Sharing files in .pdf

This past week, I submitted an advertisement to the local newspaper for our upcoming Christmas services. I created the ad in Microsoft Publisher, but when it came time to email it, the Ad/Sales Department said they need to receive all ads in .pdf format. How do you create a .pdf document?

If you work with .pdf regularly and need lots of editing features, you may want to purchase Adobe Acrobat. But, in my case, I don’t need all those bells and whistles – just a simple program that creates .pdf documents. And Pdf995 does just that. The basic version can be downloaded for free and enables you to create your own .pdf files.

.Pdf files are very useful because they create high quality documents from any application and can be read on any computer with a PDF viewer (e.g. Adobe Reader). Here are a couple examples of how you might use Pdf995:

• Sharing a document with people who don’t own the original program. For example, not everyone owns Microsoft Excel, or Microsoft Publisher, but by making your document into a .pdf file, it creates a “snapshot” of your document that others can easily view. Our Christmas newsletter this year was made in Microsoft Publisher, and then converted it into .pdf before emailing it to everyone.

• Sharing a document with people who don’t have the same fonts installed on their computer. This is handy for desktop publishing, creating a class syllabus, or uploading an article to the internet.

So, how does Pdf995 work? After you download and install the driver and converter, just open whatever document you want to convert into a .pdf file. Then, click the "print" command, and select Pdf995 as your printer. The program will take a few seconds to process the request, then, voila! Your own .pdf file!

Fridays are often dedicated to practical church ministry issues. If you have a question or suggested topic for the future, please email me.