Consulting the Geek Oracle: PDF files

[Dale]

I need a cost efficient way of converting Word documents to PDF files. This is weirdly complicated, I'm finding. Any ideas?

Dale

[carrie]

I assume you did a search and eliminated a program like the following, for some reason? True, it's for text files, but that's just one more step unless your formatting is very complicated.

http://www.docsmartz.com/index156.htm

Carol

[fearfaoin]

This site has an online converter. You give it the .doc file, it emails you the pdf file.

http://www.gohtm.com/convert_pdf.asp

[fearfaoin]

I assume you did a search and eliminated a program like the following, for some reason? True, it's for text files, but that's just one more step unless your formatting is very complicated.

http://www.docsmartz.com/index156.htm

With this one, you can print from any application to a fake "printer" and it saves to pdf instead of printing.

http://www.docudesk.com/deskPDF_Standard.asp


Here's an open-source program called doc2pdf, but I can't check it out at work (I'm on a Unix box).
I'll try it out when I get home in a couple hours and see if it does what you want.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/doc2pdf/


P.S., what are you finding complicated, so I know what not to look for?

[Paul Thomas]

I need a cost efficient way of converting Word documents to PDF files. This is weirdly complicated, I'm finding. Any ideas?

Try PDF995 - it is free. Installs as if it were a printer, just select it in the Print dialog, and you get a very nice PDF. It takes you to their website each time for an advertisement, but it's usually only advertisements for their own products. This is the easiest/best solution for low-cost.

If you need more advanced tools, GhostScript and GhostView, Open Source PostScript tools, are available in some relatively easy to install Win32 packages, but the key word is relatively - there may be a learning curve for installation and utilization both if you don't think of yerself as a technical person. Lemme know if you need Mac-based solutions, there's also something on that front.

[edited to say: of course Mac OSX has built-in PDFing, but the tools I'm thinking of allow PS output to non-PS printers, i.e., a software postcript interpreter.]

[bradhurley]

Lemme know if you need Mac-based solutions, there's also something on that front.

As hordes of Mac evangelists are no doubt about to swoop in and tell you, the ability to create PDFs is built in to Mac OSX. You can take pretty much any document and convert it to PDF without having to buy or install any additional software.

But I think the solutions cited above will work just dandy for Windows.

[note to Paul: I wrote this at the same time you were adding your edit about the Mac's built-in PDF capabilities!]

[Paul Thomas]

As hordes of Mac evangelists are no doubt about to swoop in and tell you<...>

wow, that was a fast swoop!

Edited my post above to clarify what I meant by Mac-based stuff.

Paul

[Paul Thomas]

Using a BB for a fast conversation is a little like those cell phone connections with greater than 1 second delays - constantly interrupting myself to update based on new information received!

Over & out.

[The Weekenders]

Mac versions of Word (even before OSX) make pdf's but most people don't seem to know that you do it from the "Print" dialog box. Instead of the default setting of your printer, you scroll up or down to Adobe PDF as your selected "printer."

It's crazy if PC versions don't do the same thing but I guess it boils down to some nasty turf war between Microsoft, Apple and Adobe.....

[Dale]

The PDF995 seems to suit my needs well. Thanks to all, and especially Paul.

[NicoMoreno]

Microsoft doesn't like that no one knows you can "protect" .doc files, so they can't be written to.

But, still, a .doc with pictures will be substantially larger than a .pdf of the same document.

[Wanderer]

Microsoft doesn't like that no one knows you can "protect" .doc files, so they can't be written to.

But, still, a .doc with pictures will be substantially larger than a .pdf of the same document.

.doc files have a major security flaw, which makes it pretty easy for anyone to unprotect them. You cannot count on them being un-editable, if that's what you're using the password for.

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-5136646.html

Microsoft does not intend to fix it.

[BigDavy]

Hi Dale

Go to

http://www.openoffice.org/

Download the beta version of Open Office (the 1.9+ one).

Office Writer, the word processor in the suite, reads word documents and can convert them to PDF.

Open Office is open source so is free to download, you can't get more cost effective than that and is a good office suite into the bargain.

David