Have you ever wanted to email a file, but it was so large that it took forever to send? Or you were able to send the file but the email bounced because the recipient's email box was full or too small?
The obvious solution is to reduce the size of the file. Some people use the WinZip solution, but this doesn't quite work if the file has photos or graphics. The best solution, in my opinion, is to convert the file into Portable Document Format, or pdf. (Note: It would be redundant to say "pdf format.") Even if the recipient doesn't know what a pdf file is, s/he can always download the free Adobe Reader to open the document.
But don't you need to buy Adobe Acrobat (299 dollars!) to create a pdf file? Nope. You can download PDF reDirect (free!), install it and start converting documents by clicking on File/Print and choosing "PDF reDirect" as your printer. If you need help installing or creating pdf files, PDF reDirect's User Guide is pretty comprehensive. You may also wish to look at an overview of its Features.
How good is it? Just recently, I converted a 1,479kb Word file with colored photos into a 92kb pdf file. When I printed the pdf file, the photos weren't as clear as the printed Word file, but the photos were clear enough on the screen. In any case, there is an option to improve picture quality—with, of course, a corresponding increase in file size
According to PDF reDirect's FAQ sheet, "PDF reDirect has been tested to work correctly with PDF files up to 50 MB in size and up to 350 pages (mostly text)" and that "Large documents with pictures and up to 180 pages have been demonstrated to work correctly." For something that is totally free, that's good enough for me.
Category: IT
Convert Documents to PDF Files
