Advantages of using a PDF over a Word document
PDF (Portable Document Format) files are open file format files 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 creator of the file intended.
Advantages of PDF files
These documents are preferable to Word documents for several reasons: PDF is a universal file format – it is specifically designed to work and look the same on any platform or device. Any user with Adobe Acrobat Reader, a freely accessible 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 that will compact your documents into a much smaller file without compromising quality. The same can be said for very long documents or documents that include large photos or need attached spreadsheets. PDF documents save space on your hard drive and the hard drives of the people you share documents with.
The layout of the documents will be preserved exactly and cannot be edited by anyone, unless specific editable fields are created. These documents are insurable and can be encrypted to ensure that only those whose work you wanted to view can do so, or that your files are not duplicated, modified or printed without your permission. For this purpose, a password is usually created and distributed to the intended recipients. Because these files are so secure, they are generally 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 largest users of PDF technology, and the federal courts use this file format exclusively for their electronic documents. You may have noticed that all the tax forms that you download from the IRS website are in .pdf file format. This official and widespread use of this extension virtually guarantees the longevity of PDF files.
People trust this file format as it is known to be much less vulnerable than Word programs to various viruses.
How to convert a Word document to PDF file format
Usually a document is created in another program like Microsoft Word and then that file is converted to the PDF file format. Microsoft Word does not come with a “Save As.pdf” feature, so a third-party application is required to create this type of file. Document creation can be a very simple process if you use the right conversion software. Some programs can also convert these files into editable Word documents, or convert Word documents or other documents to JPEG or other image files. Creating a PDF with conversion software is a simple and quick process that typically only requires a click or two of the mouse.