Microsoft's Free Save as PDF Add-in for Word and Office 2007

When you're distributing documents electronically, you can't count on the recipients having Word installed on their computers.

Also, many people don't like receiving Word documents, even if they do have Word installed on their machines. That's because Word documents can contain malicious macros.

So, the best way to distribute documents is in PDF format. Adobe Acrobat is the gold standard in PDF creation. But it carries a hefty price tag. If you only create PDF occasionally, you probably don't want to purchase Acrobat.

In that case, you can download Microsoft's free Save as PDF add-in for Office 2007. It allows you to create PDF documents in Word and six other Office applications. It also allows you to create XPS documents. XPS is Microsoft's flat file format. Since it doesn't have the widespread acceptance of PDF, I don't recommend distributing documents in XPS format.

After you download and install the add-in, follow these steps to create a PDF in Word:

1. Click the Office button

2. Click Print

3. In the Print dialog box, select PDF in the list of printer choices

4. Click Print

If you need greater control over your PDF documents, including the option to edit them, you should learn more about Adobe Acrobat.

The add-in works with Office XP.