You can create a PDF from most software these days. There is usually an option for export to this popular Portable Document Format. This is a useful way to have a document as it is easy to send with email. This is because the file size is small and it retains all the formatting.
It really doesn’t matter what software you create your PDF in. This will mostly be determined by what software you have access to as well as what software you are skilled in using. You don’t need any fancy software. Check first to see if the software you use exports to this format. Chances are it will.
A key thing to remember is to make sure that anything that can be clickable, is clickable. So use heading styles in Word and convert any email addresses and website addresses into hyperlinks.
To create the pdf from within Word:
Open the document from the file menu. Once in the Word menu, choose File > Export > Create Adobe PDF. You should see an options dialog box. This will be were you can rename your document (remember to keep it understandable for your reader) and where you’ll save it. There is also additional options. The main one here (that should be set to on be default) is Convert Word Headings to Bookmarks. This is the document structure that will help readers navigate within Acrobat. This is how that looks:
To create a pdf document from within PowerPoint:
It is the same as in Word. Open the document from the file menu. Once in the PowerPoint menu, choose File > Export > Create Adobe PDF. You should see an options dialog box. Again, this is where you’ll name your file and choose where it is stored. Inside these additional options is the ability to export only certain slides. This could be useful if you have a large document template with multiple pages that you swap in and out to generate documents based on specific needs. For example, having a template file with various parts of a proposal where you can swap and change what is needed for this specific proposal without having to delete the slides (in case you need them later).
From Google Docs:
From within your Google Doc. Select File > Download > PDF Document. This will then ask you where you want to store it to your computer.
