Every computers, smartphones, and tablets with modern sophistication can now with ease print web pages as well as other documents to PDF files well in the absence of any additional software.
Microsoft made this addition to Windows 10, and in a similar vein, Apple added it to iOS 9. Basically, PDF is a portable, standard document format working well across all devices.
Generally, its best operation is archiving and sharing web pages as well as other documents. It boast more compatibility than other types of documents, in the mould of Microsoft’s XPS document format.
Windows 10
Windows 10 at last brings in a built-in PDF printer to Windows. In any application — from Windows desktop apps to those new Windows Store apps — simply take the “Print” option in the menu. “Microsoft Print to PDF” will come into view in the list of installed printers. Take the option of that printer moving on to click the “Print” button.
After this, you will be asked to put in a name and location for your new PDF file.
Windows 7, 8, and 8.1
On previous versions of Windows, this could turn out the same burden as banishing Bola Tinubu from Lagos. It doesn’t have that integration into the operating system, therefore, there comes in the extra need to install a third-party PDF printer application.
Most sadly, many of these are packed with installer crapware. A handful of applications do really sport integrated PDF-printing support, however. An instance of this in Chrome you could choose the “Print” option and then move on to select “Save to PDF” to print to PDF.
LibreOffice also has the capacity to export documents to PDF. But then do well to keep an eye after the application you’re using to see if it can do this without any additional software.
Mac OS X
This is well built into Mac OS X, too. But, if you’re well accustomed to the way it has its operation on Windows as well as other operating systems, you could end up missing it.
To print to PDF, choose the “Print” option in any application. Don’t mind the list of printers at the top of the print dialog that would pop up. Rather, click the “PDF” menu which appears at the bottom of the dialog and select “Save as PDF”.
Mac OS X will give you the opportunity to save the document to a PDF file rather than printing it to an actual printer, and will prompt you for a file name and location.
iPhone and iPad (iOS)
When we come to iOS 9, Apple has integrated this feature into every iPhone and iPad you will come across. To print a web page or other document to a PDF file, do well to first open it in an application. Select the “Share” button — it has the appearance of a square with an up arrow coming out of it. Scroll through the list of icons in the top row and tap the “Save PDF to iBooks” option.
After this, you are free to open iBooks so as or get to that PDF file. From iBooks, you can also email the PDF file even up to sharing it to somewhere else. Let me also add here that these PDF files can also have the supporting feature to be synced with iTunes, this way you could get them on your computer in the unlikely event that you regularly sync your iPhone or iPad with iTunes. When you do this, they will be in your iTunes Book Library after they sync.
Android
This is part of Android too. It is well built in as part of Android’s built-in support for printers — both physical printers and PDF printers.
Should it be a Android app that has the compatibility to print — an example is Chrome, — open the menu and tap the “Print” option.
Tap the “Save to” menu and select “Save as PDF” to save a PDF file to your Android phone or tablet’s local storage, or tap “Save to Google Drive” to save a PDF file straight to your Google Drive account.
So if you are making use of an app that doesn’t possess a built-in printing support, you could always resort to Android’s Share menu.
Make sure you push on the installation of an app which could convert documents to PDF and you can also tap Share anywhere in Android and select that app to make a PDF.
Chrome OS
Chrome has the functionality to regularly print files directly to PDF, and it has the same mode of operation with a Chromebook. Simply click the menu button in Chrome and choose Print. You will get to see a preview of the current web page. Click the “Change” button under “Destination” and select “Print to PDF” under “Local Destinations”. Select any options you want to change here and then click “Save” to save the file to PDF. You’ll be asked for a file name and location.
Other operating systems may also have this option too. It should be included by default on most desktop Linux systems, but different desktops will have different interfaces. Look in the “print” dialog and see if you can find an option for printing to PDF.
