What is PDF and what are its types?

We know that recently online systems have gained a lot of significance. So it is better to know some sites that aim to facilitate the users in many ways. Online jobs, online education, online shopping, and other online work have surrounded the system. And during work or studies, we have to operate electronic devices, various applications, and software. It is good to keep yourself updated and have knowledge about different sites that can save your time and effort.

Portable document format (PDF)

PDF or portable document format represents a document in such a file format that is independent of any kind of software, hardware, or operating system. This format has gained a lot of attention due to its wide range of advantages. Anyone can view this format without any application, software, or site. The format of the sender’s written document doesn’t change when the receiver views it. PDF is now used in all formal and international platforms for exchanging documents and information.

This file format was created by Adobe. In 2008, Adobe handed over the authority of PDF development to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). There are various updated versions of PDF introduced by ISO.

Types of PDF

The step of the creation of PDF file format is very critical because there are numerous ways to do it. It depends on whether the file content can be edited or the content can be accessed or searched. Based on how a file is created, PDF documents are divided into three different types.

  1. Digitally created PDF
  2. Scanned PDF
  3. Searchable PDF

Digitally Created PDF

A digitally created PDF is created using software such as Microsoft, Word, or Excel. There is a print function in the software that contains options to create a PDF. This automatically designates characters along with the characters in the text. Such PDFs allow searches and the content is editable whether text or image just like other software.

Scanned PDF

Scanned PDFs are created by scanning a hard copy document. When an image is converted into a PDF by scanning the image, then this PDF cannot be searched. Also, there is no way of editing or modifying such PDFs. The PDF can be made searchable by adding a text layer under the image.

Searchable PDF

Searchable PDFs are usually created through OCR (Optical Character Recognition). This is carried out with a text recognition process. This analyzes the content of the document. This process aims to make the document searchable by adding a text layer to the image. In such documents, the content can be selected or copied.

PDF to Word Converter

Just like word documents can be converted to PDF, PDF can be converted to word documents. There are several sites available that provide PDF to Word Converters. All it requires is to upload a PDF that you want to be converted. Some application software is also available that performs this conversion but it is better to use PDF to Word Conversion. It is because applications need to be installed and also require space in the device.

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