Hack 37 Convert Documents from Tools You Don't Own to PDF 
Even if you don't have the
document's authoring tool, you can often convert it
to a PDF file.
With the wide
variety of authoring tools people use, it is easy to find yourself
with a document you can't open and read. Here are
some freely available document viewers. Open your trouble document
and then print it to PDF.
4.7.1 Microsoft Office Viewers
Microsoft provides freely distributable, Windows-based
document viewers for its Office suite. Download the viewer you need
from:
- http://office.microsoft.com/assistance/preview.aspx?AssetID=HA010449811033
Install the viewer, open your document, and then print to Acrobat
Distiller. If you don't have Acrobat, use our GS Pdf
Printer [Hack #39], instead.
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OpenOffice (http://www.openoffice.org) is a free
authoring suite that can open a variety of file formats, including
Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It also includes a built-in
Export as PDF feature. Use it to convert your Microsoft Office files
to PDF.
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4.7.2 Corel WordPerfect Viewer
The Microsoft Word Viewer, referenced earlier, can also
open WordPerfect
files. You must first install the Microsoft Office Converter
Pack.
Download the Office 2003 Resource Kit
(ork.exe) from http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2003/tools/BoxA07.htm.
Install ork.exe, and it will unpack the
Microsoft Office Converter Pack installer
(oconvpck.exe). While
ork.exe does not run on Windows 98,
oconvpck.exe (which is really all we want) does.
Search your disk for oconvpck.exe and install
it.
After installing the Office Converter Pack, the Word Viewer Open
dialog still won't see WordPerfect WPD files.
You'll need to drag-and-drop, type the full name, or
change WPD file extensions to
DOC. This last choice could end up confusing
people down the road.
Once it's open, print the document to Acrobat
Distiller or the GS PDF Printer [Hack #39] .
4.7.3 Online Conversion
Adobe offers an
online service for creating PDFs
from your source documents. It accepts Microsoft Office and Corel
WordPerfect documents. It also accepts Adobe Illustrator, InDesign,
FrameMaker, PageMaker, and Photoshop files. Visit https://createpdf.adobe.com to learn
more.
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