For what was the PDF file format born?

Question

Question

For what was the PDF file format born?

by LilyW620 Sep 25, 2015 12:28AM PDT

To what end was it created for?
I don't understand how some people insist to use PDF files in emails, which is meaningless, since the minute it is sent off, the file stays UNCHANGEABLE unless the server breaks/gets hacked.

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12 Posts

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what?!

by LilyW620 Sep 29, 2015 3:28PM PDT

How come I have to install a pdf reader program in order to open them everybtime I need to read them? It's so certainly not me, I guarantee.

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re

by LilyW620 Sep 29, 2015 3:31PM PDT

As long as the initial publication is traceable, there's no argument about the content, of freaking course.
anyways, I just LOATH it when people use the pdf format when it's actually better to use .doc instead. HATE IT!

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In my company all I need to do is ask for the Docx or Doc.

by r. proffitt Forum moderator Sep 29, 2015 3:49PM PDT

Very few quibble about it.

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lol

by LilyW620 Sep 29, 2015 10:22PM PDT

Probably bc you guys are all order takers and no need to edit/merge every time you receive one, and also I dont have to ASK for such simple stuff, I just have to convert the file, easy piecy and yet some still dont know how to do it

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Perhaps you're too young to remember .doc files

by Steven Haninger Sep 29, 2015 4:47PM PDT

being prone to infection while .pdf files remained clean. There was a time when email servers, wary of exploits, wouldn't allow certain type of attachments but .pdf files went right on through. Any file type requires an associated application to view it so, in that regard, .doc and .pdf share a similar need. Windows operating systems just so happen include a viewer for one but no the other. Getting a .pdf viewer a isn't difficult process so I see nothing to bellyache about.

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Safe and easy from Ninite.

by Dafydd Sep 29, 2015 4:53PM PDT

A few PDF viewers here, https://ninite.com/
Dafydd.

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I don't need it

by LilyW620 Sep 29, 2015 10:36PM PDT

And next time when somebody asks a question, just focus on what they ask. Incase you can't tell, what PDF reader to use was not the question.

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Read/infer better before you judge

by LilyW620 Sep 29, 2015 10:32PM PDT

did i ever complain about having to DOWNLOAD a pdf reader?
And did it not occur to you that the reason is that pdf files (sometimes impossible to) are harder to edit? STOP judging and do not bother replying if you are an employer of adobe's (now THAT is my attempt to copy YOUR style of reasoning, so be all nice and smile;)!)

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Re: harder to edit

by Kees_B Forum moderator Oct 11, 2015 7:30AM PDT

That's exactly one of the reasons they are used. Just yesterday I sent somebody a contract that he must print, sign and send back. Since I didn't want him to be able to make changes in the contract I used pdf in stead of docx.

An additional advantage: most youngsters (he's 19) have a smartphone, so he can print a pdf to a wireless printer from his gmail, without having a word processor installed.

But indeed, if you continually receive pdf-files you have to edit, better ask the sender to send something different.

Kees

Back to Speakeasy forum

Kees_B · Answer 1 · Sep 25, 2015 1:15PM PDT

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Answer

Re: pdf

by Kees_B Forum moderator Sep 25, 2015 1:15PM PDT

"pdf" stands for "portable document format" and it was created so you could read a document without having installed the program that created it.

You'll really love that feature if you download a document created in MS Word to your phone that doesn't have MS Office installed, so you can't read it.
And it certainly makes a lot of sense for publications like e-books and brochures that are made with professional programs you can't even pay. There's no need to change an e-book or the brochure of your favorite holiday destination, is there?

And then there's the well-known fact that details in the lay-out of an MS Word document depend on the printer installed and of course on the presence of fonts used in the document. There's no single guarantee that your Word document will look the same on some other PC. While a pdf looks and prints exactly the same everywhere. If that ain't a good reason to use it!

Kees

Post was last edited on September 25, 2015 1:23 PM PDT

r. proffitt · Answer 2 · Sep 25, 2015 1:25PM PDT

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Answer

While PDF editing is possible

by r. proffitt Forum moderator Sep 25, 2015 1:25PM PDT

One of the original ideas for PDF was to make sure the content was not edited. Adobe later implemented restrictions on copying and printing.

It's a great system intended to give the author control over their content.

AlinaSipps · Answer 3 · Oct 16, 2015 5:36AM PDT

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Answer

About PDF file format

by AlinaSipps Oct 16, 2015 5:36AM PDT

Portable Document Format (PDF) - cross-platform electronic document format developed by Adobe Systems using a number of language features PostScript. It is primarily intended for presentation of printed products in electronic form. To view, there are many programs and the official free program Adobe Reader. A significant number of modern professional printing equipment has hardware support of PDF, which allows you to print documents in this format without the use of any software. The traditional way to create PDF-documents is a virtual printer that is a document as it is being prepared in their specialized program - graphics program or a text editor, CAD, and so on. D., And then exported to PDF format for distribution in electronic form sent to the printing press and m. n.

A PDF with July 1, 2008 is an open standard ISO 32000. [1] [2]

The PDF format allows you to implement the necessary fonts (text line by line), both vector and bitmap images, forms and multimedia inserts. Supports RGB, CMYK, Grayscale, Lab, Duotone, Bitmap, several types of compression of raster data. It has its own technical formats for printing: PDF / X-1a, PDF / X-3. It includes a mechanism for the protection of electronic signatures and authentication of documents. In this format, it distributed a large amount of supporting documentation.

For what was the PDF file format born?

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