Law School Computing Services

PDF Printing

Many law school computers, including the computers in the room 222 computer lab and most student org systems have the ability to create PDF files from nearly any source. The steps to do so are:

1. Open the existing file that you would like to convert to PDF (for example, a Microsoft Word document or a web page).
2. Select “Print”. In the print options window that opens, select the printer named “PDFCreator” from the list of available printers, set other desired printing options (if any), and then press “OK”.
3. The following window will appear (the contents of the fields will vary - filling them in is optional and will not directly affect the content of the resulting PDF file):
   
   
   
   If you don’t want to have the PDF file automatically opened after it is created, clear the checkbox next to “After saving, open the document with the default program”. When ready, press “Save” to proceed to the next step.
   Note: On Law School computers the only buttons in this window that should be used are “Now” (either one), “Cancel”, or “Save”. For more information, see the Frequently Asked Questions section below.
4. A “Save as” window will appear. Select a file name and location and press “Save”. At this point a PDFCreator status window may appear briefly. If you checked the box next to “After saving, open the document with the default program”, then the new PDF file will be opened in that program; otherwise the process is complete.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What software is being used to create the PDF files?
  The software program being used is a free, open source project from SourceForge.net called PDFCreator.
• Can I install this ability to create PDF files on my laptop?
  Yes – the software is available for free download from http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfcreator/.
• Can I use a Law School computer to edit an existing PDF file or convert it to another format, such as a Word document?
  No. Performing advanced PDF operations like these requires software such as Adobe Acrobat Professional. Since Acrobat Professional must be licensed per computer (a site license is not available for it), it has only been installed as needed. If you need the advanced features of Acrobat Professional on a Law School computer, please contact .
• What do the “Now” buttons in the PDFCreator option window do?
  If you want to change the “Creation Date” or “Modify Date” field to the current date and time, you can use the corresponding “Now” button to do so.
• What do the “Waiting”, “Options” and “eMail” buttons in the PDFCreator option window do?
  
  • “Waiting” – This button displays a window of current documents waiting in the PDFCreator queue. Normally it should not need to be used.
  • “Options” – This lets you change the configuration settings for PDFCreator. Normally it should not need to be used.
  • “eMail” – If you press this button, PDFCreator will first ask you to save the file as if you had pressed the “Save” button. Once the file has been saved, it will open a new message in the default email program with the new PDF file attached. You should not use this button on Law School computers since they do not always have a default email program configured. However, if you have PDFCreator installed on your personal laptop, you can use this button in conjunction with your personal email program.