On the other hand, a document created in MS Word and opened using another system altogether will result in scrambled and garbled squiggles with strange icons and characters not encoded in the original document. Also, different word processing programs contain different fonts. Encoding with one processor and opening it in another processor system would make the whole document undecipherable. These problems can be avoided if the PDF file format is used.

In addition, PDF readers are available free of charge. You can download a reader within seconds. Even if your computing skills aren't up to scratch, you can still download, install and use a pdf reader with ease. There are some pretty fancy features in the latest acrobat distiller products,  however, these are only necessary if you are creating and sending official documents or are perhaps a graphic designer. You can even open and edit pdfs if you have the latest versions of distiller, which is a very great feature to have, since pdfs were previously un-editable and  unalterable. You can also insert sticky notes if you would like to make comments in certain areas of the document that can then be readable when you return the document to the author. And if you own a graphics tablet you can even handwrite your changes write onto the editable pdf. This particular feature comes in handy for clients using an advertising agency or for any business owner who requires changes to be made by an employee. Of course, if you don't want anyone to be able to make changes to your document, you can set the preferences accordingly when you first create a pdf, the choice is yours. The options available are quite user-friendly. If you are a beginner you can easily figure out how to create a pdf, and if you are a power user you can unleash a whole roster of unique, customizable options that can make your life a whole lot easier!

To read more articles by Tony Robinson, check out http://car-safety-info.com.