Everything You Probably Ever Need to Know about PDF Files

Everything You Probably Ever Need to Know about PDF Files

PDF documents are commonplace today:  paper manuals for software and hardware have mutated into online links for do-it-yourself PDF downloads. Read Me files, brochures, and other documents are also pervasive as downloadable PDFs. Entire websites exist to help liberate you from the tyranny of keeping paper documentation on hand.

So it’s just a hazy memory for most of us to recall the days back in the early 1990s when you could only read PDFs if you had Adobe Reader installed, and if you wanted to create PDF files, you had to have Adobe Acrobat. Known by its full name, portable document format, the PDF was Adobe System’s proprietary format until 1993 when the company made the file specification available for free.

It actually wasn’t until July 1, 2008, that the portable document format was released as an open standard for all to use. That’s when the floodgates opened to the dozens of third party PDF readers, viewers, creators, editors, and converters—both as free and paid versions.

But what’s so special about PDFs anyway?

First: They are compact files and can be viewed on just about any platform – create it on Windows and easily opened on Macs, Android, iOS, you name it.

Second: PDFs preserve your formatting, fonts, and embedded images—even if you do not have the particular fonts on your system.

Third: They are searchable and with the right PDF app, can be shared collaboratively, edited with comments, and even used as fill-in forms.

Fourth: In addition they are easily viewable in any Internet browser whether they arrive in an email message or are linked on a web page. This makes them genuinely portable because they’re not tied to a specific application.

And finally: If the documents contain sensitive or copyrighted data, the PDF can also be password protected.

Windows 10 Handles PDFs Routinely Without Third Party Apps

This brings us to Windows 10, the first Windows OS with PDF creation capability built-in. In fact in Windows 10, in any application which has a print command, you can turn any document into a PDF file. That means you don’t even have to install any additional software to get PDF power.

There is a proviso to Windows 10 PDF capabilities. The PDFs created by the native PDF tools in Windows 10 can only produce screen readable files — great for viewing on a PC or tablet display but not all that swell for crisply contrasting printed copies. If you want a higher level, better-than-draft printouts, or if you need to edit the Windows-produced PDFs, you will need any one of the dozens of third party PDF apps available for downloading on the Web.

Did I just say ‘dozens.? A Google search for PDF editor brought up 30 million results. Ouch. A comprehensive breakdown of the various PDF programs can be found at Wikipedia which breaks them down by their specific purpose – readers, viewers, creators, editors, and converters.

But for most of our needs, a PDF reader like Foxit Reader will do the job but actually is much more than a simple file viewer as the name Reader implies.

With Foxit Reader you can create PDFs, convert Microsoft Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations into PDFs, and scan documents into PDFs as well. Another one of its robust features is the ability to insert your signature into already existing PDF documents. The free download has much of the power of Adobe Acrobat without the nickel and dime pricing charged by Adobe or the easily overlooked apps it will install if you don’t uncheck boxes during setup.

It used to be that PDF documents were frequently used as a vehicle to transport malware hacks but most PDF software packages now protects against this intrusion with safe modes built in, the same type of intuitive, protective feature found in Microsoft Office.

Other Ways To View And Make PDF Documents

I have been using NitroPDF Professional for years and I would be hesitant to recommend it, if only because it sells for $160. Fortunately the company now offers a slimmed down, free version that still retains some of the paid version’s versatile features. Dubbed NitroPDF Reader, it allows us to convert other file types to PDFs, extract images from documents, edit text in a PDF, and add comments for collaboration, and insert your actual signature into PDF documents. Like other readers, when selected as the default, it can embedded in a browser as a plug-in.

You don’t even have to load a third party PDF reader if all you want to do is create PDFs from web pages or other apps. The printer utility GreenPrint can do that for you while saving paper and ink. While GreenPrint, is not free, its $19 investment pays back quickly. It works as a virtual printer overlay to any printer you have. As an overlay it lets us manipulate the print jobs before they actual go to the actual printer on your system. By manipulate I mean we can cherry-pick what actually gets printed –cut out images, remove particular paragraphs or columns of text. If you select PDF, it will save the file as a PDF for immediate or later printing on whatever printer you send it to.

What I particular like about GreenPrint’s capability to remove ink-hungry images before printing is that it saves ink and toner. You can save even more ink by selecting Black only from the toolbar ribbon. And getting to choose which pages to eliminate from the print job is another thrifty way to save on ink and paper. GreenPrint even has a counter to relay how much paper you are saving after you “edit’ before clicking print.

SlimPDF Reader Keeping It Simple and Small

Weighing in at just 1.43MB, SlimPDF Reader is the bantam size and still remarkably efficient desktop PDF reader. For folks who want a basic PDF viewer the truthfully named SlimPDF is a best bet. Beyond just reading and printing, the feature set of this free application is the ability to search words and phrases, magnifying pages, and fluid document navigation.

The virtue of SlimPDF is its small PC footprint, negligible use of system resources, and its lack of advanced features. This is perfect for anyone who just needs the basics. Downloading the app will include come-ons for more advanced features like creating PDFs and converting PDFs to Office documents. If you want those, stick with the other, aforementioned programs. This is the app to keep it simple. Period.

How to Share and Collaborate on Documents Using Microsoft Office

You can share and collaborate on your Office documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with other people.

Microsoft Office 2016 offers an array of applications and features. But perhaps one of the most helpful benefits is the ability to share and collaborate on your documents and presentations with other people. By storing your files on your OneDrive online space, you can share them with other users. And you can collaborate on the same documents and presentations in real-time with others. How can you share and collaborate on your Office files? Let’s take a look.

Some of the steps I discuss here work with previous versions of Office, such as Office 2013. But I’m using Office 2016 as my test bed. The steps also work whether you’re running the packaged version of Office 2016 or the subscription version of Office 365. It’s the same product, just sold differently. You’ll need a OneDrive account to store your files online so other people can access them. If you don’t have one, you can sign up for it at the OneDrive website. And to use OneDrive, you’ll need a Microsoft account, which you register for through Microsoft’s “Sign up for a Microsoft account” webpage.

To start, open Microsoft Word. You’ll first want to add OneDrive as a connected service. You only have to do this in one of the Office programs, and it takes effect for all the others. In Word, click on the File menu, select Account from the menu, and then click on the button to Add a service. From the Add a service button, click on the option for Storage and then select OneDrive.

At the Add a service window, type your email address for OneDrive. At the Enter password window, type your password and click the Sign in button. You should now see OneDrive listed as a connected service. Click the left arrow at the top of the left pane to return to your Word workspace. Now, create a document that you want to share with other people. You can create a simple test document with just a couple of sentences. Now you want to save and share it.

Click on the File menu and then click on the Save as command. If you plan to simply email someone a copy of your document, you can save it on your hard drive or on OneDrive, whichever you prefer. If you want to make your document more accessible so you can send anyone a link to view it or edit it, then you’ll need to save it on OneDrive. In this case, let’s say we just want to email the document to someone. Click on the option for This PC and drill down to the folder in which you want to save the file. Then click on the Save button. Now click on the File menu again and then click on the Share command. Click on the Email option. You have four options: 1) Send the document as an attachment; 2) Send the document as a PDF; 2) Send the document as an XPS file; or 4) Send the document as an Internet Fax (requires that you have a fax service provider).

Let’s choose the option to send the document as an attachment. Your default email program opens with the file already attached. Address the email to your recipient or recipients, add text to the body, and then send the message on its way.

Okay, let’s try that again, only this time we’re going to save the document online and send a link to the people with whom you want to share it. Click on the File menu and then click on the Save as command. Click on the option for OneDrive and drill down to the folder in which you want to save the file. Then click on the Save button. Now click on the File menu again and then click on the Share command. Click on the setting to Share with People.

A Share pane opens to the right of your document. In the Invite People field, type the email addresses of the people to whom you want to send the link to your document. You can add multiple addresses. And with whom can you share your document? Anyone can view the document without a OneDrive account or a Microsoft account. But to edit the document, the person needs a Microsoft account and access to Office on a PC or Office Online.

When you’re done, click on the dropdown box under the list of email addresses. You’ll see two choices: Can edit or Can view. If you want your recipients to be able to edit the file, choose the Can edit option. If you want to restrict them to just reading the document, chose the Can view option. Type a message in the text field and then click on the Share button. An email is send to your recipients with a link to the document on your OneDrive space. Your recipients can then view the document from the link, edit it if you chose that option, download it to their PC, and save it to OneDrive if they have a OneDrive account.

You can also or alternatively click on the link to Get a sharing link at the bottom of the Share pane. Click on this link, and you’re asked if you want a sharing link for editing your documents or only for viewing them. Select your preferred option. You can also select both. In response, Word displays a link that you can copy and save. You can then share that link with anyone via email, a social network, or another method.

Click on the File menu again and then click on the Share command. You’ll see two other options: Present Online and Post to Blog. Present Online lets people see your document or presentation in a Web browser and perhaps is best suited for a file that you want to share more publicly. Post to Blog allows you to post your document to a WordPress blog or another blog that you’ve created.

You can also share files directly from OneDrive. To try this out, sign into your OneDrive storage space. Right-click on the file you wish to share and click on Share from the popup menu. From the Share menu, you can turn Allow editing on or off, set an expiration date for sharing the file, create a sharing link, email the file as an attachment, and share the file via social media.

Finally, how can you collaborate on and co-author the same file with other people at the same time? Follow the steps I described above to save your file on OneDrive, share it with other people, and allow them to edit it. Now open your document or presentation in the corresponding Office application. When your recipient opens and tries to edit the same file, you’ll see a message on your screen that says: “Other people are editing this document” and asks: “Do you want to automatically share changes as they happen?” Click on “Don’t ask me again” and then click on Yes.

You can now collaborate on the file with your recipient (or recipients). Each change someone makes to the file automatically shows up in the same file everyone else sees. You’ll also see a flag in the document with the name of the person making specific changes. You can click on an Activity button in the upper right to track who’s editing the document. You can also add a comment to the document that anyone can see by clicking on the Comment button. When you’re done, just save the document and close it, and all the changes made by everyone collaborating on it are incorporated.