Virtual printer
If you need a PDF converter to turn text documents, spreadsheets, web pages or any other printable file into PDF, don't think twice and use one virtual printer. In case you are not aware of it, virtual printers are software that configure themselves as "real" printers (they therefore become accessible via the command to print any application), they process the information that is given to them “In meal” and turn them into PDF documents. They are now also integrated into all major operating systems for PCs, smartphones and tablets: to find out more, read on.
Windows 10
If what you are using is a computer with su installed Windows 10, I am happy to inform you that the system has a virtual printer as standard. To use it, all you have to do is open the printable document you want to export to PDF using the program you usually use for that particular type of element, invoke the command of print from the menu Fillet (or from the menu in charge of the program in use) and choose Microsoft Print to PDF o Save as PDF from the list of available printers.
For example, if you want to convert a web page opened in Microsoft Edge, just click the button [...] located in the upper right part of the navigator window, select the item Print from the menu that appears and choose the option Microsoft Print to PDF give menu to tendin Printer placed at the top. Next, adjust (if you deem it necessary) the print settings (e.g. margins, orientation etc.) and save the web page in PDF by clicking the button Print.
Windows 8 and earlier versions
Stai using Windows 8 or an earlier version of the operating system from Microsoft, unfortunately you do not have at your disposal an integrated virtual printer like on Windows 10. Fortunately, it is possible to easily remedy this by exploiting one of the many third-party resources used for the purpose.
Among the various available on the square, I personally recommend you try FreePDF, which is also free for commercial purposes and allows you to fine-tune all the settings of the output files. Unfortunately its development has been discontinued but it continues to run smoothly. It's based on Ghostscript: a free software that interprets Adobe's PostScript and PDF page description languages, so both must be installed.
To download FreePDF, go to the official website of the virtual printer and click on the link Download FreePDF x.xx placed at the top, in correspondence with the section Download. To download Ghostscript, instead, go to this other page and click on the link gs926w64.exe (if you are using 64-bit Windows) or on that gs926w32.exe (if you are using 32-bit Windows).
Then open the .exe file Ghostscript just obtained and complete the setup by clicking on the button first in the window that opens on the desktop Yes and, subsequently, on the buttons Next, I Agree, install e Finish. Afterward, open the file FreePDF4.14.exe and, in the window that appears on the screen, set up FreePDF by clicking on the buttons Yes, Setup e End.
At this point, all you have to do is open the printable file to be transformed into PDF, invoke the command Print from the menu Fillet and select FreePDF from the list of available printers. Finally, adjust (if necessary) the print settings (e.g. margins, orientation, etc.) and save the PDF by pressing the button Print.
MacOS
It was used MacOS, you can transform any file into PDF without resorting to third-party software by taking advantage of the virtual printer already included in all Macs, similarly to how it is possible to do with Windows 10. Open, therefore, the file to convert (e.g. a text, a photo or a web page), invokes the command Print from the menu Fillet and select the item Save as PDF from the drop-down menu located at the bottom left of the next window.
In the further window that opens, type the name you want to assign to the file in the field Save as, select the location on your Mac to export it to via the menu located in (or by clicking on the button with the down arrow top right) and presses the button Save.
If you deem it appropriate, you can customize the properties of the document (title, author and subject) or protect it with a password, by clicking on the button Security options, indicating whether you want to be asked for the password to open the document or just to copy its contents and print it and, finally, typing the secret word to use.
Online PDF converter
The idea of using a virtual printer to convert your PDF files does not appeal to you and you would like to understand what the alternatives are. online what do you have from yours? Then take a look at the Web services specifically used for the purpose that I have reported to you below. I'm sure they will satisfy you.
CloudConvert
If you are looking for a very easy to use online PDF converter, give it a try CloudConvert. It is free and allows you to convert many different types of files between them: documents, images, videos, etc. It has an upload limit of 100 MB (expandable to 1 GB if you create a free account on the site or more by switching to the paid version starting from 8,54 euros / month) and protects users' privacy by deleting, within a few hours, all files that are uploaded to its servers.
To use it, connect to its main page and drag the documents to be converted into the browser window. Alternatively, press the button Select files and select "manually" the files on the computer that you want to process with the service. By pressing the button with the arrow located next to the item Select filesFurthermore, you can take files from supported cloud storage services (eg. dropbox e Google Drive) or by providing the relative link, after selecting the reference option from the menu that opens.
At this point, select the desired target format by clicking on the gray link located at the top right, after the item to (Eg. to doc to transform the files into doc) and presses the button Start conversion to start the conversion.
Then wait for the processing of the documents to be completed and download the output files by clicking on the button Download that appears next to their names. If you have uploaded multiple files and want to download them all at once, press the button Create archive to download them as a compressed archive, by selecting the format you prefer from the menu that opens.
Convert.Files
Covert Files is another PDF converter capable of transforming PDF documents into Word files, Mobi / ePub e-books or even images, and vice versa. It faithfully respects the layout of the original documents (within the limits of the possible) and allows you to work with large files up to 250 MB. It's free and the files uploaded to the service are deleted after a few hours.
To convert a PDF with Convert Files (or transform other types of files into PDF), linked to the main page of the site and click on the button KATEGORIEN. If you want, you can also upload files from the web by selecting the option or download i from and indicating the relative link in the adjacent field.
At this point, select the document to transform, indicate the format you want for the output from the drop-down menu Output format and click on the button Convert to start the conversion process. When the operation is completed, click on the link that appears in the center of the screen to download the converted file to your PC. Easier than that?
App to convert PDF
As anticipated at the opening of the post, there are also PDF converters that can be used directly on the move, from smartphones and tablets. If, for example, your intention is to convert a printable document into a PDF file, please note that you can rely on the default print function di Android e iOS.
Both platforms, in fact, include a virtual printer which, similar to the ones I told you about in the passage at the beginning of the article, allows you to export any printable content in PDF. For more details on this, I refer you to reading my tutorial focused specifically on how to print in PDF.
PDF converter
