locate the folder and disk where you want to save the file, and then click Save.

Note When the Save as PDF file check box is selected, you can also click Preview (Print dialog box) to output a file as a PDF and preview it. Your computer does not need to be connected to a printer to do this.

The use the attach file on your email to send the pdf file.

PDF stands for Portable Document Format. Because the viewer is freeware everyone essentially has access to it...therefore it is a universal format.

Also generally speaking a PDF can't be edited in the main (unless you buy the v v v expensive software to do so) so the invoices can't be edited.

If you don't have Microsoft word - OpenOffice is a v good free alternative. And in that application there is a button which you press to automatically save any file (presentaion, spreadsheet or word processor document) to a PDF format.

thanks for replies.

Ok, I have word but it doesn't seem to give me the option of saving as a PDF file. Should I just download the Adobe reader then?

try again
Select Save instead of Print in the print menu box, see if you can fiddle around and find it.

Depends on which version of word. I think only the latest versions have the ability to save as a PDF.

You can def do it in free software if word can't do it. You don't need Acrobat writer.

You need a PDF writer.
I use CutePDF writer and it works a dream. It's free software.

^Cute PDF Writer is a 'basic but free' PDF Writer

There are a number of free utilities available on the Internet that create basic PDF files for free.

The method the free PDF creators use is to create a 'printer driver' that, instead of printing to a printer, prints your file to a PDF document.^

Once you have downloaded it, you open your word document and go to print. In the printer box, there is a drop down box (this will default to your normal printer). Look in there and change your printer to CutePDF Writer and it will save your word document as a PDF file on your hard drive.

You can download it here:

downloads.zdnet.co.uk/0,1000000375,39179468s,00.htm

To answer your question about why pdf - I always invoice clients via pdf because then I know they can't tamper with it (change amounts or dates for example). Or not easily anyway. Not that they would I'm sure, but best to be safe. The other way to do it would be to password protect your Word document from being changed but I prefer pdf.

I use a free pdf creator too - Primo pdf. Watch out for ones which put a logo on your document, you don't want that!

Thanks again

So. if I used CUTE pdf writer or Primo pdf then I could change word docs into pdf form? And these would then be untamperable with?

ok. Thanks so much ladies. Have downloaded the CUTE pdf writer.

You are such stars!