Applications for working with pdf files. PDF Creator - a program for creating PDF files in Russian

For convenience, we will distinguish four types of programs: viewers (for reading and annotating), editors (for editing text and other content), managers (for splitting, compressing and other manipulations with files) and converters (for converting PDF to other formats).

Most applications can be classified into several types at once.

• Type: viewer, editor, converter, manager.
• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux.

A very intuitive and convenient program with an impressive number of functions. When you launch Sejda PDF, you will immediately see all the tools grouped by category. Select the one you need, drag the required file into the program window and start manipulating. Most things in this app can be done in a few seconds, even if you are using it for the first time.

What you can do in Sejda PDF:

• edit text, add images and shapes;
• convert PDF to Excel, JPG (and vice versa), Word (and vice versa);
• combine and separate files into pages, compress their size;
• protect documents with a password;
• add watermarks;
• discolor documents;
• trim page area;
• sign documents.

The free version of the program has limitations. For example, files should not be more than 200 pages and not exceed 50 MB in size. In addition, you cannot perform more than three operations with documents during the day. The full version of Sejda PDF costs $5.25 per month.

• Type: manager, converter, editor.
• Platforms: Windows, macOS, .

PDFsam cannot boast of a polished, user-friendly interface. In addition, the program does not allow you to convert PDF and edit the contents of documents for free. But it does have several useful managerial functions that are available to everyone without payment or any restrictions.

What you can do in PDFsam:

• combine PDF in several modes (glue in parts or mix page by page);
• split PDF by pages, bookmarks (in places with specified words) and size into separate documents;
• rotate pages (if some of them were scanned upside down);
• extract pages with specified numbers;
• convert Excel, Word, PowerPoint formats to PDF;
• convert PDF to Excel, Word and PowerPoint formats ($10);
• edit text and other file content ($30).

• Type
• Platforms: Windows.

A very functional program with a classic interface in the style of Microsoft office applications. PDF-XChange Editor is not very beginner friendly. To master all the features of the program, you need to spend some time. Fortunately, all internal descriptions and tips are translated into Russian.

What you can do in PDF-XChange Editor:

• add annotations and highlight text;
• edit text and other content;
• recognize text using OCR;
• extract pages from documents;
• encrypt documents (paid);
• convert PDF to Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats and vice versa (paid);
• compress files (paid);
• sort pages in any order (paid).

These are not all the functions that you can find in PDF-XChange Editor. The program is available in several versions with different numbers of features. The cost of paid versions starts at $43.5.

• Type: viewer, manager, converter, editor.
• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS.

A popular universal program for working with PDF from the company. The free version is a very convenient document viewer; other functions are available by subscription starting at 149 rubles per month.

What you can do in Adobe Acrobat Reader:

• view documents, highlight and comment on text, search for words and phrases;
• sign documents (paid);
• edit text and other content (paid);
• combine documents into one file (paid);
• compress files (paid);
• convert PDF to Word, Excel and PowerPoint formats (paid);
• Convert images in JPG, JPEG, TIF and BMP formats to PDF (paid).

All these features and more are available in desktop versions of Adobe Acrobat Reader. Mobile versions of the program only allow you to view and annotate documents, and also, after subscribing, convert them into different formats.

• Type: viewer, converter.
• Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS.

Fast and convenient PDF reader with different viewing modes. Ideal for users who want a simple document reader without a lot of extra features. The program is available on all major platforms.

1. How to copy a page from a pdf.
2. How to copy from pdf format.
3. How to extract a page from a pdf
4. How to change text in pdf format
5. How to convert text to another format
6. How to create a pdf file
7. How to install a program for pdf
8. How to translate into Russian in pdf documents
9. How to convert pdf format to text
10. How to write text in pdf
11. How to convert scanned text
12. How to add text to pdf
1. How to copy a page from a pdf

The pdf format is extremely convenient, especially if the text has a lot of diacritics. Quite often there is a need to copy a page from a document, and the most common programs for working with this format do not always allow this to be done without problems. Sometimes copying is prohibited by the author of the document, who establishes protection. In other cases, text may be inserted as an image.
You will need
- program for reading pdf format (Adobe Acrobat. FoxReader, etc.)
- Open Office;
- Abbyy FineReader.

Instructions
1.Open the document using the program you usually use. The most popular is Adobe Acrobat. It provides a copy function, and it is quite possible that you will not need any other programs. The free FoxReader program has the same function.

2. Find the "Editing" tab in the main menu, and in it - the selection and copy functions. You can also select and copy the desired fragment using the right mouse button.

3.The latest versions of Adobe Acrobat allow you to save the document as text. Save, find the desired fragment and copy. Unfortunately, the txt format does not allow the use of diacritics, so this method is not suitable for working with documents in languages ​​with a lot of diacritics. It will not work if the text was scanned with a picture.

4.If you fail, try other programs. For example, open the document using the Open Office text editor. This program copes with the pdf format quite successfully, unless again the page is a single image.

5.Try Abbyy FineReader. It's better if you have one of the latest versions. Open the file as an image and ask the program to recognize it. In the main menu, find the "Image" tab, and in it - the "Block Type" function. Choose what you need. Don't forget to stick out your tongue. When saving, select "Copy to Clipboard".

6.Sometimes Abbyy FineReader recognizes such files with uncertainty, or even may display the sign “Increase scan resolution.” In this case, if the document is small, it is best to take a screenshot from the computer screen. Just don't forget to set the resolution to maximum. Save the picture in an image format convenient for you, and then upload it to Abbyy

Useful tips
A small ancient program called Pdfwordconvertor can be very useful. It will show how the fragment you need was scanned. If this is a solid picture, then it will open as a picture, but in doc format.
2. How to copy from pdf format

Various articles and e-books are often saved in pdf format and can be downloaded on the Internet. To use the text of such documents, you need to extract it from the files. Sometimes such files are closed for editing and copying information. But there is a method for overcoming this defense.

You will need
- computer.

1.Open a document in *.pdf format from which you need to copy information. Try selecting text in the usual way - draw over it with the left mouse button, and click the “Copy” command in the context menu. You can also go to the edit menu, select the “Select All” command, then the “Copy” command.

2. To copy text from pdf, also try executing the command from the “File” menu – “Save in text format”. Select a location to save the file. All text from the document will be placed in *txt format.

3.Download and install a special program if you were unable to copy text from pdf in the usual way. Go to the ABBYY Screenshot Reader website by inserting http://www.abbyy.ru/screenshot_reader/ into the address bar of your browser.

5.Launch ABBYY Screenshot Reader to extract text from pdf, open the desired document. Please note that in trial mode the program will run on your computer for 120 days. Click on the program icon in the tray, a window will appear in which you need to select the direction for recognizing the screenshot.

6.Select a direction, for example “Copy text to clipboard”, click the copy button, then select the desired text in the pdf document. Next, wait until the program gives you the message “The text was successfully copied to the clipboard.” If errors occur during the recognition process, the program will issue a corresponding warning. To repeat recognition, zoom in to view the document.

7.Go to MS Word, right-click anywhere in the document and select “Insert”. Copying text from a pdf document is complete.

3. How to extract a page from a pdf

When you need to highlight certain pages from a PDF document, non-professional users have a question about how to do this. There are several options for solving this problem.

You will need
- document in pdf format;
- one of the following programs:
- Adobe Acrobat Professional,
- Adobe Reader,
- PDFCreator,
- PDF995 Printer Driver,
- “Photoshop”.

1.To “extract” a page from a PDF file, the easiest way is to save a copy of the desired document and, using the editing functions, select unnecessary pages and delete them, leaving only the necessary ones.

2.In Adobe Acrobat Professional or Adobe Reader, select “Print” from the “File” menu, specify the desired pages, format, print settings and path to save the files.

3.Also for these purposes, you can use special printer programs designed for converting pdf documents. These programs allow you to create a virtual printer on your computer system, which instantly turns a document sent for printing into pdf format. There are plenty of them on the Internet. Download any one and use it as needed. For example, PDFCreator and Pdf995 Printer Driver have proven themselves well in this regard.

4.Download and install one of the programs, then send the required pdf file to it for printing. Then, in the print settings, mark the numbers of the pages that you want to save in the document. Do not specify the pages that need to be deleted. After that, open the PDF document created in this way and check the correctness of this method. Pages you don't need will not be included in the file, which is what you needed to do.

5.As an additional option, you can use the Photoshop program. To do this, drag the document into the program. Then in the window that opens, select the page you need. Save it as a separate file and use it.

6.You can also try to take a screenshot of the document page you need. But in this case, the file page will be saved in image format.

4. How to change text in pdf format

When Adobe Systems developed the PDF format in 1993, it did not provide the ability to edit finished files. The popularity of the format grew, and so did the need for document editing. For example, you need to cut off the excess or correct a couple of paragraphs. And today, changing text in PDF is a completely doable task.

Instructions

1.If you only need text from a PDF file, copy it and transfer it to a document you are used to editing - for example, Microsoft Word. If the file is copy-protected, try converting it to an editable format using the ABBYY FineReader program.

2. There are many computer programs - editors that allow you to view documents in PDF format and make corrections in them - reduce or replace a picture, correct colors, swap some objects, make corrections in the text.

3.One of the most popular such editor programs is Foxit PDF Editor. It can be downloaded and installed on your computer from the Internet for free. In addition, it is very easy to use and does not require special knowledge or skills to install. With its help, corrections in the text are made as follows.

4.Launch the program on your computer. Open the document you want to edit. Using the left mouse button, select the line where you will make the replacements.

5.Then on the top panel, find the Edit Object icon - a blue circle with a pencil. Click on it, then make changes to the text. You can delete words, write new ones instead, correct spelling errors - in general, do what is necessary. Afterwards, you need to confirm all corrections by selecting the “checkmark” icon on the top panel.

6.If you need to insert several new paragraphs into a file, use the Add Text Object function. To do this, click on the corresponding icon on the top panel. In the window that appears, enter new text. Then click on “Ok” and use the cursor to move the text to the desired location in the document.

7.Next, save the document using a special function located on the top panel of the program - the “floppy disk” icon. If you need to save both versions (both with and without corrections), select the “File” functions and then “Save As”.

5. How to convert text to another format

When working with text documents, sometimes there is a need to translate them from one format to another - for example, *.doc to *.pdf or *.html. Knowing how to do this allows you to use your time for work, rather than searching for the necessary programs and methods for converting texts.

Instructions

1.You can convert the *.doc format to *.html using standard tools in the Microsoft Word text editor. Select from the menu: “File – Save as web page.” In the window that opens, select the required document type - *.htm or *.html. Click the "Save" button. You can view the page code by opening it in a browser and selecting the “View HTML code” option.

2.Despite the speed and simplicity of the method described above, the resulting code contains too many unnecessary tags, which increase the file size. The code will be cleaner if you use a text editor not from Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010, but from the now almost obsolete Microsoft Office-97.

3.You can clean the code using HTML Cleaner. Working with it is very simple: open the program and select the desired html file. The program will clean it of debris, and as a result you will get a very high-quality html code.

4.You can convert *.doc to *.html using Adobe Dreamweaver. This program allows you to create website pages in a visual mode; it has the option of translating a *.doc file into *.html and cleaning it.

5. Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003 converts *.doc to *.html quite well. Other versions of this program may require manual editing of the code.

6. The Total Doc Converter program gives good results when translating *.doc to *.html. It has many settings and allows you to convert a text file into a variety of formats.

7.If you need to convert a text file into *.pdf format, use Microsoft Office version 2007 and higher or the freely distributed office suite OpenOffice.org. ABBYY PDF Transformer also copes with this task very well. The advantage of this program is that with its help you can not only create a PDF file from a doc file, but also perform the opposite operation - convert any PDF document into a text file.

6. How to create a pdf file

As a rule, all technical documents and instructions are contained in pdf files. PDF=Portable Document Format. This format was created by Adobe Systems for the electronic representation of professional printing documents, but in 2008 it became an open file standard used by professionals and users around the world. Such files can be opened on any operating system, on any platform, even on a mobile phone. At the same time, the appearance of the document and the order of pages do not change.

You will need
File of any format: txt, rtf, html, htm, shtml, chm, doc, jpeg, gif, tiff, mcw, xls, xlw, wri, wps, wpt, wpd, etc.
Acrobat PDFMaker, Acrobat Standard.
doPDF.
Other converter programs.
Internet access

Instructions

1.PDF files are created by converting from other formats. This way you can convert any file: text, drawing, spreadsheets, html documents, links, etc. Several programs are used for this, including free ones. To convert Microsoft Office documents (Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Outlook, and Internet Explorer) for Windows, use Acrobat PDFMaker. To do this, you don’t even need to exit the application, just use the Convert to Adobe PDF button located on the toolbar. To convert other file formats, launch Acrobat Standard and use the Create PDF button. Using this button you can select the format and the appropriate type of conversion, be it one file, several (which need to be converted into one), a web page or a paper document. In the latter option, a paper page or several is scanned and the PDF format is selected at the saving stage. Acrobat programs are proprietary to Adobe. Below we will look at other software manufacturers for creating pdf files.

2.DoPdf program - developed by the Romanian company Softland. It is installed as a virtual PDF driver for the printer and appears in the list of Printers and Faxes. In order to create a PDF document from a source file, you only need to send it “to print”. Don't forget to select a PDF printer to "print" the document.

3. Of course, there are many such converters, and they differ in additional options. Some of them work better with text documents, others with web pages, and others with images. Among the free programs are: Bullzip PDF Printer - the ability to protect a file with a password; PDFCreator - can be used as a server application, which is convenient for working in the office, and can also immediately send files by email; Document2PDF Pilot - batch conversion capability, file password protection; ABC AMber Text Converter - a powerful converter with support for many formats, 30 interface languages, password protection; Jaws PDF Creator - support for hyperlinks, footnotes and bookmarks; PDF Converter Pro is a professional utility for converting files that allows you to do this without launching the program, supports Adobe Photoshop.

4.If creating a pdf document is rarely required or you cannot download the program to your computer, use an on-line converter; to do this, simply upload the file to the website and save it as a pdf. Some on-line converters send the finished file by email. To search for an on-line converter, type “pdf converter online” into the search engine.

note
Free converters lack some additional features, such as adding or removing pages to a document or changing the order of pages. Therefore, if you often need to edit PDF documents, you will have to buy licensing software.

7.How to install the program for pdf

Pdf is a format that is used when scanning books and magazines; instructions for equipment and programs are written in it; it is used to save drawings and diagrams. There are special programs for viewing this format.

Instructions
1.Go to the Adobe website to download and install a program for viewing pdf files - Adobe Reader. To do this, open your browser and follow the link http://get.adobe.com/reader/. Next, select the operating system that is installed on your computer and click the Download now button.

2.Wait for the program to download and run the installation file. The Adobe Reader installer will launch, downloading and installing the application on your computer. An Internet connection is required for this. The installation progress will be displayed on the screen. Wait for the installation to complete and, if necessary, restart your computer.

3.Install the program for reading pdf files Foxit Reader. Its advantages are: small size (the folder with the installed program is about one and a half megabytes); performance; ability to add comments; multilingual interface.

4.To install the program, go to the manufacturer’s website http://www.foxitsoftware.com/. Follow the Downloads link, open the Foxit Reader section, select your operating system from the list, click the Download button, after which the program will begin downloading. Wait until the installation file is downloaded to your computer, run it to install the pdf viewer.

5.In the window that appears, click Next, then agree to the terms of the license agreement by checking the appropriate box to continue installing the application.. In the next window, check the boxes next to the appropriate fields to install the application panel in the browser, click Next, select the folder in which you need to install the Foxit Reader program, usually C:\Program Files\Foxit Software\Foxit Reader.

6.In the next window, select the installation option - full or partial. Check the boxes next to the required program components. In the next window, select where you want to create a shortcut for the program (on the desktop, quick launch panel, main menu), and also set defaults for pdf files. Click the Install button to complete the installation of the pdf program.

8.How to translate into Russian in pdf documents

Sometimes a personal computer user is faced with the problem of localizing scanned documents or books. For example, the electronic version of the magazine, which consists of 90 pages, is entirely in English. Manual translation of the entire magazine will take up a lot of your free time, but for an online service it’s a matter of just a few minutes.

Instructions

1. The method described below for translating a large number of scanned pages from one language to another consists of using two services: posting electronic versions of documents on the Internet and translation on a special website. First of all, you need to have the electronic document file itself on your computer or know the link to the resource from which it was copied.

2.Now launch your browser if you haven’t already done so and copy the following link (keyboard shortcut Ctrl + C) or click on it http://viewer.zoho.com/Upload.jsp. If you copied the link, click the top “File” menu in the main browser window and select “New Tab”. Place your cursor in an empty address bar field, press Ctrl + V and press Enter.

3.On the loaded page, a form for downloading pdf files will appear in front of you. Click the “Browse” button next to Select a file. A file open dialog box will appear in the window that opens. Locate the electronic document file, select it and press Enter or click the Open button.

4.Then you should check the box next to Publish this document and select the time during which the file you downloaded will be available. The book “Lori the Gun Trader” was used as an example and a storage period of one year was selected. Click the View button and wait for the download process to complete.

9. How to convert pdf format to text

Pdf - Portable Document Format is one of the formats used today for creating and distributing documents in electronic form for a wide variety of purposes. Like the more familiar Word standard, it allows you to format text, place images and even form fields to fill out. But unlike doc, txt and rtf files, a limited number of applications can read, let alone edit, pdf files. Therefore, there is often a need to convert documents of this format into plain text.

You will need
Foxit PhantomPDF application, Internet access.

Instructions

1.If you plan to work with documents in pdf format quite often, it is best to install some editor on your computer that can read, create, edit and convert files of this type. Such an application could be, for example, Foxit PhantomPDF. After downloading and installing it on your operating system, to launch the program and open the pdf file in it that you want to convert to text format, use the usual method - double click on the file.

2.To transfer the contents of an open document in text format to any other editor (for example, Notepad or Microsoft Word), use the operating system’s clipboard. To do this, select all the text using the Ctrl + A key combination and copy it by pressing Ctrl + C. Then switch to the window of the desired program and paste the converted text into the desired location using the Ctrl + V key combination.

3.If you need to save the document in a text format file, call the corresponding dialog using the hot keys Ctrl + Shift + S. In the “File type” field, set the value to TXT Files. The checkboxes in this form allow you to select the range of pages to be saved - leave the settings unchanged if you need to save the full text, otherwise set the required values. Click the "Save" button.

4.If you need a one-time conversion of one document or the need for this operation occurs rarely, you can do without installing additional software. Use online services that offer this service for free. For example, go to http://doc2pdf.net/PDF2Word, scroll down, and click the Convert File button. A standard dialog will open, with which you need to find the desired pdf file on your computer, select it and click the “Open” button. This will be enough - the script for uploading the selected document to the server will automatically work and after a few seconds a large button with the red word Word file will appear on the page. Click it and the converted text will open in the Microsoft Word word processor.

10. How to write text in pdf

The PDF file format is often used to create instructions, develop document forms, create books and electronic catalogs, and so on. Special software utilities are provided for these files.

You will need
- editor for PDF.

Instructions

1. To write text in a PDF file, use special editors that support this extension, for example, PDF Editor. Download it from the Internet, and then check the unzipped files for viruses. Complete the installation according to the instructions in the installer menu items and launch the editor.

2.Enter text into the file, then save it in the appropriate format. In the future, to edit such documents, use the file’s context menu, click “Open with” and select PDF Editor or another analogue of this utility installed on your computer from the list of programs, and then, if necessary, check the “Use for all files of this type” checkbox "

3.Also pay attention to the Adobe Acrobat editor (not to be confused with Adobe Acrobat Reader). It performs the functions of creating, editing and saving documents in PDF format; at the moment it is one of the most famous programs in the field of working with PDF.

4.If you need to edit a file of a different format by converting it to PDF, use converters specially designed for this that support both file types. This is quite convenient, for example, when you have an e-book in a format that cannot be opened in a portable reader.

5.In this case, simply convert the file to PDF, since this format is supported by most modern devices. There are also special programs for mobile phones that perform PDF viewing functions; unfortunately, there are no editors for them yet.

6.To convert PDF into image files, use the graphics editor Adobe Photoshop, and if you want to convert text printed in PDF into a Word document, find a special recognition program or copy the text directly, depending on the file.

11. How to convert scanned text

Different types of office equipment allow you to work with documents in different formats and in different ways. Thus, a scanned document can be processed both as text and as an image. It all depends on what the end result should be.

Instructions

1.If you want to scan a document so that you can then work with the text, make changes and amendments to it, you need to use a text recognition application. Such programs can come with the scanner or be distributed separately.

2. Place the desired document in the scanner, call the text recognition application, scan the document. Call the text recognition procedure, wait for it to complete, copy and paste (or otherwise export) the recognized text into a text editor. Make the necessary changes in the editor and save the document as a text file.

3.The Microsoft Office Word editor provides the ability to save documents in .pdf format. To convert a .doc (.docx) document to a .pdf file, select "Save As" from the menu. In the second field “File type”, select *.pdf from the list of supported formats and click on the “Save” button.

4.When using text recognition applications, a lot depends on the scanner settings. The higher the scanning quality, the longer the process will take, but the quality of the scanned document will be better (without unnecessary noise). Consequently, the text will be recognized with fewer errors.

5.If you need to scan text as a copy (a regular picture), set the parameters in the scanner settings for saving the image. Specify the format for saving graphics that you can open later. For example, if your computer does not have programs that support .png files, it makes no sense to save scanned documents in this format.

6.To convert a graphics file from one format to another, use a converter. Alternatively, open the document in a graphics editor and save it in a different format using the options available in the File Type field.

12. How to add text to pdf

Portable Document Format (PDF) is one of the standards for storing documents containing text, images, and even forms that can be filled out. Despite the fact that the most common text editor today, Microsoft Office Word, has the option of saving a document in this format, it cannot edit PDF files. Therefore, if there is a need to make any changes to such a file, you will have to install an additional program on your computer.

You will need
Foxit PhantomPDF application.

Instructions

1.Choose the most suitable application for editing documents in pdf format. This could be one of the products of Adobe - the developer of this format - or some third-party editor. Recently, a line of applications for working with PDF documents from Foxit Corporation has gained popularity. You can select and download one of its programs on the manufacturer’s website - http://foxitsoftware.com/downloads.

2.After installing the application, open the document in which you want to add text. This can be done by double-clicking on the document file or through a standard dialog. This dialog is called up by pressing the “hot keys” Ctrl + O or selecting the “Open” item in the “File” section of the program menu.

3. Scroll to the page you want to add text to and expand the Comments section in the editor menu. This can be done either by clicking the mouse or by successively pressing the Alt and C keys. Go to the “Text Placement” subsection (W key) and select the “Typewriter Tool” (T key). Then click on the page and start entering the desired text. Its exact positioning relative to the original text is not required at this stage.

4.After completing the set, select a convenient location for this additional fragment. To do this, move the mouse pointer over the text frame and move it with the left button to the desired location.

5.Using the control elements at the top of the program window, change the font typeface of the added text, its size, color, and align it to the center, right or left. In addition to these standard tools for text editors, there are also those that are more often used for working with text in graphic editors - changing the spacing between letters, scaling vertically and horizontally.

6.Save the edited document - for this, in the “File” section of the editor menu, there are “Save” and “Save As” items. They call up the standard dialog used in most editors, so they are unlikely to raise any questions.

Taken from here http://www.kakprosto.ru/

The programs discussed in this review for creating PDF documents function by creating pseudo-printers on your system. All you need to do is simply open the desired document and send it to a PDF printer.

It is worth noting that, basically, these programs differ in the set of available options.

Note: Of course, the final size also plays a role, but this parameter is sometimes not as significant as the ability to add a watermark or set a password on a PDF document.

One of the problems with this approach is that you need to have a program to open and print the documents you want to convert. The logic here is obvious. If you can't open the file for conversion, you won't be able to print it. And since you cannot send a file for printing, then you cannot create a PDF file using a pseudo-printer.

Note: This problem may not seem particularly important to you, but there is one point that may slip away. You need one more program. And not just another one, but one that can open and print. This could be a problem. For example, you need to convert a file that, on the one hand, is standard (for example, docx - supported with MS Office 2007), on the other hand, you may have a version of OpenOffice installed that does not support this format. Of course, there are ways out in this situation, but they will require time from you.

Note Note: The two products in this review do not have this issue, but only support a limited number of file formats.

This review contains the best free products for creating PDF files. Many other apps were excluded because they were either not free, had a time limit, or were littered with ads (the products themselves are free, but the abundance of ads makes them difficult to use).

These programs were: Bullzip PDF Printer, PDF24, PDFCreator and doPDF.

Note: The latest versions began to include additional components in the installer for full editing of files. However, such components were excluded for several reasons. Firstly, you are required to register. Secondly, quite a large part of the modules are commercial. So the initial use of the program may turn into a search for free modules and constantly opening the site in the browser (for example, PDF Architect 2 from the creators of PDF Creator). Of course, there are a number of features that can be used, but this goes somewhat beyond the idea of ​​a free limited product, where only free features are immediately available. Thirdly, to use these components it will take enough time for the “startup” and “use itself”.

Review of free programs for creating PDF documents

For example, most recommended programs support a lot of settings. On the one hand, this fact is a big plus for advanced users who need to use a number of PDF features. On the other hand, for ordinary users who need a simple program for creating PDF files, this is a big disadvantage.

Of course, the most prominent are and, but still, all of these programs have their own individual strengths and weaknesses. So when choosing a program, be guided by your preferences.

BullZip is a fairly solid program that has been used by many users for a long time. So BullZip has definitely proven that it's worth paying attention to.

The key features of Bullzip PDF Printer are:

• Set a password to protect your PDF files (PDFCreator also supports this feature)
• Uses 40 or 128-bit encryption (PDFCreator also supports this feature)
• Ability to add a watermark (PDFCreator also supports this feature, but in a limited way)
• Add files to a document (PDFCreator also supports this function)
• Select different output quality levels (PDFCreator also supports this feature)
• Add or change metadata (PDFCreator also supports this feature)

Is another strong program that includes most of BullZip's signature features, with the exception of being a 64-bit version and limited options for adding watermarks. The program supports many different languages.

However, the program has one unique feature that makes PDFCreator very different from other products. We are talking about the possibility of installing a server version. This means that if you have several computers, then you do not need to install the application on each one. It is enough to install it on the "server" as a public printer. And you can create documents from any of the computers that are connected to your network.

This feature can definitely be one of the key points when choosing a program for creating PDF files. After all, after installation, you will not need to think about the questions “is everything installed?” / “will you need to create PDF on this computer?” etc.

Warning: The installer includes OpenCandy. Also during the installation process you receive the PDF Architect 2 kit, which at first may seem like a powerful and necessary addition. But, after several attempts to do something, you will quickly come to the conclusion that using it for free is not convenient.

Comparable to TinyPDF in terms of features. The program provides a minimal set of functions, but supports setting the quality level of output PDF documents.

As noted earlier in one of the notes, the size of the output file does matter. Here is a small comparison table

Note: Of course, you should not use this table as the final truth, since there are a huge number of nuances. But, nevertheless, using this table you can approximately estimate the capabilities of the programs.

Other programs for creating PDF documents

There are also a number of other free programs for creating PDF documents. Although they were not included in the main part of the review, they are nevertheless worth paying attention to. They may be able to handle your tasks the way you need them.

• PrimoPDF. Problem choosing a printer. Freezes for a couple of seconds after selecting. But this may be an isolated case. In terms of speed, the program is slightly behind its analogues. However, the program supports digital signing, reverse conversion from PDF to Word, and much more.
• NitroPDF Printer. Allows you not only to create, but also to read PDF documents. Supports commenting, text extraction, etc. However, the full set of features is only available in the paid version.
• PDF Redirect. It also allows you not only to create, but also to read PDF files. Can merge PDF files. Supports encryption. Localized into several languages. The full set of features is only available in the paid version.
• PDFill PDF and Image Writer. Stable and multifunctional program. Requires free Adobe Reader. The installer is downloaded via Cnet - this means that the installer may contain unwanted components.

Quick Guide (links to download free programs for creating PDF documents)

Bullzip PDF Printer

PDF24

PDFCreator

On our website you can download the PDF Master program immediately and without any registration. The PDF text format is one of the most famous, so it is not surprising that there are many utilities that help you open such documents.

PDFMaster has an excellent interface and will allow you to easily read the entire text or find the desired part in a voluminous document. PDFMaster includes a free PDF Printer module.

The PDF format is often used for official documents, documentation, instructions, etc. Files in the PDF (Portable Document Format) format are easily transferred to other devices as it is a cross-platform electronic document format.

The advantage of this format is that the PDF file looks the same on any device, on any operating system. To display the file on the device, you only need a program for . Modern browsers support opening PDF files directly in the browser.

PDF documents are created using a virtual printer, so saving a document as a PDF is not difficult. To do this, you must have a virtual printer on your computer.

Users of the Windows 10 operating system will not have to install anything because the Microsoft Print to PDF virtual printer is integrated into the system. Users of other versions of the Windows operating system can install a special program on their computer - a virtual printer, for example, free programs: Bullzip PDF Printer, PDFCreator, doPDF, CutePDF Writer.

After installing a virtual printer, your computer will be able to save files and documents in PDF format, thanks to the printing function that is built into a large number of applications.

To create or save a file in PDF format, follow these steps:

1. Open the file or document you want to convert to PDF in a program that opens files of that type.
2. Send the file for printing.
3. Select a virtual printer from among the printers offered by the system.
4. Configure other print settings, such as the number of pages saved, print quality, etc.
5. Give the file a name and select a save location.
6. Start the printing process.
7. After printing is completed, you will receive a PDF file as output.

When choosing a printer for printing, be guided by the name of the printer. For example, physical printers that print the contents of a file on paper have designations starting with the name of the device manufacturer, for example, “HP”, “Canon”, etc. The virtual drive will have a different name (see examples above in the article).

Accordingly, when you select a real physical printer, the document content will be printed on paper, and when you select a virtual printer, it will be saved in PDF format. In the future, if necessary, the PDF file can also be printed on paper (save in paper form).

Quite often, government organizations require files in PDF format to be sent. Keep in mind that the PDF file size can be large, so it makes sense to do so before sending by email.

How to save a document as PDF

Now I will show the algorithm of actions using the example of a program that opens a large number of file formats. The open document can be of any electronic text format (txt, doc, docx, djvu, fb2, etc.).

I opened the file in the "TXT" format in Universal Viewer (this format can be opened in Notepad, the steps are similar).

In the “Print” window that opens, to select printing properties, you must select a virtual printer.

To select the appropriate printer, you need to click on the checkmark icon located opposite the printer name. There are several options available here: a physical Canon printer, a virtual printer from (in Windows 10) and some other applications. I chose the Microsoft Print to PDF virtual printer.

The Print window allows you to configure some other print settings: number of pages, number of copies, orientation, size, etc.

In the preview window, you can configure other additional parameters if necessary. To start the process of creating a PDF document, click on the “Print” button.

In the Explorer window that opens, give the document a name and select a location to save it.

This document will be saved on your computer in PDF format.

How to save an image to PDF

In a similar way, a PDF file is created from a photo or picture. Open a graphic format file (png, jpeg, bmp, gif, tiff, etc.) in any graphics editor.

In this example, I will save the image as a JPEG to a PDF. I opened the photo in the standard Windows Photo Viewer.

In the window that opens, from the list of available printers, you must select a virtual printer and image saving parameters: quality, number of copies, size, etc.

After clicking the “Print” button, select a location to save the file and give it a name.

You can create a PDF e-book from images and documents by combining several separate files into one file.

How to save a website page as PDF

Using a browser, the user can easily save a web page as a PDF on his computer.

Follow these steps:

1. Launch a browser on your computer.
2. Go to the site, open the desired web page.
3. In your browser settings, select Print.
4. In the printing settings, select a virtual printer. The Google Chrome browser has a built-in virtual printer, so you can select “Save as PDF.” There is an option to save the file to Google Drive.

1. Click on the “Print” or “Save” button, depending on the selected virtual printer.
2. In the dialog box, name the file and select a location to save it.

In addition, there are browser extensions that save website pages in PDF. To save a website page in a convenient form, without unnecessary elements, use the service.

Conclusions of the article

In programs that open files of certain formats, using a virtual printer you can save documents, files, website pages in PDF format on your computer.