Adobe Portable document format
File type: Document file, E-book file
A pdf file extension is mainly used for Adobe Portable document format, commonly referred to as PDF. All programs that create some sort of documents or projects offer the possibility to export their format to PDF format. A free PDF viewer (Adobe Reader) is available for download from Adobe website.
Found 2 different file type records with the same pdf filename suffix.
File type category:
Document file
E-book file
Date updated: July 19, 2025
PDF files are primarily associated with Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (PDF) files. There are very few other file formats with the PDF file extension in our list, and it is not an exaggeration to say that 99,99% of PDFs found on the Internet are Adobe Portable documents.
The Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format developed by Adobe Systems that represents two-dimensional documents in a device-independent and resolution-independent format. PDF documents contain a complete description of a 2D document (and, with Acrobat 3D, embedded 3D documents), including the text, fonts, images, and vector graphics in 2D.
The PDF format does not encode information that is specific to the application software, hardware, or operating system that was used to create or view the document. A valid PDF will render the same regardless of its origin or destination (depending on font availability).
Without paying royalties to Adobe Systems, anyone may create applications that read and write PDF files. However, Adobe has several patents relating to the PDF format and claims it is an open standard. Therefore, Adobe has licensed these patents royalty-free to develop software based on its PDF specification.
Even though the PDF format can be used to describe single-page documents, it can also be used to describe many-page, complex documents containing a variety of fonts, graphics, colors, and images.
PDF readers for many platforms are available, such as Xpdf, Foxit, and Adobe's own Adobe Acrobat Reader. PDF readers/viewers or online services for basic functions are generally free.
There are many software options available for creating PDFs, including the PDF printing capability built into Mac OS X, OpenOffice, numerous PDF print drivers for Microsoft Windows, and Adobe Acrobat itself. There is also specialized software for editing PDF files.
MIME types used for PDF file type:
application/pdf
application/x-pdf
application/acrobat
applications/vnd.pdf
text/pdf
text/x-pdf
application/x-bzpdf
application/x-gzpdf
PDF is a very common document format and thus is supported by all productivity software. A free viewer from Adobe is also available to open pdf files, its unable to edit them though.
Conversion of this file to another text/graphic file format is possible. Still, it has some limitations based on content/security permissions in the document and features of the application that you use to convert PDF documents into another file format.
Many applications can export their documents to PDF.
You can also create PDFs from any application that can print using any virtual PDF printer software available on the Internet.
Adobe Acrobat Reader (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Acrobat (Microsoft Windows)
PDF Architect (Microsoft Windows)
Nitro Pro (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Illustrator (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Acrobat Reader for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Adobe Acrobat for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Adobe Illustrator for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Adobe Acrobat (Microsoft Windows)
PDF Architect (Microsoft Windows)
Nitro Pro (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Illustrator (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Acrobat for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Adobe Illustrator for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Adobe Acrobat Reader (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Acrobat (Microsoft Windows)
PDF Architect (Microsoft Windows)
Nitro Pro (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Illustrator (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Acrobat for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Adobe Illustrator for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Adobe Acrobat Reader (Microsoft Windows)
Microsoft Edge (Microsoft Windows)
Foxit Reader (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Acrobat Reader for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
iBooks for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Okular (Linux/Unix)
Evince (Linux/Unix)
Adobe Acrobat (Microsoft Windows)
PDF Architect (Microsoft Windows)
Nitro Pro (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Acrobat for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Adobe Acrobat (Microsoft Windows)
PDF Architect (Microsoft Windows)
Hamster Free eBook Converter (Microsoft Windows)
Calibre (Microsoft Windows)
Epubor Ultimate Converter (Microsoft Windows)
File Conversion Center (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Acrobat for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Calibre for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Epubor Ultimate Converter for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Calibre for Linux (Linux/Unix)
Nitro Pro (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe InDesign (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Illustrator (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe InDesign for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Adobe Illustrator for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Nitro Pro (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe InDesign (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Illustrator (Microsoft Windows)
Free XPS To PDF Converter (Microsoft Windows)
ReadWriteThink Timeline (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe InDesign for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Adobe Illustrator for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Advanced PDF Repair (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Acrobat Reader (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Acrobat (Microsoft Windows)
Nitro Pro (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Illustrator (Microsoft Windows)
Adobe Acrobat Reader for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Adobe Acrobat for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Adobe Illustrator for Mac (Apple macOS / Mac OS X)
Evince (Linux/Unix)
File type category:
Settings, options, themes or skins file
Date updated: June 24, 2022
File extension pdf is associated with the ArcView, a GIS software for Microsoft Windows operating system that allows users to view and edit GIS data.
This type of pdf files stores preference definitions.
These files probably are not meant to be opened directly.
This PDF file cannot be converted to anything else, it is not the standard PDF document.
ArcGIS for Desktop Basic (ArcView) (Microsoft Windows)
ArcGIS for Desktop Basic (ArcView) (Microsoft Windows)
ArcGIS for Desktop Basic (ArcView) (Microsoft Windows)
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