If you have a document on your Mac that you need to turn into a PDF, you’ll be pleased to hear that it’s a very simple process. The best part is that you don’t even need to download any software, as the feature is built right into macOS. So if you want to send a Word document but don’t want the recipient to change any details, creating a PDF version will only take a couple of minutes if you follow these simple steps.
How to convert a document to a PDF on a Mac
As mentioned above, macOS has the tools you need to create a PDF version of an existing file. Here’s how.
Open the file on your Mac.
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Before you can convert a file to a PDF, it must be open on your desktop, whether in Word, Pages, Safari, Preview, or another app.
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In the menu bar, select File > Printor press Command+P.
Click the drop-down arrow next to PDF
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At the bottom of the window, find PDF and click the down arrow next to it. You will see several options, including “Save as PDF.”
If you don’t see the PDF as shown above, you may need to click on the printer options or destination and you should see the “Save as PDF” option.
Select Save as PDF
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Now you have to choose Save as PDF.
Choose a name and location for the file
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Name the file and tell your Mac where to save it
Protect the file with a password (optional)
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If you want to protect the file with a password, click Security options
Enter password details (optional)
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Select the A password is required to open the document and enter the desired password. Now it cannot be opened without the correct password.
save file
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If you are satisfied, click Save and you should have a PDF version of the original file that you can send to colleagues or save for yourself.
That’s it. It’s that simple. You can use this technique for regular documents, web pages, images, and virtually any static file. If you want to do more with a PDF file, you should also check out our guides on how to edit a PDF on Mac.
This is the easiest way to create a PDF, but if you want to create a PDF with fillable forms, we recommend using one of the tools from our roundup of the best PDF editors for Mac.
You can accomplish the same feat on Apple mobile devices, as we explain in our tutorial “How to create a PDF file on the iPhone”.
