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PDF

The PDF document format

PDF is the standard format for documents that must look the same everywhere. It is not an image format, but images go into PDFs and come out of them all the time.

ConvertPDF → JPGPDF → PNG

What it is

PDF, the Portable Document Format, was introduced by Adobe in 1993. It later became an open international standard (ISO 32000), so many companies and projects now make software that creates and reads PDFs.

A PDF describes fixed pages. Each page can contain text with embedded fonts, vector graphics, and images. Whatever device opens the file, the layout, line breaks and page size stay the same. That is why application portals, banks, schools and offices ask for PDFs.

A PDF made from photos is different from one made from a word processor. It contains pictures of pages, not text, so the words cannot be selected or searched unless text recognition has been applied separately.

Strengths

  • Identical everywhere. Layout and fonts do not change between computers, phones and printers.
  • Multiple pages in one file. Ideal for applications that need several documents together.
  • Print-ready. Page sizes such as A4 and US Letter are part of the file.
  • Universal reading support. Browsers, phones and computers open PDFs without extra software.

Weaknesses

  • Hard to edit. PDFs are made for distribution, not for changing content.
  • Size depends on the images inside. A PDF of full-resolution phone photos can be very large.
  • Not an image. Websites and forms that want a JPG will not accept a PDF instead.

When to use it

Use PDF when you need to send documents: certificates, receipts, signed forms, ID copies or several photographed pages as one file. For a single picture that will be shown on a website or in a gallery, an image format such as JPG is the right choice.

How to convert to and from PDF

  • Images to PDF: the image to PDF tool combines JPG, PNG, WebP, HEIC and other images into one PDF, one image per page. You can reorder pages, choose fit to image, A4 or US Letter page size, set the orientation and margins, and adjust the JPEG quality used for images inside the PDF.
  • PDF to JPG or PNG: the PDF to JPG tool renders each page as an image at 72, 150 or 300 DPI. You can download single pages or all of them as a ZIP. Password-protected PDFs are not supported. The PDF renderer (Mozilla pdf.js) is downloaded into your browser on first use.

Both tools work in your browser, so documents with personal information stay on your device. The guide to combining photos into a PDF covers photo tips, page size and keeping the PDF small.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make one PDF from several photos?

Add all the photos to the image to PDF tool, put them in the right order, choose A4 or US Letter, and download the PDF. Each photo becomes one page.

Why is my PDF made from photos so large?

The images inside are probably at full camera resolution. Resize the photos before combining them or lower the image quality setting in the tool. For an A4 page, about 1240 x 1754 pixels (150 DPI) is often enough for typed text.

Can I edit the text in a PDF with these tools?

No. The tools convert between images and PDF pages. Editing text inside a PDF requires a PDF editor.