How to Create a PDF: 7 Ways From Documents, Images, Web Pages and Scans

Creating a PDF is easier than most people expect. Almost every program that can print can also save a PDF, and many have a dedicated Export option. What matters is choosing the right method for the source, because the method affects whether links survive, whether the text is searchable, how big the file is, and how the pages look. This guide covers seven ways to create a PDF and helps you choose between them.

The quick answer

1. From Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Pages or Google Docs: use Save As or Export, and choose PDF.
2. From any other app: choose Print, then Save as PDF (or Microsoft Print to PDF).
3. From photos or images: use an images-to-PDF tool and arrange the pages.
4. From paper: scan it with a scanner or a phone app and save as PDF.
5. From a web page: Print, then Save as PDF.

Seven ways, compared

1. Export or Save As PDF (the best default)

If you wrote the document in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Pages or Google Docs, use Save As or Export and choose PDF. This route keeps the text as real text, so the PDF is searchable, links stay clickable, and headings can become bookmarks and structure if you turn the options on. Before exporting, accept or reject tracked changes, update the table of contents and other fields, and look at the document in print layout. The PDF is a snapshot of what you see at that moment, so any problem you leave in will be preserved. Our guide to Word to PDF formatting issues and fixes lists the checks.

2. Print to PDF

When a program has no Export option, choose Print and pick Save as PDF, or on Windows Microsoft Print to PDF, as the printer. This works for web pages, emails, spreadsheets and many other things. The PDF looks like the printout, which is exactly the advantage and the limitation: you get faithful pages, but links, bookmarks and structure are often lost because the program draws pages instead of describing them. Use it when export is not available, and check the preview for awkward page breaks.

3. Images to PDF

Photos, screenshots and drawings can be combined into one PDF with an images-to-PDF tool. Prepare the images first: rotate them upright, crop away borders, and resize extremely large photos, since the PDF will be about as big as the images inside it. Name the files in the order you want the pages, upload them, check the page order, and download. The result is pictures on pages, so it is not searchable until you run OCR. Our guide to converting images to PDF covers the details.

4. Scan to PDF

A scanner or a phone camera app can save paper documents as PDF. The quality of the scan decides everything that follows. Scan at about 300 DPI for normal text, in greyscale or black and white unless colour matters, keep pages straight and evenly lit, and check the first page at full size before scanning a stack. A scan is a picture of a page, so run text recognition if you need to search or copy the text.

5. Web pages and emails

To keep an article, a receipt or a confirmation, open it, choose Print and save as PDF. Look at the preview before saving: long pages can split awkwardly, and some sites change their layout for printing or hide parts of the page. If the layout looks poor, try a reading or print-friendly view first, or save only the part you need.

6. Converters

When your file is in a format that has no PDF export, a converter can produce one. Results are usually clean for documents and images, and less predictable for unusual formats. Always check the output, and keep the original file in case you need to try again.

7. Combining PDFs you already have

Sometimes you do not create a PDF so much as assemble one. Merge several PDFs into one packet, split a long one into parts, or extract pages. These operations copy pages as they are, so quality is unchanged. Use how to merge PDF files for the steps, and compress the result if it is too big to send.

Quality checks for any new PDF

• Page count and order: does it match what you expect?
• Fonts and layout: scroll through every page at full size.
• Links: click a few, if the document has any.
• Searchability: can you select and search a word?
• File size: is it small enough for where it is going?
• Accessibility: do headings, lists and image descriptions carry through? See PDF accessibility basics.

A worked example: a CV from Word to PDF

You finish your CV in Word and want to send it as a PDF. You accept all changes, check the page count, and choose Export, ticking the option that keeps document structure. You open the PDF, select a sentence to confirm the text is real, click your email link, and check the file size, which is under 200KB. You name it with your surname and the word CV, and keep the Word file as the master. Had you taken photographs of the pages instead, the file would have been large, unsearchable and unreadable by many applicant systems.

Making the PDF small and sharp

• Choose the standard or high-quality option for documents that will be printed, and the smaller-size option for email and the web.
• Resize photos before you insert them in a document; a huge photo is the usual cause of a huge PDF.
• Use common fonts, or turn on font embedding, so the PDF looks the same on every device.
• Check the page size, such as A4 or Letter, before you export, since it decides the shape of every page.
• If the finished file is too big, compress it and check small print afterwards.

Naming and keeping your PDFs organised

A PDF you cannot find is no use, so give files names that say what they are and which version they are, such as Invoice-1042-October.pdf, rather than Document1.pdf. Keep the original source file next to the PDF, because the PDF is a finished copy and the source is where changes belong. If the PDF contains personal or financial information, protect it with a password before sharing and keep copies somewhere secure. A small amount of order at the start prevents the usual confusion of final, final2 and really-final.

Common problems when creating a PDF

• Links do not work: you probably used Print to PDF; use Export instead, or recreate the links.
• Fonts look different: a font was missing or not embedded; install it or choose a common font.
• Content is cut off: check the page size and margins before exporting.
• Blank pages appear: look for stray page breaks or empty paragraphs at the end of sections.
• The file is not searchable: it was made from images; run OCR to add a text layer.

A short checklist

1. Pick the method from the flowchart.
2. Prepare the source: update fields, rotate and crop images, scan straight.
3. Create the PDF, then check the pages, fonts, links and size.
4. Add OCR if the PDF is made of pictures and must be searchable.
5. Keep the original source file.