They can be viewed on almost all devices. PDF files aren’t typically created from scratch, but are usually converted, saved or ‘printed’ from other documents or images before sharing, publishing online or storing. It is maintained by the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO). The PDF format is now a standard open format that isn’t just available under Adobe Acrobat. The format has evolved to allow for editing and interactive elements like electronic signatures or buttons. It was developed by Adobe so people could share documents regardless of which device, operating system, or software they were using, while preserving the content and formatting. Both are free.PDF stands for ‘Portable Document Format’ file. I highly recommend SumatraPDF or MuPDF if you're after something a bit more. You may or may not need an add-on or extension to do it, but it's pretty handy to have one open automatically when you click a PDF link online. Most web browsers, like both Chrome and Firefox, can open PDFs themselves. It's completely fine to use, but I find it to be a somewhat bloated program with lots of features that you may never need or want to use. Adobe created the PDF standard and its program is certainly the most popular free PDF reader out there. Most people head right to Adobe Acrobat Reader when they need to open a PDF. PDF files always look identical on any device or operating system.

The reason PDF is so widely popular is that it can preserve original document formatting. The Portable Document Format (PDF) is a universal file format that comprises characteristics of both text documents and graphic images which makes it one of the most commonly used file types today.

Convert word doc to pdf online free