Tech tips -
You are probably familiar with the free Adobe Reader that lets you open and view PDF files. Have you ever thought to yourself that it would be great if you could create PDF files yourself but you don't want to pay for the over-priced Adobe software?
Well, you can, and you can do it for free.
Now, there is more than one way to skin this PDF cat. Probably the easiest way is to download a piece of freeware called PrimoPDF.
Available at www.primoPDF.com, just click the "Download - Free" button on the left side of the page. The file is called Freeware_PrimoPDF.exe (7.5 MBs in size) and to install you would simply double click and click next to begin.
Click "I Agree" to accept the end user license. On the next page you will get to choose if you want to install an outlook plugin called Xobni. Personally, I hate it when plugins are included in another install package. Google and Yahoo do this all the time with their toolbars and it really ticks me off. If you are just interested in PDF creation, I recommend you click the "Do not install Xobni" option. If you want to try Xobni, you can always download it later from www.xobni.com.
On the next page you can register your install. If you don't want to register, just click next. (Of course, a web page will open to attempt one more time to get you to register, call this pet peeve number two! Just close the browser!). Click finish to complete the install.
PrimoPDF installs as a printer. To convert a document to the PDF format, you simply click the print function in your document and select PrimoPDF as the printer. The first time you use PrimoPDF, you will be asked if you want to enable its auto updating feature. Just click yes or no.
The control panel will open and you can specify the create options. For example you can choose if you want a PDF that will be best for printing or viewing on the screen or on an eBook. If you will be printing the PDF, choose the print option so photos will retain high quality. Choose custom if you want to really take charge of your PDF creation options.
Now choose where you want the PDF to be saved and what Post Process you want; by default, open PDF is selected. Click "create PDF" to finish. It is just that easy!
You can check out the online manual and forum for more information about using PrimoPDF. This is another example of the great free software out there, just waiting for you to discover.
toddmusseau@gmail.com
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