Making PDFs with free software

Jon Peck
2007-02-09
0 Up Down
Tags: authoring, cups-pdf, pdf, pdfcreator

PortableDocument Format (PDF) files have become somewhat of a de-facto standardfor representing fixed layout 2D documents, and their use andversatility have grown over the past decade. Recently, Adobeannounced that it intends to release the PDF 1.7specification for publication by the International Organization forStandardization (ISO). As demand increases for this format,many are wondering, what tools can be used to create PDFs with freesoftware?

Fortunately, there are a variety of freesoftwarethat is available to author PDF files. I’ll specificallyhighlight two packages that are easier to use and require lessconfiguration. While the advantages of the uniformpresentation are usually advantageous, I feel that the emphasis shouldbe on the content, not the container.

PDFCreator

PDFCreatoris a GNU/GPL printer capture driver that creates PDFs from any Windowsprogram. All you need to do is select PDFCreator as a printerfrom whatever application you’re using, and it’ll take the output andsave it as a PDF. In addition, it also allows for the setting ofpermissions and encryption, which makes it favorably comproable toAdobe Acrobat.

Recently, an optionalInternet Explorer toolbar has been added to the installation. There hassomecontroversy about whether the included toolbar can beconsidered spyware; the developers maintain the toolbar is not, andback up their claims with a 100%Clean award from Softpedia. The developers havealso included a deployment package that doesn’t include the toolbar.

CUPS-PDF

Froma Unix-like environment, you can use the Common Unix Printing System(CUPS) to create PDF files by installing CUPS-PDF,a GPL virtual printer. While not as versatile asPDFCreator, it provides the base functionality needed to beeffective. Check out the Printto PDF using cups-pdf blog entry forinstallation and usage tips; read through the comments for someadditional use scenarios and other updates.

OtherOptions

The OpenOffice.orgWriter includes the ability toexport to PDF without installing any additional packages. Anothertechnique is to send a document to a PostScript virtualprinter, then use GNUGhostscript to convert the result to a PDF or by using the*nix command ps2pdfwr, butthat’s unnecessarily unwieldy and impractical for everydayuse. CutePDFWriter, a no-cost butproprietary product for Windows, utilizes Ghostscript to generate PDFs.Finally, MacOS X providesthe ability for all applications to directly create PDF documents aslong asthey support the “print” command.

Conclusion

Thepackages I’ve described should help take the emphasis off the tools andallow you to concentrate on what’s actually in the document. One shouldconsider who the target audience is and the justification ofa particular container format. Sharing a fixed layoutdocument intended for collaboration defeats the purpose, and somepeople are unfamiliar with the PDF format and don’t have the necessaryviewer. Remember, just because you’ve packaged material as aPDF doesn’t make the content any better.

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Copyright information

This entry is (C) Copyright by its author, 2004-2008. Unless a different license is specified in the entry's body, the following license applies: "Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved and appropriate attribution information (author, original site, original URL) is included".

Biography

Jon Peck: Jon Peck is a Zend PHP 4 & 5 Certified Engineer and Staff Developer / System Administrator for ProZ.com. He writes a blog about technology and web programming at jonpeck.blogspot.com.

I really like Foxit Reader / PDF Creator for making PDFs.... check it out, great for students reading assignments

Sometimes I prefer PDF files instead of hard copies from the printers, and found PrimoPDF converter very handy. To help consolidate PDF files, I use 'PDF Split and Merge' which is a great open source software.

Ideablogger
http://ablogofideas.net

Hello
My name is saman. I need a freeware pdf writer(so that I can write on the pdf files/pages.If u have this software plz send to me . My email add is saman1in@yahoo.com.
thank you

CUTEPDF.

Adobe Acrobat Reader 7 (free) allows also to create PDF from any document or software. The core of the issue is today that manipulating PDF's file (delete, change, insert, compile) has become "incontournable" and any open source software can do this. A moins que ...... ?

How to convert (Adobe Acrobat Reader 7) to PDF files?

Any Mac application that can print can make a PDF. You can even run Mac OS X on a non-Apple box now . . .

you can't run OS X on a non-Apple box.

The licence agreement forbits this.
You need to hack the OS to run on non Apple Hardware
You can't use software updates
You can expect unsupported hardware to be present & causing bugs
You aren't supporting Apple , buying Apple Hardware ensures OS Developement
......

Okay , i want a cheap Apple too , but i'dd like it to come from Apple

How about a Mac Maxi based on a Mini but higher, expandable & no crappy video card

You can indeed run OS X on Intel boxes. Trying learning via search engines instead of talking out your ass.

You can run MacOS X on Intel baed PCs, true (AMD based ones are more buggy). However, as stated previously, the Mac OS X license says that you are not authorized to run Mac OS X on non Apple computers. It's not a matter of technical incompatibility, it's a matter of 'you don't have the right' - like one can drive a 15-tons ten wheeler if he knows how to drive a car, but he'd still get a huuuge fine for not having the driving license to do so.
---
A computer is like air conditioning: it becomes useless when you open windows.

And it very simply creates PDFs

primopdf.com

PEACE!

I have used all of the mentioned packages and then some, but I stuck with PrimoPDF. it IS the best one out there no question about it.

Well if you use Mac OS X you can simply print to pdf which is included in the OS itself

On Mac OS 9 (8,7,...) there was a printer driver (Chooser) named Print2pdf which was shareware but unlocked & did exactly the same.

"GOOGLE!", yet. Google Docs allows import of text/doc/rtf files and allows one to save to PDF.

Completely Open Source.

http://alambic.iroise.net/

You missed this one. Not perfect, but it's the only real competitor to InDesign/Quark Xpress:
http://www.scribus.net/

PDF Printer will not only create PDFs, but the links in them will be clickable, you can add watermarks, encryption, security, embed file attachments and compress your PDF.

Click here to visit PdfPrinter.com

PDF995 is a good choice too, you can edit PDF files too, However I use PDFCreator

PDF995 does not create clickable links. You have to use PDFEdit995 to manually make each link clickable.

That's a slow and not a very efficient use of your time.
You need a Pdf Creator / Printer that creates clickable links for you as well as all the other stuff as well.

HI
I need to edit my pdf files for this can u plz mail me this software, my emai add is saman1n@yahoo.com
thx

I also pdf995 is a good choice, you only have to see some ads while the pdf is being generated, but it isn't annoying or intrusive.
nsolutions4u.com - you need it, we make it happen!

Check out my software at http://naramcheez.paraschopra.com/pdfproducer.php

Can somebody tell me about a good pdf to html convertor? pdftohtml doesn't work that well as it should. Using Google's view as htnl option makes you loose out on the pics ... any ideas?

Does anyone know of a program, preferably share/freeware, that will merge 2 PDF files into 1. My sheet-feed scanner isn't duplex so when I scan double-sided documents, I end up with 2 files, usually XXXfront.pdf and XXXback.pdf.

PDF Meld ($29.95) will do this, see www.fytek.com/products.php?pg=pdfmeld

There's a number of ways to do this in Linux. At the moment, I think the best (free anyway, that I know of) way to scan documents to PDF is to use gscan2pdf. Scan the front side, flip the whole stack over and scan the backside. gscan2pdf will number them correctly. Look for it on SourceForge.

Yes, there is a great tool called PDFTK that will allow you to merge PDF's easily.

PDFTK
http://www.pdfhacks.com/pdftk/

Here is a sample of merging 3 pdf's:
pdftk 1.pdf 2.pdf 3.pdf cat output 123.pdf

There is another command line tools for PDF's that might interest you.

mbtPdfAsm
http://thierry.schmit.free.fr/dev/mbtPdfAsm/enMbtPdfAsm2.html

Just so you know; don't let the command line detour you from using it. It isn't hard; but just in case you find it difficult; there are GUI (aka graphical) front ends for the two applications listed. I cannot make a recommendation about the GUI's, since I have not used them.

Hope this helps

One of the top Google searches is PrimoPDF. That is how I found it and I've been very happy with it.

Can you list it? Are there any pros or cons that make it better or worse than PDFCreator or the others?

Great blog post!!

Try PDF Blender at http://www.spaceblue.com/pdfblender/download.php

It needs Ghostscript but that is free as well

Google for JAVA PDF and you'll get the best Java-PDF library one can wish ;-)

I use this one Adolix PDF Converter PRO www.adolix.com/pdf-converter-pro/

Not free, but it has a standard version that is very very cheap.

Google Docs and Spreadsheets web application does it online and exports many other formats.

http://writer.zoho.com

No formatting options though.

I thought this was *free* software magazine. At least that what the "about" link at the top lead me to believe. It's bad enough that you have pdfcreator which, though free, requires a rabidly anti-free os to use. Then you go on to link to cutepdf and mac os x? The editors should to be ashamed at letting this through. Next week we'll see "The Joys of Microsoft Vista."

Some more:
txt2pdf (non-free)
pdftex
pdftk (pdf manipulator not creator but we're already playing fast and lose)
pdfedit (editor not creator)
itext (java pdf creation library)

just because the operating system the software runs on isn't "free" (I could argue linux isn't as free as some other operating systems owing to the viral nature of the GPL) doesn't make that software not free. Should X-Chat, Gaim, Gimp, Firefox or GCC be considered non-free software just because they can run on windows?

Do you run binary only drivers in your kernel or X? To be consistent you'd need to avoid them.

I think, there's just too much confusion regarding what types of freedom Free Software give/s, even to the point that people from the Free Software movement are divided regarding the matter.

It helps to examine what is the problem with the proprietary software model in relation to software development and its implications to the environment it is affecting. Proprietary software is software that is controlled/owned by a specific individual, company or group of companies. This ownership is (evidently) beneficial to that specific subset of the population. Much of the benefits come from its central model of product delivery and its (almost) omnicient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, etc. control over the software; thus, it is VERY profitable (read: Microsoft). Well, one might think that this is all plain and well; this is good business perhaps. But when we look at the other side of the coin, we see the end users; the END users. These are people who actually USE the software; people who MUST be concern with how the software must evolve into something that is USEFUL to them. It is, therefore, important that these end users be able to control the software they are using. To be able to do this, they must also control the software's source code and be able to participate (either directly or indirectly) in its development as WANTED or NEEDED. This is freedom as in Free Software. Notice that copylefted Free Software (i.e. Free Software covered by GNU GPL) doesn't violate this freedom. It excludes proprietary software from taking it and turning it into something proprietary. The whole point is that, copylefted Free Software doesn't TAKE away the freedom from proprietary software developers; they can still modify, improve, derive, etc. from copylefted Free Software. What they are not allowed to do is to TAKE away the freedom they have FROM the remaining of the population. This is similar to the concept of taking away the freedom to kill so that the freedom to live is preserved (only not as horrible).

One final note: I believe that these arguments are pretty much pragmatic and are not necessarily anti-commercial. It helps to read with an open mind. ;)

www.PDF-TECHNOLOGIES.COM has many wonderful tools to create and edit PDFs. The best part is they are completely free.

I second the comment above about Google docs. I'll never install any PDF writer program again.

I use ZAMZAR.com - Coverts just about anything to just about anything else. And it's online - NO INSTALL!

If you're running KDE, then Print to PDF is standard...

Don't see my favorite mentioned...

I wonder if anyone makes a simple program that I can install to create PDF out of any page on my website...or a plugin for firefox that correctly formats pages into PDF for free. I'm sure that it is out there, now i just have to find it.

John
http://www.monomachines.com

pdflatex and its friends are what the real programmers will use.

OpenOffice.org Calc spreadsheet & Impress presentation can export directly as PDF too.

PDF useful when sending someone an invoice or a quote.

What is really cool about PDF Creator is you can you it to print (save as PDF) from any program (ok, it's not the only one, I agree), but also it's great reliability. Last week I created a 6400-pages report (yes, 6400!) from MS Access database I needed to publish in PDF format - it took about 10 minutes on a 4-years old computer, but finally I got a perfect PDF of 17 MB.

Oh, and now that someone asked - you can install a browser plugin to save web pages as PDF. I don't you this feature, though, because not all pages are processed very well.

html2ps -> ps2pdf

You can easily create pdfs from html files using this to scripts ps2pdf comes with almost all linux distros (I think), and you can download html2ps.

Carlos Mafla
http://devtime.blogspot.com

Funny, telling people how to use free software to make PDFs when this magazine stopped offering a PDF version.

I have tried PDFPrint which was also good. I gives the options the same as pdfcreator all you have to do is to print selectign the pritner as Pdfprint and your document is ready. --byee jollyguyjolly@hotmail.com

Unfortunately OpenOffice does not properly support OpenType font embedding!

There are lots of good tools for creating PDFs. What's missing are tools to manage PDF collections. PDF Explorer is great at this, but sadly it is a Windoze application:

http://homepage.oniduo.pt/pdfe/pdfe.html

It couldn't be ported by the Free Software community unless its (guess what?) Free Software. Judging from PDF Explorer's website, it's pretty much proprietary. There really isn't anything much we can do with code that are controlled not by its userbase. :(

I Use PDF Redirect. It can even convert dwg files to pdf.