Produce PDFs Free With FreePDF
I’ve long been a paid, registered Adobe Acrobat user — the PDF file format is the only way to do “universal” ebooks as far as I’m concerned — but unless it’s an illegal copy, “cheap software” is never used to describe it. Last I checked, for example, the Adobe Acrobat 8.0 Standard (the least expensive current version) full product is around $290 at bargain sources like TigerDirect!
Whoa! That’s more than a just a bit overboard if all you want to pump out is the occasional PDF report or even small ebook. If that’s you, maybe FreePDF is all you really need!
FreePDF is a free (surprise!) online service that lets you “create” PDFs — not “convert” an existing document to PDF, which is the way many software utilities do it. With FreePDF, creating a PDF is much like writing a blog post online; its on-screen editor, in fact, is quite similar, if not identical, to the one used with WordPress.
Like WordPress, it lets you “import” (copy-and-paste, really) plain text and Microsoft Word content which you can then format the way you want it. Somewhat. No way no how does this even come close to Adobe Acrobat’s little finger, but for what it is and especially what it costs, it does the job.
You can even do your document in HTML, if you are so inclined. Take a look at this test PDF I put together, as an example… done completely with simple HTML code. And it demonstrates a very powerful feature that FreePDF provides: You can embed clickable hyperlinks (Web, email, FTP, etc.) into your document. Nothing special for long-time Acrobat users, but through the years I’ve looked at a number of “free” PDF converters and generators, and this clickable hyperlinks capability is actually fairly uncommon.
Quick-and-dirty, no-frills output, sure. But seriously, do you need more? If your needs parallel mine, save up for the $290 needed for Acrobat. But if FreePDF gives you acceptable results, it’s really impossible to beat its price!
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5 Responses to “Produce PDFs Free With FreePDF”
By Carrie White on Jul 10, 2008 | Reply
As someone who is unable to pay the amount requested for Adobe’s products, I’m often having to resort to using free software to publish e-books. In the past, I’ve found them to be very capable of achieving good quality documents and will definitely use them again if the need arises. So, thanks for posting the link to Freepdf; I’d mislaid it some time ago!
By Wordpreneur on Jul 10, 2008 | Reply
You’re welcome Carrie. Do you remember any of the free PDF tools you’ve used previously? If so, can you recommend any to Wordpreneur readers?
ees
By Tracy Cooper-Posey on Jul 10, 2008 | Reply
This used to be an issue for me until I was forced to jump to Windows Vista OS, which in turned forced me to jump to Office 2007…where every program gives you the option to print to PDF, and the PDF produced is flawless.
I know a lot of people bitch about Vista, and Office 2007, but I like both, and I’m slowly growing to love them.
By Wordpreneur on Jul 10, 2008 | Reply
Hello Tracy
Good point about MS Office 2007. Although I’ve been a Vista user for a while now, I never moved up to Office 07. Didn’t have to, since the previous Office (03 I believe) worked fine on my machine. On the other hand, I don’t really use Office apps all that much anyway, so I’ll probably stick to 03 for as long as I can.
ees
By Carrie White on Jul 11, 2008 | Reply
The two free pdf converter’s I used were:
PrimoPDF - http://www.primopdf.com/
CutePdf - http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.asp
and I use Foxit Reader to read PDF which is free and also has a pdf converter!
http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php