Free P D F Maker?

[jno]

is there a free alternative to Adobe? I can get PDFs from individual pages of text but I particularly need something with the ability to merge a lot of PDFs into one. It would be good if it handled Open Office text as well as Word.

[JimF]

Both Word and OpenOffice can save in PDF format. There are any number of free online websites where individual PDF files can be merged into a single PDF.

[Tuvok]

pdfescape

[jno]

thanks both. Any personal recommendations? (Or more important, I suppose, warnings?)

[Buenchico]

If you install doPDF, you'll be able to create pdf documents from any program that has a 'Print' option:
https://www.dopdf.com

All you need to do is to go to File > Print (NOT Save) and select doPDF as your (virtual) 'printer'. The program will then create a PDF document that mirrors the content of original file. (i.e. if your original file has 10 pages, you'll get a 10-page PDF document from the process).

However, although it would work perfectly with OpenOffice Writer, you simply don't need it. To obtain a PDF document from OpenOffice writer, simply go to File > Export as PDF. (Once again, the output will mirror the original document, with a 10-page Open Office file being converted to a 10-page PDF).

If you've already got lots of separate PDFs (e.g. as the results of scanning several documents), the simplest way to join them might be to use an online service, such as one of these:

https://www.foxitsoftware.com/merge-pdf/

https://smallpdf.com/merge-pdf

https://pdfjoiner.com/

https://www.sodapdf.com/pdf-merge/

However there are free apps that can do the job too, such as this one from the Microsoft store
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/pdf-merger-splitter-free-pdf-splitter-to-extract-pdf-and-combine-pdf/9p4tcns9h432
or this from the reputable SourceForge collection
https://sourceforge.net/projects/pdfsam/

[jno]

thank you too, Chris. I've had no problems with turning OO pages into PDFs, which I turned into a book on lulubooks, one PDF at a time. (There were design reasons for not combining them at the OO stage.) But lulu now require you to merge the lot into a single PDF before uploading to their website, hence my query. I got a free trial week of Adobe but their charges are enormous for something I might only use once or twice a year.

[Blubster]

I've used BullZip PDF printer for many years - it installs a printer driver that converts any text, graphic, or photo into a PDF file which can then be emailed to a third party, or the resultant PDF document can be printed out using a conventional printer.

[Buenchico]

Thank you too, Jno.

I've been looking for an alternative to Amazon's own-self-publishing route and you've just introduced me to Lulu books, so I'll take a look and see what they can offer.

[jno]

thanks, blubster.

Chris, I've found Lulu pretty straightforward and cheap. However, keep an eye out for their special offers - in particular the occasional offer of free postage.