Nowadays, it has become normal to conveniently send and receive documents, whether on the Internet or using flash drives. At times, it’s pretty easy to send a Microsoft Word file as it is, a PowerPoint, or even an Excel spreadsheet. Maybe you are also content with archiving or keeping your computer documents as they are for long-term storage.
The problem is, there are numerous situations where your intellectual property, confidential documents, and hard work could be breached, stolen, or copied easily if you leave them as they are. The solution? Save them in PDF. You likely know what a PDF is already, but a lot of people sometimes forget all the perks and benefits of choosing this format. That’s why in this post, we will tell you the five signs that you may need to start saving your computer documents as PDF. Let’s dive right in!
1. You Archive Files Regularly
The first sign why you may need to start saving in PDF is that you archive your computer files regularly. Archiving is simply making sure that you have a copy of your documents by saving them in a folder so you can get back to them whenever necessary.
Now, there may be four good reasons why you do this. First, is you save important outputs, writeups, and reports–perhaps because you are an artist, writer, or creative. Next, you might happen to be a digital packrat or one who likes to store reliable copies of your files because even though these may not be as precious, it gives you peace of mind that the files are always within reach. Third, you archive regularly for the safekeeping of your files at work. And lastly, you archive because you own a business and want to secure copies of your files and transactions. Whatever reasons you may have for archiving your documents regularly, converting them from PNG, Powerpoint, Word, or Excel to PDF will be a nifty way to start organizing them and making sure that you have spare copies backed up if you lose the original ones.
2. There Are Computer Files You Want to Keep Long Term
While there’s nothing wrong with saving a computer document as it is, attempting to keep it long-term would entail some risks through the years. Formats like MS Word might be more difficult to access in the future because such formats, from time to time, get newer versions or updates. There is a low chance that word processing software could go completely obsolete ten years from now, but would you risk not getting access to your precious documents over time?
Another thing to consider is that Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files among others can at times get corrupted. Because these file types need to remember tons of details in their format, they tend to be harder to fix. Once they’re corrupted, the file is broken or gone forever.
Thankfully, you can convert them to PDF or PDF/A for reliable long-term storage. If worse comes to worst that they do get corrupted, there are free online tools that can help you repair your PDF files to make them good as new. This is another benefit of PDFs that we shouldn’t take for granted.
3. Your Important Files Are Starting to Add Clutter
Don’t worry! This is normal. You can’t blame yourself for crunching hard at work, that you eventually realize how cluttered your computer files are. When you do have the time, try to slowly organize your files from your Desktop, Downloads folders, and every place else that needs decluttering.
Try to start a project on your computer by decluttering and organizing your files, and while doing so, convert the important ones to ready them for long-term storage. As you declutter and organize your files and PDFs, the trick is to always create folders of different categories and sub-categories. If you happen to save or download numerous files at a time, you may also add another sub-category folder indicating the date when the file or group of files was saved.
4. You Need the Extra Security
Your files can be enjoyed with the extra layer of security if you choose to convert them to PDF. PDFs are perfect for distributions and secure file-sharing since PDFs are harder to copy and paste compared to the original file format. When you send a document in PDF, you can be sure that the file that you created won’t be used for other purposes. As you know, when you send a document in other formats, there is the danger that it might be edited for things other than your intended purpose.
More importantly, you should save a copy in PDF so you can secure your confidential documents by adding a password to them. With a password, you can be more confident that creeping Charlies won’t easily breach your computer documents that have sensitive information.
5. You Often Access Your Files on Various Platforms
If you always need to access your files on the go or mobile devices, saving a PDF version is your best option. You might have already experienced that opening a Word file on your computer will look different when you access it on your phone. That’s because depending on your device, the word processor or file viewer will try to adjust and reposition the graphics, other elements, and texts based on what it thinks looks best on your device. The problem with this is that the appearance of a document will vary and be inconsistent. Most of the time, it’s not pleasing to look at. However, if you open it in PDF, whatever device you’re using, you will surely expect the same appearance. Zooming in and out will be a smoother experience without the unnecessary variations or changes in font or font sizes.
This is also a good reason why printing a PDF file will be more reliable than printing the original document, which is prone to format changes.
Takeaway
Did you tick off every box on this list? If so, be sure to check out PDFBear.com! It is a free and reliable online converter tool. The fun part about converting to PDF online is you no longer have to wait for your word processors or any software to load–especially if you have a slow computer and run on pretty limited RAM. All you’ll need is your web browser and a decent internet connection. With all the benefits of turning your documents into PDF, there’s just no excuse not to do it!