How to create PDF files

You have created a text document, would you like to export it to PDF to be able to distribute it easily on the Web but you don’t know how to do it? Would you like to merge multiple PDFs into one or carry out other operations of this type but you don’t have the slightest idea how to do it? Don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place at the right time.

With today’s guide, in fact, we will see together how to create a PDF file starting from any type of printable document (Office files, Web pages, photos and so on), using online services, computer software and solutions for smartphones and tablets. . All at no cost, or almost.

The important thing is to know how to choose the right resources and learn how to use them: an operation that you will succeed very well given the simplicity of the tools I am about to offer you. Then? Are you ready to go to work? Yup? Great. Let’s put the chat aside and immediately start getting busy. I wish you happy reading and I wish you the best of luck for everything.

Index

• How to create PDF files online
  • CloudConvert
• How to create PDF files from a computer
  • Windows 10
  • Windows 8 or earlier
  • Mac
• How to create unique PDF files
• How to create editable PDF files
• How to create non-editable PDF files
• How to create PDF / A
• How to create PDF files from smartphones and tablets
  • Android
  • iPhone and iPad
  • App to create PDF files

How to create PDF files online

As I told you at the beginning of the post, to create a PDF file you can appeal to special online services that work directly from the browser, without having to download and install anything on your computer. If you are interested in this, please continue reading: you will find the ones that, in my humble opinion, constitute the best solutions in the category right below.

CloudConvert

A great web tool you can refer to create your PDF files is CloudConvert. It is free, allows you to convert many different types of files into PDF documents and does not require any registration. The only thing to take into account is that it has an upload limit of 100 MB, expandable up to 1 GB by creating a free account on the site or more, by switching to the paid version (starting from 8.54 euros/month). Furthermore, it must be said that the service protects the privacy of users by deleting, within a few hours, all the files that are uploaded to its servers.

To use it, go to the CloudConvert home page and drag the files you want to transform into PDF in the browser window. Alternatively, click on the Select Files button and “manually” select the files of your interest from your computer. If your files are in the cloud, you can also download them directly from there, by clicking on the button with the arrow next to the Select file’s item and then selecting the service of your interest from the menu that opens.

Once uploaded, click on the Start conversion button to start the conversion. Then wait for the file processing to start and complete and download your PDFs to your computer by pressing the Download button that appears next to the file names. Alternatively, to download all the files you have uploaded at the same time, in the form of a compressed archive, click on the Create archive button and select the format you prefer from the menu that opens.

How to create PDF files from a computer

Have you ever heard of virtual printers? No? Well, if you want to create your PDF files by acting as a computer then I really think you need to deepen the subject: these are software that are configured as “real” printers (they are therefore accessible via the command to print any program), going to process the documents that are given to them “at meal” and transforming them into PDF files. If this interests you, go on reading to deepen the discussion.

Windows 10

If you are using a PC with Windows 10 installed, I am happy to let you know that, to create your PDF files, you can use the virtual printer already included in the system. To use it, just open the printable document you want to transform into PDF, call the print command from the File menu (or from the specific menu of the program in use) and choose Microsoft Print to PDF or Save as PDF from the list of available printers.

To give a practical example, if you want to transform a Web page that you have opened in Microsoft Edge into PDF , all you have to do is click on the […] button located in the upper right part of the browser window, select the word Print from the menu that is shown to you and choose the Microsoft Print to PDF option from the Printer drop-down menu at the top. Then proceed to adjust (if you deem it necessary) the print settings (eg margins, orientation, etc.) and save the web page in PDF format by pressing the Print button.

Windows 8 or earlier

On Windows 8 and previous versions of the Microsoft operating system, however, there is no “standard” virtual printer. However, this does not mean that it is not possible to deal with it: just use a third-party solution and that’s it. Among the various available, I personally recommend  DoPDF, which is free and allows you to convert any printable file into a PDF document.

To download it to your computer, go to the program’s website and click on the Download Now button.

Once the download is complete, open the .exe file obtained and, in the window that is shown on the desktop, click on the Yes button. Next, press the Install Now button and then the Close button. If you are also offered to install the Microsoft.NET Framework 4.6, you agree to this, as it is essential for the correct functioning of the program.

At this point, to create a PDF file starting from an editable document, just open it through the program you usually need to do it (e.g. a DOCX document with Microsoft Word ) and select the print command from the menu File (or from the specific menu of the program in use).

In the window that opens, select DoPDF from the list of available printers and click first on the Print button and then on the Browse button. Finally, indicate the location on your computer to save the output file and click the OK button.

macOS

Even if you use macOS, you can create your PDF files using the operating system’s “stock” virtual printer. How? I’ll explain it to you right away.

First, open the file you want to convert to PDF (e.g. a text document, a photo or a Web page), call the Print command from the File menu (top left) and select the Save as PDF item from the menu dropdown at the bottom of the next window.

In the new window that appears, type the name you want to give the file in the Save As field, select the location on your Mac to store the output document using the Located in menu and click the Save button.

If you want, before saving the document, you can also customize its properties (title, author and subject) by filling in the appropriate fields, or you can apply a password protection by clicking on the Security Options button and filling in the appropriate fields displayed on the screen.

How to create unique PDF files

If you need to merge multiple PDF files into a single document but do not know how to do it, I am pleased to inform you that you can rely on the PDF Candy online service, which is free, easy to use, in Italian and working from any browser, without registration. It does not set limits for what concerns the upload of documents and, moreover, protects the privacy of users by deleting the files uploaded to its servers within a few hours.

To use it, go to the home page of the service and drag the files you want to merge into the browser window. Alternatively, you can select documents “manually” by clicking the Add File button in the center of the page. If your PDFs are online, on your Google Drive or Dropbox account, you can click on the icon for the service you are interested in, log in to the service and “fetch” the documents from there.

Once uploaded, move the pages that will compose the final PDF in the order you prefer and click on the Merge N file button at the bottom. To proceed with the download, click on the Download file button. Alternatively, click on the icons of the supported cloud storage services, in order to save the file on your online space.

For more information on the possibility of creating PDF files consisting of multiple pages and to find out what other tools you can use to do so, I refer you to reading my tutorial on how to merge PDF files.

How to create editable PDF files

Do you need to create a PDF file with fields, menus and other editable elements but you don’t know how to do it? I’ll explain how to proceed. All you need is the free LibreOffice office suite. In case you have never heard of it, this is an open-source productivity solution considered by most to be the best no-cost alternative to Microsoft Office. It is in Italian and is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

To download it to your computer, visit the program’s website and click on the Download version xxx button.

When the download is complete, if you are using Windows, open the .msi file obtained and, in the window that is shown on the screen, click on the Run button. Then, press the button  Next, select the option Typical and click on the buttons  Next and Install. Then complete the setup by clicking on the Yes and Finish buttons.

If you are using macOS, on the other hand, open the .dmg package obtained, drag the LibreOffice icon into the Applications folder, right click on it and select the Open item from the menu that appears. Then press the Open button in response to the warning that appears on the screen, so as to start LibreOffice going to circumvent the limitations imposed by Apple on applications from non-certified developers (operation that must be performed only at the first start).

Subsequently, still on macOS, go again to the LibreOffice website and click on the Translated user interface button, in order to get the Italian translation of the suite (which is already included on Windows). Once the download is complete, close LibreOffice (by pressing cmd + q  on the keyboard), open the .dmg package obtained, right-click on the LibreOffice Language Pack executable inside it, select the Open item from the menu that appears and press the Open and Install.

Now, select the entry / Applications / LibreOffice.app from the window that opens and press the Install button. If you see a warning referring to permissions, click on the Yes button, identify me, type the password of your user account on the computer and click on the OK button twice in a row.

Now, start LibreOffice by selecting the shortcut added to the desktop or the one present in the Start menu (on Windows) or by selecting the relevant icon in the Launchpad (on macOS), then click on the Document Writer button located in the left sidebar in the window that opens.

At this point, click on the View menu at the top, select the LibreOffice Toolbar item from the latter and choose the Form Controls option, in order to call up the toolbar with all the components necessary for create forms: text fields, multiple choice menus etc.

Use the tools in question to add the parts to be compiled to your PDF, then, once the changes are complete, save the document in PDF format by clicking on the File menu located at the top and selecting the Export to PDF from the latter. In the window that opens, make sure that the Create PDF form option is checked (otherwise you can do it yourself) and press the Export button to select the location on your computer in which to save the final file.

For further information on what to do and to find out what other tools you can possibly use to generate editable PDFs, I refer you to reading my guide specifically dedicated to how to create an editable PDF.

How to create non-editable PDF files

Would you like to create a non-editable PDF document, so that any unauthorized third parties cannot change the information in it? To do this, I suggest you rely, even in this case, on the use of LibreOffice, the productivity suite for Windows, macOS and Linux that I told you about in the previous step.

To use it for your purpose, start LibreOffice by clicking on its shortcut on the desktop or in the Start menu and open the PDF you want to act on, by clicking on the Open file button located in the upper left part of the home screen of the suite.

Once the import is complete, click on the File menu which is always located at the top left and select the item Export to PDF format. In the new window that appears, go to the Security tab, click the Set password button, type the authorization password and the opening password (in the appropriate fields) and click the OK button.

Finally, adjust the options relating to document protection, selecting the ones you prefer on the left, click on the Export button and indicate the location on your computer where you want to save the PDF file with password below.

If you are using a Mac, you can also do it by taking advantage of Preview, the default image and PDF viewer of Apple computers. In this case, open the reference PDF document by double-clicking on its icon, click on the File menu located at the top left and select Print from the latter.

Then click on the PDF drop-down menu located at the bottom left and select the Save as PDF option. In the screen that is shown to you, click on the Security Options button and select the security options you prefer among: Require password to open the document, Require password to copy text, images and other content and Require password to print the document.

Finally, type the password you want to use in the appropriate fields displayed, click the OK button and the Save button. Et voila!

For more details about how LibreOffice and Preview work and to find out what other tools you have on your side to protect PDFs, I refer you to reading my specific guide on how to protect a PDF file.

How to create PDF / A

The PDF / A format represents a specific type of PDF designed for long-term archiving of electronic documents. If you need to create a document of this type, you can rely, even in this case, on the use of  LibreOffice, the program that I have already mentioned in the step dedicated to the creation of editable PDFs and in the one focused on non-editable PDFs. How? Can I explain it to you right away?

Firstly, start LibreOffice by clicking on its shortcut on the desktop or in the Start menu and open the PDF you want to act on, by clicking on the Open file button located in the upper left part of the program’s start screen.

Subsequently, click again on the File menu, select the Export as item and choose the Export to PDF format option. In the window that will be shown to you later, to save the file in PDF / A format, check the box next to the wording  PDF archive / A-1a (ISO 19005-1) located immediately below the General box, click on the Export button located at the bottom and indicate the path in which to save the PDF / A file just created.

For further information on the use of LibreOffice for the purpose in question and to find out what other systems you have on your side to convert a PDF file into the PFD / A format, I refer you to reading my guide specifically dedicated to how to create PDF / A.

How to create PDF files from smartphones and tablets

Even on smartphones and tablets it is possible to create PDF files using virtual printers and dedicated applications. If you want to deepen the subject, please keep reading: you will find everything explained in detail below.

Android

As I told you earlier, Android also includes a virtual printer thanks to which it is possible to transform printable content into PDF.

To use it, open the Web page, photo, document or any other content you want to convert to PDF on your device, press the share icon or select the Share item from the menu of the app in use and tap the command print present in the menu that appears.

Finally, choose the Save to PDF option from the menu for choosing the printer at the top, tap the PDF button located at the top right and indicate the location on your device to export the output file.

iPhone and iPad

Even if you are using an iPhone or an iPad you can use a virtual printer to create PDF files from any printable content. How? I’ll tell you right away.

First, open the document, web page, photo or any other content you want to transform into PDF, tap on the share icon (the one with the square and the arrow ), select the Create PDF item from the menu that you is shown and indicates the location where you want to save the file.

In the event that the wording Create PDF is not available, select the Print item and, in the new screen that appears, zoom with two fingers on the thumbnail of the item to convert (or press on it and continue to hold down for a few moments, until this is displayed in full screen), tap on the sharing icon located at the top right and indicate the location or app to export the PDF.

App to create PDF files

In conclusion, let me recommend some applications for Android and iOS that allow you to create PDF files from scratch or from other types of files. You will be surprised by their potential.

• Xodo PDF( Android / iOS ) – free PDF reader that includes many editing features. It allows you to add texts, highlights, notes and other customizations to PDFs. It is available for free.
• FoxitPDF( Android / iOS ) – PDF viewer thanks to which you can also create new documents, edit them, convert them etc. It’s free, but offers in-app purchases (starting at $ 11.49) to unlock additional features.
• Squid( Android ) – app thanks to which you can write documents freehand, with your finger or with a stylus, and export them as a PDF file. It is free, but with advanced functions that can be unlocked through in-app purchases (starting from 1.00 euro).
• Notability( iOS ) – an excellent application for iPhone and iPad that allows you to add text (even handwritten), highlights and annotations to existing PDFs and to create new PDF documents from scratch. It costs 10.99 euros.
• PDF Expert( iOS ) – app for iOS devices only thanks to which it is possible to create, edit and convert documents to and from PDF format. It costs 10.99 euros.