03/11/2024

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Advantages of Using a PDF Over a Word Document

Advantages of Using a PDF Over a Word Document

PDF (Portable Document Format) files are open file format files that are created by Adobe Acrobat or similar products and are one of the most popular ways to share digital files over the internet. Many of the publications or forms that can be downloaded or viewed online are in the.pdf file format, which can be printed and viewed on multiple platforms exactly as the file creator intended.

Advantages of PDF Files

These documents are preferable over Word documents for a number of reasons: PDF is a universal file format – it is specifically designed to work and be viewed the same on any platform or device. Any user with Adobe Acrobat Reader, a freely available program that can be quickly downloaded from the Adobe website, can open, view, and print a.pdf extension.

Multiple Word documents can be combined into a single file, a process which will compact the documents into a much smaller file without compromising any quality. The same can be said for very long documents, or documents that include large photos or need accompanying spreadsheets. PDF documents save space on your hard drive, and the hard drives of the people with which you share documents.

The layout of the documents will be exactly preserved and will not be editable by others, unless specific editable fields are created. These documents are securable and can be encrypted to ensure that only those you intended to view your work are able to do so, or that your files aren’t duplicated, modified, or printed without your permission. For this purpose, usually a password is created and distributed to the intended recipients. Because these files are so secure, they are usually the required format for many legal documents, as the.pdf document cannot be edited without leaving electronic footprints.

The United States government is one of the biggest users of the PDF technology, and federal courts use this file format exclusively for their electronic documents. You may have noticed that all the tax forms you download from the IRS website are in.pdf file format. This widespread, official use of this extension virtually guarantees the longevity of PDF files.

People trust this file format, as it is known to be far less vulnerable than Word programs to various viruses.

How to Convert a Word Document to the PDF File Format

Usually, a document is created in another program such as Microsoft Word and then that file is converted to the PDF file format. Microsoft Word does not come with a “Save as.pdf” function, so a third party application is necessary to create this type of file. Creating the document can be a very simple process if the right conversion software is used. Some software is also able to convert these files into editable Word documents, or convert Word or other documents to JPEG or other image files. Creating a PDF with conversion software is a simple, quick process that typically only requires a click or two of the mouse.