The PDF extension is used by the page layout files created with Adobe Reader. Formerly known as Adobe Acrobat Reader, the software was developed and released by Adobe Systems as a tool for creating multi platform, fixed layout documents.

This format has now become a standard for sharing documents between different operating systems.

As one of its main purposes is cross-platform transfer, PDF Files are usually created from other documents of a different format. Converting other files into PDF ones can be easily done using one of the free online convertors. These files may include text, annotations, images, outlines, or forms. All these including formatting and font is preserved when the file is converted in order to offer precise cross platform sharing.

How to open and edit PDF Files

There are a lot of options for opening, creating and editing PDF files but the most popular one is Adobe Reader. The program is available free of charge on the official Adobe website. Additionally, any program that has the Adobe Acrobat plug-in can be used to view or create PDF documents.

PDFs can also be opened with any Web Browser that has the Adobe Reader plug-in and can also be viewed on mobile devices that have a program capable of opening PDFs installed.