Small Business Networking
Creating PDF files on Windows
A few years ago you wrote about GhostScript-based PDF creation tools. We haven't been successful with this and wonder whether there's an update or another open source option for creating PDF files on Windows systems.
Open Office is an open source suite based on Sun's Star Office.
It uses the OpenDocument formats approved by the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards.
In addition to providing an open source package that can read and write Microsoft Office document formats, Open Office includes the built-in ability to generate PDF files by choosing "Export as PDF" from the File menu. With Open Office you can create PDF files from documents, spreadsheets and presentation files.
The Export as PDF feature does an excellent job of generating PDF files that preserve the formatting of the original document.
With Microsoft appearing to make more open its Office document-format specification to the European standards group ECMA International, we may see a move toward open document standards that make moving between applications more reliable - even if the eventual standard is something other than the current OpenDocument or Microsoft formats.
Until then, the most reliable PDF creation results and access to the full set of PDF features are best provided by the full version of Adobe Acrobat.
Readers respond. They suggest alternative approaches.
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