.pdf files

Common questions

How do I open a .pdf file?

On Windows use Any web browser; on macOS use Preview (built in); on Linux use Document Viewer / Evince (built in). A fixed-layout document that looks identical everywhere — the format for anything final.

What is a .pdf file?

Portable Document Format. Adobe created PDF in 1993 and handed it to ISO in 2008, so it is now an open standard. A PDF pins down fonts, layout and images so the page prints the same from any machine, which is why contracts, forms, tickets and manuals all use it.

Can I convert a .pdf file?

Yes. It is usually converted to .docx, .jpg, .png, .txt, .epub or .xlsx, either by exporting from one of the programs listed above or with a format converter.

Related pages

• .docx — Word Document (Open XML) The standard Word document since Office 2007 — a zip archive of XML underneath.
• .xlsx — Excel Workbook (Open XML) The standard Excel spreadsheet since 2007, with a million-row limit per sheet.
• .pptx — PowerPoint Presentation (Open XML) The standard PowerPoint deck since 2007.
• .txt — Plain Text File Text with no formatting at all — the format that will still open in fifty years.
• .doc — Word Document (legacy binary) The pre-2007 Word format — still readable, but Microsoft would rather you conver
• .xls — Excel Workbook (legacy binary) The pre-2007 Excel format, limited to 65,536 rows.
• .ppt — PowerPoint Presentation (legacy binary) The pre-2007 PowerPoint format.
• .md — Markdown Document Plain text with a light formatting convention — headings with #, bold with **.
• .rtf — Rich Text Format A formatted document format readable by every word processor since 1987.
• .pages — Apple Pages Document Apple's word processor format — Apple devices and iCloud only.
• .odt — OpenDocument Text The open-standard word processor format, native to LibreOffice.
• .eml — Email Message A single saved email, headers and all, in the standard internet message format.