PDF, or Portable Document Format, is a format that allows for platform independent transportation of 2d documents (be they text, graphics or a mixture). In other words, PDF documents look the same on all computers, and are (often) directly printable. However, PDF offers a lot more advantages. First, text in a PDF document is searchable, content can be exported (though not markup), PDFs are scalable (you can zoom in or out without suffering a loss of readability), PDF is reliable, and stores your document in a reasonably small file.
If you create a PDF, you're in charge of the looks. The markup you created is fixed, so that your document is portable to any other computer equipped with a PDF reader (such as the free Acrobat Reader). Unfortunately, the official Adobe software for creating PDFs is not free at all. However, as PDF is an Open Format, there are alternatives to the official software. One of the easiest is to use the OpenOffice suite, as it allows you to directly export your files as PDF. As OpenOffice is a full-blown office suite, this means that not only text documents (such as MS Word documents, or texts saved in OpenOffice's native .odt format), but also spreadsheets, presentations etc. can be transferred to a PDF document directly. OpenOffice is fully compatible with (among others) the Microsoft Office suite.
This guide is intended at those of us who use our Office programs to create documents. It will show you how to create PDF documents directly from OpenOffice. As you'll see, it's easy, quick and free!
Creating PDF documents from within OpenOffice is, in essence, very simple. Here's your HowTo:
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Preliminary
First of all, you need the OpenOffice suite. It is obtainable from the OpenOffice.org website (see links below). If you are working on a university/institution PC, make sure you have the rights to install new software. Contact your system administrator about this. -
Creating a Document
Now, you can create a document in OpenOffice, or import a document made with another program. For the purpose of this demonstration, I will assume an OpenOffice text document (.odt).
note: if you import a document from another program, please make sure that the markup is in order. Some small differences may occur. -
Exporting Your Document to PDF
When you're document is finished, you're ready to go. Of course, I advise you to save your document before proceding, although it isn't necessary. The file format you save to is not relevant at this point; choose whichever you want.-
Now, go to the 'File' menu.
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Choose 'Export as PDF...'.
Next, choose a name and a location for your PDF document.
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Now, a pop-up screen appears, displaying the various options. In most cases, the default options will do, but if you need a document of exceptional quality, or instead one as small as possible, feel free to tinker with the resolution and compression options. Most other options speek for themselves, or are rarely needed in scientific articles and papers. So, click 'Export' and you're done!
(click on the images for an enlarged version)
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OpenOffice is a fullsize, free, and 'open source' office suite. It is based on the older StarOffice program, but was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 2000. It is available for all major operating systems, including Windows, MacOS, and a host of Unix-related platforms such as Linux, Sun Solaris and the different BSD distributions.
OpenOffice comes with (among others) the following components:
- OpenOffice Writer (comparable to, and compatible with, MS Word)
- OpenOffice Calc (cf. MS Excel)
- OpenOffice Impress (cf. MS Powerpoint)
- OpenOffice Base (cf. MS Access)
- OpenOffice Draw (to create and manipulate graphics and diagrams)
- OpenOffice Math
The OpenOffice file format uses XML to create documents, although it is compatible with other Office suites such as the well-known MS Office. Documents can be saved in the native formats of most other office programs, using the 'save as' option. In their newest release, MS even announced that OpenOffice file formats will be included, so compatability is assured in the long run. However, some markup features will not port one-to-one from MS office to OpenOffice. A well-known example of this is that the size of 'tab' indents may vary at some times. So, if you made your document in MS office, or in any other program, run through it to ensure that the markup is still the way you want it to be. Of course, it is easiest to create the entire document in OpenOffice.
OpenOffice is available with a vast range of different language support packages. It can be obtained free-of-charge from the OpenOffice website (see links below). Sil IPA fonts are fully supported.