OpenOffice -Creating a PDF

 Back to Main Index
Introduction

OpenOffice is a free office application that provides many similar features to Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It has the ability to open and edit Microsoft Office files.

One feature that sets OpenOffice apart from its Microsoft counterpart is the ability to create Adobe Acrobat PDF (Portable Document Format) files from Word Excel or PowerPoint files.

PDF files retain the formatting of the original document and can be read on any machine that has the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software installed. They are ideal for transmission by email or through a Web site.

OpenOffice can create PDF files without the need for additional software. It does not have the same amount of control over PDF files as the full-featured Adobe Acrobat application, but it doesn’t have the $600 price tag either.

This tutorial will outline the process of creating a PDF file from a Microsoft Word document, using the Writer component of OpenOffice.

Creating PDF files in OpenOffice

  1. Start the Open Office Writer application from the Start menu.

OpenOffice writer has more than a passing resemblance to Microsoft Word.
  1. Open the Microsoft Word document that is to be converted to PDF using the File4 Open menu command or the Open button on the toolbar.
  2. Make any formatting adjustments that may be necessary.

OpenOffice Writer generally retains all the formatting from the original Word document but it’s not perfect. Some correction may be necessary.

Creating the PDF document

There are two methods that can be used to create the PDF file.

To create a PDF file using the default settings:

  1. Click the Export Directly as PDF button on the toolbar.

The Save Dialog box will be displayed:

  1. Navigate to the folder where the new PDF file should be saved.
  2. Type the name for the new PDF file.
  3. Click the Save button.

The PDF document will be created without any further prompts.

Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the new PDF file. Open Office Writer cannot open native PDF files.

To create a PDF file with custom settings:

  1. Click File4 Export as PDF… from the menu bar.

The Save As dialog box is displayed.
  1. Type a filename for the new PDF document and nominate a folder where it will be saved.
  2. Click Save.

The following screen will be displayed:

The Page options are:

All Includes all the pages from the original document in the PDF file.
Range Can be used to enter a range of pages to be included in the new file.
For example 3-6;8;10 will include all the pages between 3 and 6 with pages 8 and 10.
Selection Includes only the text that has been highlighted in the original document.

The Compression options are:

Screen

 The screen option is best for documents that have few photos, which are to be viewed on a computer screen or via the Internet. This options results in the smallest file size although some loss of image quality can occur.

Print

 The Print option is a good compromise of file size and image quality. It results in larger file sizes, but the image quality is less degraded than the Screen option. The Print option is probably the best if the document is to be printed on a laser printer.

Press

The Press option results in the largest file size but produces the best quality image. This option should be used if file size is not an issue or for printing on commercial quality printers.
  1. Click Export to create the PDF file.
  2. Open the new PDF file in the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

The same procedures can be followed to create PDF files from Microsoft Excel or PowerPoint files using OpenOffice Spreadsheet or Presentation.
 

Back to Top                                            Back to Main Index