Although Microsoft’s Word remains the leader for word processing and, in many cases, presenting and sharing written material, it is far from the only option. When it comes to emailing or uploading written documents which also contain images or advanced formatting, many people prefer the portable document format known as PDF. Like Word, it has been around for decades, but it is different, not least because it isn’t so much a word processor as a document presentation program. What are the benefits of using it?
A Universally Readable Format
Table of Contents
To begin with, PDF is a universal format that anyone can read. It doesn’t matter whether you send a PDF to recipients using a PC, a Mac or a computer running Linux because they’ll all be able to view your PDF with ease. What’s more, when you convert Word to PDF to send a document to others, it won’t matter whether they’re using a smartphone or viewing the file on a large screen.
Of course, Word and other word processor documents can be resized but PDFs are particularly good at this, allowing for scalability no matter which orientation a page might be viewed in. These two factors, including the graphical integrity of resized images in PDFs mean that this particular file format is the go-to choice for many people who frequently share written work.
Document Security
Another key advantage of writing documents in a word processor and then converting them to PDFs once they’re complete is because the documents you send become much harder to tamper with. If you are sending a document with sales figures on it, for example, then you won’t want anyone to alter the columns of a table you have inserted to show the relative performance of different team members.
With a PDF this becomes much harder to do and you’d need considerable graphic design skills to make adjustments that would come close to fooling anyone. In a standard document, however, it only takes using the backspace key to alter anything. In other words, if you want your document to remain trustworthy even after you’ve sent it out to others, use a PDF.
Reduced File Sizes
When PDFs were first designed, one of the principles behind them was to reduce the amount of disk space they would take up. This is still a factor today even when the available memory on most devices has expanded enormously. Of course, it is true that your Word documents probably don’t take up an undue amount of space on your hard drive. However, if you have ever added photos to documents or other graphical elements, then their size can grow considerably.
When you email such files, it can cause an issue with recipients being able to access them. In some cases, it can lead to cloud storage filling up way too rapidly. With a PDF, even one containing images and logos, the size will always be conveniently small thanks to the data compression techniques that have long been a part of this popular file format.
Conclusion
PDFs are right for every occasion but they are better than .doc files in numerous settings. Since everyone is already used to them, why not consider sending them whenever you have written work you want to share?
