Did you know that on a Windows computer and/or on an Apple iMac, you can create a PDF file from any document or photo? The really good news is that you can do that without Adobe Acrobat Reader or any other program which creates PDFs.

Windows computer:

Open any document or picture which you’d like to save/send as a PDF. Use the Print option; however, don’t send the document/picture to a printer. Instead, under the list of printers, find and press Save as PDF. If you were to open Devices and Printers in the Windows control panel, you’d see something like this:

You can use this option from almost any program/app on your computer, as long as it allows you to print.

iMac computer:

On an iMac, you can also save a document or picture as a PDF by using the Print option. The only real difference is that the Print as PDF isn’t listed under the actual printer array. Instead, it’s listed under a drop-down box in the bottom left-hand corner of the print window. It looks something like this:

Finishing Thoughts:

Just in case you’re wondering, “Why would I want to send a document or a picture as a PDF instead of just sending the original?” That’s a great question! Here are two possible reasons: 1) you want the receiver of the data to be able to see it just as you created it; 2) they may not have the same program which produced the data and you want them to see it without having to obtain the same software. (Yes, there are other reasons to send data as a PDF but these two will do for now!)