Sometimes we want to display a document on the web exactly as we have created it in Microsoft Word, or in some other program.   When we use Microsoft Word Save as HTML some of the nice formatting options available with a sophisticated word processor are lost.   Examples:

• Equations created created in the Microsoft Equation editor will not display on the web.  How can students in engineering, math, physics, chemistry and other curricula view the equations they need?
• The character sets of some languages are not easily displayed on the web.   How can we make them show?
• Complex and precise formatting is lost when desk top publishing documents are converted to HTML for use on the web.

PDF Files Using Adobe Acrobat

Using Adobe Acrobat you can convert many documents to the Adobe Portable Document Format. Installing the Adobe Acrobat reader plugin in your web browser allows you to view the PDF file on the web with its formatting in place. 

Using Acrobat, anyone who can use a word processor can create nicely formatted files for the web.

What Kinds of Files Can Be Converted to PDF Files?

Files created by Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe PageMaker, as well as some scanned documents.

Creating Files in the PDF format

Purchase and install Adobe Acrobat.  The List Price is $199.00.  Educational Discounts lower the price considerably.

Create or open a document with formatting you want to keep, such as a Microsoft Word file with equations or complex formatting.

From the Microsoft Word File menu, select Save as PDF.

If you have not already done so, download the Acrobat Reader plugin for your browser from the Adobe web site and install it. The Reader is free.

Start your browser and open the PDF file you created.

This example shows a complex Microsoft Word file converted to PDF.

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