Posted by the editor on December 06th, 2009

If you ever wanted to write an ebook/report or just needed to send someone a document in a format that could be opened on any computer (whether it has Mac, Linux or Windows installed), you might’ve found out that the most common file format for this is PDF, which can be opened and read with Adobe Reader, a free utility.

There’s only one little problem: you can’t create PDF files.

Not for free, anyway. You’d have to pay at least $99 for a program that would allow you to write, save and edit your text in PDF format (I am talking about NitroPDF). Adobe’s own solution, called “Adobe Acrobat” is much more expensive at $450 (though you could buy a cheaper older or used license from Amazon or other online software store) and provides a few additional features not available in other software.

But, unless you are a seasoned writer and will use the program’s advanced functionality in your work on a daily basis, it would be a waste of money to buy such a tool.

So, what is the solution?

Google Docs! You might’ve heard or read about it on the Internet, as it became quite popular since it launched. It is basically a free alternative to Word or Acrobat that can also store your files online on Google’s servers so you can access and edit them anytime, anywhere, from any computer.

The interface is still pretty basic (much like Wordpad or Notepad for Windows), but it allows you to do all the formatting you need and, best of all, save and download your file in a variety of popular formats, including PDF.

To do that, you’ll need a Google account which you can get for free at http://google.com . It will allow you to access all of Google’s services, which include Calendar, Reader (RSS feeds aggregator), Gmail (email client), and other useful tools.

Once you have it you can go to http://docs.google.com and either write or copy and paste your text and images directly in Google’s editor or click “Upload” (located in the top left corner) and upload the file you want to convert into PDF. When it’s complete, click on the file name and it should open.

You will have to edit it a bit in the Google editor, as it will lose some formatting (like line breaks and bold text; links don’t seem to be affected), then either save or download it as PDF (or any other format) by clicking “File->Download As” in the top left corner.

That should start the download and you should be able to save, open and share your new PDF file.

You can use Google Docs to write ebooks and reports for sale or for any other purpose, and you would never notice the difference between a file created with Docs or with Acrobat or any other paid solution.

Now you know how to create files in Adobe’s PDF format without having to pay anything for specialized software. Check and try it out, I’m sure you will like it!