Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF)

What is PDF?

PDF is a file format that retains a document's true formatting across platforms and is useful for documents with complex formatting such as newsletters or financial statements. PDF files can be viewed and printed exactly as the author intended using a free PDF file reader.

Download a free PDF file viewer

Without a PDF file viewer, you will not be able to view or print PDF files. Many web browsers do not already have a PDF file viewer installed.

• Download Acrobat Reader
• For a non-Adobe PDF viewer, download Ghostscript
• For Unix, download Xpdf

PDFs and accessibility

PDF files are not accessible to many users that rely on screen readers. While Adobe Acrobat Standard or Professional offers the ability to create accessible PDF files, it requires that the document contain real text and is marked up for accessibility. To view the accessible file the user must have Acrobat Reader.

For PDF files that are not accessible, Adobe offers an online PDF conversion to HTML.

For more information about PDFs and accessibility, see the links below:

• Acrobat PDF accessibility
• Acrobat solutions for accessibility

For additional support, contact the K-State Student Access Center

Creating PDFs

Although Adobe's free Acrobat Reader can be used to view PDF files,you cannot create PDF files with Acrobat Reader, Ghostscript, or Xpdf.