Creating OS X PDFs without Acrobat

["Pete Giansante" <***>]

Hi Tim:
I'm a newbie to the list (referred by Judith Rosen). I'm still in the
process of reviewing the archives, and I just found your response to the
inquiry by John M <***> re. creating PDFs.

You seem to have covered the options for Windows users. I'll add that for
any subscribers who use Mac OS X, the system has a built-in PDF engine. In
my experience, not all OS X users are aware of that capability. To create a
PDF in OS X 10.2.x, select Print from File menu, look for the PDF icon at
the bottom of the print window, and click it to save the file as a PDF. (In
earlier versions of OS X, select "Save as PDF".)

If your document will fit entirely within the viewable window on your screen
(and still remain legible), you can immediately save it as a PDF by taking a
screen shot. Size the window to get the view you want, type
"Command-Shift-4" (no quotation marks), place the cursor cross-hairs over
the window you want to shoot and press the space bar. The entire window will
highlight, and the cursor changes to a camera. Single-click with the mouse
and you'll hear the shutter-click that indicates you've captured the screen
shot.

If you want to repeat the process for more pages, scroll the window to the
new content, and repeat the process above. Each time you take a screen shot,
the file will be saved on your desktop as filename "Picture", "Picture 1",
"Picture 2", ... etc., depending on how many shots you take. The default
file format is ".pdf", which will open in OS X's Preview application, and of
course in any version of Acrobat Reader. The downside to that approach is
the multiplicity of files it creates. Use the first method via the Print
menu (described above) for multi-page documents; it creates a single file.

There are also PDF creation options in Preview, OS X's graphics reading
application, as well as in other Adobe applications like Photoshop Elements.
Additionally, you can find close to a dozen freeware or shareware
convert-to-PDF apps at the following URL:

          http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/index.shtml

Type "PDF" (no quotes) in the search field and you'll get three pages of stuff.

Hope that helps. I'll be happy to field any questions from fellow Rosenite
OS X users.

-- Pete