Have you ever been in a situation where you have a document on your computer, but you need that document on your phone? Or vice versa, you want to view a document on your computer but it is stored on your phone. Maybe it’s an email or just one of those pages that won’t open unless it’s viewed on a PC.
Well, then you need a PDF. It’s the only document format that is going to look the same no matter what device it’s opened on.
Follow along to know just how you can convert any document into a PDF, no matter what platform you are on.
In this Article
How to convert any document to PDF on Windows
The easiest way to convert any document in Windows is via the print option.
No matter what program you are on, go to the print option, and instead of choosing your printer as you would normally do, choose “Save as PDF” from the drop-down printers menu.
For eg, if you are on Microsoft Word, then go to the Print option and choose “Save as PDF” as your option, and voila, you have a ready-to-share PDF all good to go.
Similarly, if you are on chrome and need to create a PDF of the content that you are currently surfing, then select the three dots in the top right of the browser and choose “Print“. Then choose “Save as PDF”. And that’s all to it really.
How to convert any document to PDF on Mac
Converting a document to PDF is very similar on macOS. If you are on Safari, then choose the Print option and select “Save as PDF” rather than any other printer.
Since the shortcuts are more or less the same as with windows, choose the print option from any program and choose the destination as “Save as PDF”.
You can then save this PDF in the location that you want and even rename it as you want.
According to Wired,
“There’s PDF functionality built right into Finder as well. If you select multiple files and then Ctrl+click on the selection, you can pick Quick Actions and Create PDF to do just that (most common file types are supported). You’re able to build PDFs in the Preview tool too: As long as you have a PDF open in Preview, you can drag any file type into the table of contents sidebar on the left to add it as an extra page. (If you can’t see the table of contents, choose View and Table of Contents.)“
Once you have created a PDF, it’s pretty simple to edit it also. There are a ton of apps available on the internet and a simple Google Search of “edit PDF online” will allow you to upload your PDF and edit it on your browser itself.
You can add watermarks, sign the PDFs, resize them or even convert them to images.
One free PDF editing tool that I frequently use is Sejda. You can check it out here, it’s completely free for your daily usage and I highly recommend it.
How to convert any document to PDF on Android
In Android, start with the app that you are creating the file in. If it is Google Docs, then tap the three dots on top right, and choose Share and export, Save as, and PDF document to create a PDF—you can then share this PDF, view it on your device and download it also.
You also have the option to scan images and convert them instantly to PDF with Google Drive for Android. Simply press the “plus” sign on the lower right and then tap “Scan“. Click the photo of the document you want to convert into PDF and voila, it’s done.
Google Drive for Android is perhaps the best alternative to CamScanner.
You also get the option of print-as-PDF in Android. Just click the share button in which ever app you are in, and choose print option. From here, you can select Save As PDF, just like you would in windows.
How to convert any document to PDF on Ios
It’s a bit different process if you are on an Iphone to create a PDF.
For starters, the print-as-PDF option is availabe from any app. However, the way to go about it is slightly different. On the print page, long press on the document topen preview, swipe up to bring the document full screen and then choose the share button. This will create the document in PDF format and save it in the same location as the original document. If you want to change the destination, then you can select Save to Files option.
You can also create a PDF from the Files app. Simply long press on the document and choosing Create PDF from the menu that comes up. That PDF will then be saved in the same location as the original image.
Besides the native options of converting any document to PDF avaialble on all the platforms, there are a ton of apps available on Google Play Store and Apple Store. These third-party apps are great for creating and converting documents to PDF on the go. They offer a host of features such as editing, signing, annotating and viewing. You can use these apps for organising and merging PDFs also.
