5 Easy Ways to Save and Download a PDF File

This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido and by wikiHow staff writer, Darlene Antonelli, MA. Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.

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Is there a PDF that you found that you want to save? Luckily, you're easily able to save PDFs that you find online. If the information isn't already a PDF, you can simply save it as a PDF for later viewing. This wikiHow article teaches you how to save a PDF as well as how to save a file as a PDF in Windows, Mac, and other Office applications.

Method 1 of 5:

Saving a PDF in a Web Browser

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Click Save (if prompted). If your browser automatically downloaded your PDF, you can normally find it in your Downloads folder. Using the file manager, you can choose where to save the PDF.

Advertisement Method 2 of 5:

In Windows 10

Step 1 Open a document.

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\n"> Open a document. Open the document, file, or web page that you'd like to save in PDF format.

Step 2 Click on File.

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\n"> Click on File . It's in the menu bar at the top-left of your screen.

Step 3 Click on Print….

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\n"> Click on Print… . It's near the bottom of the drop-down menu.

Step 4 Double-click on Microsoft Print To PDF.

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Double-click on Microsoft Print To PDF . [1] X Trustworthy Source US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau U.S. government agency for protecting consumers in the financial sector Go to source

Step 5 Name the file.

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Name the file. Do so in the "File Name:" field near the bottom of the dialog box that opens. [2] X Expert Source

Step 6 Select a location in which to save the file.

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Select a location in which to save the file. [3] X Expert Source

Step 7 Click on Save.

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Click on Save . It's the lower-right corner of the dialog box. The document will be saved as a PDF file in the location you specified. [4] X Trustworthy Source US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau U.S. government agency for protecting consumers in the financial sector Go to source

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In Mac OS X

Step 1 Open a document.

Fair Use (screenshot)
\n"> Open a document. Open the document, file, or web page that you'd like to save in PDF format.

Step 2 Click on File.

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\n"> Click on File . It's in the menu bar at the top-left of your screen. [5] X Research source

Step 3 Click on Print….

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\n"> Click on Print… . It's near the bottom of the drop-down menu. [6] X Research source

Step 4 Click on PDF.

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Step 5 Click on Save as PDF….

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\n"> Click on Save as PDF… . It's near the top of the pop-up menu.

Step 6 Name the file.

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\n"> Name the file. Do so in the "Save As:" field at the top of the dialog box.

Step 7 Select a location.

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Select a location. Use the drop-down menu below the "Save As:" field or choose a location from the "Favorites" section on the left side of the dialog box.

Step 8 Click on Save.

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Click on Save . It's the lower-right corner of the dialog box. The document will be saved as a PDF file in the location you specified.

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Using Microsoft Office Applications

Step 1 Open a Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document.

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Open a Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document. This works for both computers and mobile phones and tablets.

Step 2 Click on File.

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\n"> Click on File . It's in the menu bar at the top-left of your screen.

Step 3 Click on Save As….

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Step 4 <a href=Click on the File Format: drop-down menu." width="460" height="345" />

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Click on the File Format: drop-down menu. [9] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

Step 5 Click on PDF.

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Click on PDF . In newer versions of Office, it will be listed in the "Export Formats" section of the menu. [10] X Research source

Step 6 Enter a name for the document in the

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Enter a name for the document in the "Export As:" field. [11] X Expert Source

Step 7 Select a location in which to save the document.

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\n"> Select a location in which to save the document.

Step 8 Click on Save.

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Click on Save . It's the lower-right corner of the dialog box. The document will be saved as a PDF file in the location you specified.

Advertisement Method 5 of 5:

Saving a Webpage as a PDF in a Web Browser

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Expert Q&A

Can I split a PDF into multiple documents? Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist

Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

Computer & Tech Specialist Expert Answer

You'll need a free PDF printer. What you would do is open up the page you want and proceed as if you're going to print the pages you'd like to split to your printer. Instead of selecting your physical printer, select your PDF printer. The PDF printer will take those pages and create a new PDF with a new file name. Type in the file name and save where you want to save it.

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How do I send a “read only” pdf to an email recipient? wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer

This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor Staff Answer

Open it in Adobe Acrobat, go to ''File > Properties > Security'' and choose "Password Security." From there, select "Restrict editing and printing of the document" and enter a password. Then click "Ok" and re-enter your password. Save the file and close it. Then you can email your read-only PDF and only those with the password will be able to edit or print it!

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Thank you for your feedback.
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If I make a pdf file on my printer will this be saved in a folder on my computer. wikiHow Staff Editor
Staff Answer

This answer was written by one of our trained team of researchers who validated it for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

wikiHow Staff Editor Staff Answer

If you choose "Save as PDF" from the print dialog (when you press Ctrl/Cmd + P), yes, the PDF will save to your computer.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

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