Portable Document Format has now been around for quite a few years. The popularity of PDFs soared higher after PDFs were declared an open standard in 2008 by International Organization for Standardisation (ISO). Since then, PDFs have been used extensively used in all kinds of documentation.
There are different file formats present in the market today like Word, XPS, PostScript, HTML, XML, and many more. While PostScript was also developed by Adobe, PDF still remains the most popular file format. XPS can be considered an alternative to PDF because of its similar interface. There are many reasons why PDFs win the race over other file formats. PDFs are very flexible, it is easy to convert PDF to Word or any other file format.
Let us explore more about the features of PDFs to understand why they are better than other file formats and are widely used in different fields like medical, education, law, and many more.
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Portability
As the name suggests, PDFs are highly portable which means you can share PDFs across different platforms without worrying about dependencies.
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Reliability
PDFs are highly reliable in terms of their data presentation. The data in the file will be presented exactly as it was created, no matter where you are trying to view it.
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Security
PDFs can be password protected and passwords can be accessed only by a few authorized people.
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Compatibility
PDFs are universally compatible, i.e., a PDF file can be viewed on any browser and operating system without any hassle.
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Compression
PDFs can be compressed easily by decreasing their quality. The smaller file takes up less space in the memory and can be easily shared across any platform.
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Version Independence
PDFs do not require any particular version to open and view their content. Since PDFs are universally compatible, one can view them on any platform. You can even edit PDF without worrying about the version dependency.
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Professional Appeal
PDFs have a specific professional appeal to them because they are highly reliable and data is presented in the same way it was created.
Conclusion
No matter how many file formats come and go, nothing can match the versatility of a PDF file format. Over the years, PDFs have proven that they are here to stay for a long period. With an amazing set of features and easy adaptability, PDFs have maintained the number one spot in the race of best file formats.
