Appendix A. Creating PDF Files

Adobe Reader is used after a PDF file has been created. As you know, you can't create PDF documents from Adobe Reader. So does that mean you have to completely rely on other users to create PDF files you work with in Reader? Are you doomed to be at the mercy of PDF authors forever? Like everything else in the computer world the answer is, it depends.

If you are a Macintosh user, you're in luck. You don't need to run out and buy a software program to be able to create many different types of PDF documents. You can create PDF files from applications installed with your OS X Panther software in many ways using several system tools.

If you're a Windows user, either you need to download a free application from a third-party developer, or you must buy an application. The kind of program you need can be freeware or shareware that converts application documents to PDFor some other low-cost app for creating PDFs. Your other alternative is to pay a service that will convert most document files to PDF on a per-document basis.