Portable Document Format (PDF)

PDF (Portable Document Format) is a file format developed by Adobe Systems in 1993 for document exchange. It is now an open standard maintained by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). PDFs are used to present and exchange documents reliably, independent of software, hardware, or operating system.

A PDF file captures document text, fonts, images, and other information needed to display a document as it was intended. It also contains metadata that describes the structure of the document such as its title, author, subject and keywords.

PDFs are commonly used for professional documents such as reports, brochures and presentations. They are also used to store scanned documents such as invoices and contracts. PDFs can be viewed on any device with a PDF reader installed.

The main advantages of using PDFs are that they are compact and secure. They can be easily shared over the internet or via email without worrying about compatibility issues between different software applications or operating systems. The content of a PDF is also protected from being modified or copied without permission from the author.

PDFs can be created from any application that supports printing such as Microsoft Word or Adobe InDesign. They can also be created directly from scanners or digital cameras using special software such as Adobe Acrobat Pro DC or Nitro Pro 11. Once created, they can be edited using specialized software such as Adobe Acrobat Pro DC or Nitro Pro 11.

PDFs have become increasingly popular over the years due to their versatility and ease of use. They are now widely used in business settings for exchanging documents securely and reliably across different platforms and devices.