Adobe’s InDesign is one of the most popular programs among designers and illustrators for creating anything from high-res drawings and images to designing pamphlets, catalogs, or even web pages. And as InDesign is a vector-based program, it allows for scaling of nearly any size, meaning you could save the same file both as a small image for a website and even as an extension that will allow for large billboard printing.
Although prints, websites, and other forms of media would call for a different file extension, one that could be easily manipulated, PDFs are a great solution if you simply want to share an image with a friend, or even send a project to a client for approval before finalization.
So, here are some ways you could export your current InDesign documents as PDFs, regardless of their purpose:
Exporting documents as PDFs
The simplest way to save any of your files made in InDesign as PDFs would be to export them to your computer directly through the program. Here’s how to do just that:
- If you haven’t already, load the file in question in the program first.
- From the menu bar at the beginning of the window, click on File, and then press on Export. A new Export window will now appear.
- Next, you could type in a name you’d like to give your file, and then select the ‘Adobe PDF (Print)’ option that’s located under the ‘Save as type’ segment. After that, just press Save.
- A new Export window will now show up, where you could set certain aspects such as the security aspects and the quality of your file. The simplest way of optimizing these aspects is to select one of the available options: Smallest File Size (best for sharing through messages), High-Quality Print (best for personal printing), or Press Quality (best for professional printing).
- Once you’ve finished making the necessary adjustments, just press Export if you wish to save your new file in the form of a PDF.
Exporting documents as PDFs for online use
If you’d like to save a file you previously made in InDesign in the form of a PDF that’s more suited to viewing online and on different digital services, you have the option of doing that as well. Here’s how:
- If you haven’t already, load the file in question in the program first.
- From the menu bar at the beginning of the window, click on File, and then press on Export. A new Export window will now appear.
- Next, you could type in a name you’d like to give your file, and then choose the ‘Adobe PDF (Interactive)’ option that’s located under the ‘Save as type’ segment. After that, just press Save.
- A new window will now shop up, called Export to Interactive PDF. Here, you could choose the page range you wish to include in the file, different scaling and compression options, as well as any necessary security adjustments.
- Once you’ve finished making the necessary adjustments, just press Export if you wish to save your new file in the form of a PDF.
And that’s it! Regardless of your desired use, any InDesign file can effortlessly be exported in the form of a PDF onto your device, giving you a range of different sharing and/or printing opportunities.
