What is a PDF file?

PDF is the universal document format. Putting images into a PDF makes them easy to print, email as a single attachment and submit to forms that only accept PDF, such as job applications, visa and government portals.

Full name	Portable Document Format
File extensions	.pdf
MIME type	application/pdf
Introduced	1993
Compression	Depends on content
Transparency	n/a
Animation	No
Typical file size	Varies
Best for	sharing, printing and submitting documents that must look the same everywhere
Compatibility	Universal

How to open a PDF file

Windows

Opens in Edge by default; Adobe Acrobat Reader and other readers work too.

Mac

Opens in Preview, which can also sign, merge and annotate.

iPhone and iPad

Opens in Files and Books; Markup lets you sign it.

Android

Opens in Google Drive's PDF viewer or any PDF app.

If none of these work, convert the file to a more widely supported format with one of the tools below.

Convert other files to PDF

JPGPDFJPG to PDFPut JPG images into a PDF.PNGPDFPNG to PDFPut PNG images into a PDF.WEBPPDFWebP to PDFPut WebP images into a PDF.HEICPDFHEIC to PDFPut HEIC images into a PDF.AVIFPDFAVIF to PDFPut AVIF images into a PDF.GIFPDFGIF to PDFPut GIF images into a PDF.BMPPDFBMP to PDFPut BMP images into a PDF.SVGPDFSVG to PDFPut SVG images into a PDF.JFIFPDFJFIF to PDFPut JFIF images into a PDF.TIFFPDFTIFF to PDFPut TIFF images into a PDF.

Other tools for PDF files

EXIF ViewerCheck what a photo reveals: GPS location on a map, camera, lens, date, serial numbers…Metadata Remover (All Files)One tool for photos, PDFs, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and MP3 files.PDF Metadata RemoverDelete the author, title, creator software, dates and XMP data hidden inside your PDFs.PDF Metadata Viewer & EditorSee who created a PDF and with what software, then change or remove the title, author,…Merge PDFCombine multiple PDFs into a single document in the order you want.Split PDFSplit every page into its own PDF, split by page ranges or every N pages.

PDF metadata and privacy

PDFs store the author, title, creating application, producer and dates, and often an XMP metadata stream. View it with the PDF metadata viewer or remove it with the PDF metadata remover.

Remove metadata from PDF files · View and edit PDF metadata

PDF compared with other formats

JPG vs PDF: JPG is an image; PDF is a document that can hold images, text and many pages. Put photos in a PDF when a form asks for a document or you need to send several images as one file.

Frequently asked questions

What is a PDF file?

How do I open a PDF file on Windows?

Opens in Edge by default; Adobe Acrobat Reader and other readers work too.

How do I open a PDF file on a Mac?

Opens in Preview, which can also sign, merge and annotate.

Is PDF lossy or lossless?

PDF is lossless or uncompressed, so no detail is lost when saving.

Does PDF support transparency?

n/a. Use PNG or WebP if you need a transparent background.