PDF (Portable Document Format)
The Portable Document Format or PDF is a document format that preserves all
visual aspects of a document
,
such as
text, images,
fonts, and
paginiation. PDF is portable between
differently configured computers, different
operating systems and
printers in order
to reproduce the full image of a document.
PDF documents are used to distribute the most accurate image of a document. They are most often read only and can't be changed by the recipient. Think of it like a perfect facsimile of the document that can be handled as a file and be attached to e-mail or be copied on media like CD, USB drive, etc.
A PDF file
contains a combination of text, graphics or images in a certain layout.
While a text document
produced by a word processor
contains the same elements it regularly does so only by reference.
For example a font is embedded in a PDF document so it can be
reproduced on any computer or printer device. In contrast a text document would
reference the font and substitute it on a different computer, if it is not
available.
OpenOffice.org Writer has the ability to
export documents directly into PDF. There are other
PDF authoring software available, more specifically the original
Adobe Acrobat Software tools.
Reading a PDF file requires a viewer program, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader
or other free tools such as
"Foxit Reader."
Creating PDF documents
The following screencasts demonstrate how to create PDF documents:
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