What are PDF Files?

Have you ever wondered why you sometimes see a link to a document that's in "PDF" format? There are two of them in this edition of the Logotron newsletter. Often, they are accompanied by link which says something like "If you can't view PDF files, download Acrobat Reader now". You can see just such a link on the right (it works, by the way). To the newcomer this can be a very puzzling experience. After all, the Internet is all about clicking links and moving from page to page isn't it? But when you click this link you find something different happens. Worse, if you click the "Download Acrobat Reader" link you find yourself on a page full of complicated instructions for downloading something you've never heard of and didn't want!

For many of us the Ofsted reports were the first time we met the problem. We would search for our school's Ofsted report only to discover that it was in PDF format and we couldn't look at it with our usual word processor or indeed any other program we seemed to have on our computer.

These days, the Acrobat reader is usually installed on your computer and when you click on a PDF link the document opens and you can read it. You might find that your browser looks a bit different and has a different toolbar. Or you may find that another program you've never seen before has opened. But at least the document appeared and you can read it. What's all about and why does it happen?

The problem of course is that everyone uses different programs and different computers. One person will swear by Microsoft Word, another will have the Lotus Millennium Suite on their new PC at home. Someone else will have an Apple computer. Even the Ofsted inspectors themselves will have written their reports using different programs on different computers.

Here's how Adobe, the producers of the Acrobat program that creates PDF files, explains the problem (and its solution) on their web site:

"What good is a document you can't open? Whether you create business plans, spreadsheets, graphically rich brochures, or Web sites, Adobe Acrobat software lets you convert any document to an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file. Anyone can open your document across a broad range of hardware and software, and it will look exactly as you intended — with layout, fonts, links, and images intact."

So there you have it. PDF stands for 'Portable Document Format' and it's a solution that has gained global recognition. Any document can be converted to PDF format regardless of which program was used to create it. And once converted anyone can read it regardless of which computer they own or what software they use. The document is preserved exactly as it was created - pictures and all. If you download your school's Ofsted report you'll find that it looks exactly the same on screen as it did on paper - all the pages, typefaces, italics, etc. are exactly as they are on the paper version you know and love so well! You can even print out your own copy and it will be the same as the official one.

Of course, in order to be able to read the document in all its glory you need the special Acrobat Reader program on your computer and that's why you always see the extra "Get Acrobat Here" link. For most people it's already on their computers if it isn't they're completely stuck. So they give to you a link to the web page where you can download and install it for yourself, absolutely free of charge.