How and Why to Create PDF Files
For the submission and review process of most conferences, you are asked to upload your contribution as a PDF file. This page explains why PDF is recommended and shows the easiest ways to create one.
You usually don't need any extra software. Almost every current program can save or "print" to PDF directly. The built-in options below are listed first; additional tools follow only in case you need them.
Table of Contents
1. Why use PDF for the review process?
2. The easy way: most programs already export PDF
3. Print to PDF (built into your operating system)
4. Additional tools
5. Tips for review-ready PDFs
1. Why use PDF for the Review Process?
Most editable formats can look different on the reviewer's screen than the author intended. If, for example, a Word file (DOC/DOCX) is used and author and reviewer have different software versions, different fonts installed, or different printer settings, the layout may shift or characters may be missing. The same can happen with RTF, ODT, LaTeX source and many other formats.
PDF (Portable Document Format) was designed to look the same everywhere. PDFs open in every modern web browser and operating system without any extra software. Submitting PDF as the only format for the review process is therefore usually the best choice.
Chairs, please note:
If you need to edit the accepted submissions for your proceedings, use the final version ("camera-ready copy") option of ConfTool and ask authors to submit the source file (e.g. the Word or LaTeX document) and the PDF.
2. The Easy Way: Most Programs Already Export PDF
Most word processors and editors can export a PDF directly. The exact wording differs slightly between programs:
| PROGRAM | HOW TO CREATE A PDF |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Word (2010 and newer, incl. Microsoft 365) | "File" → "Save As" (or "Export") → choose the file type PDF. |
| Google Docs | "File" → "Download" → "PDF Document (.pdf)". |
| LibreOffice / Apache OpenOffice | "File" → "Export As" → "Export as PDF…". |
| Apple Pages | "File" → "Export To" → "PDF…". |
| LaTeX | Compile your document with pdflatex (or use dvips followed by ps2pdf). |
3. Print to PDF (built into your operating system)
If your program has no PDF export, you can still create a PDF from any application that can print. Instead of a real printer, choose the built-in PDF option in the print dialog:
| SYSTEM | HOW TO PRINT TO PDF |
|---|---|
| Windows 10 / 11 | In the print dialog, select the printer "Microsoft Print to PDF". |
| macOS | In the print dialog, open the "PDF" menu in the lower-left corner and choose "Save as PDF". |
| Linux (GNOME / KDE) | In the print dialog, choose "Print to File" and select PDF as the output format. |
4. Additional Tools
The options above are sufficient for almost everyone. Should you still need a more flexible alternative, please have a look at the following tools:
- PDF printer drivers (Windows): Tools such as PDFCreator and 7-PDF Community Edition add a virtual PDF printer.
- CUPS-PDF (Linux): For the CUPS printing system, the CUPS-PDF printer driver is available.
- Online converters: Web services such as DocDroid or FreeConvert can convert documents to PDF in your browser.
Careful with online converters. Online tools upload your document to a third-party server. Please avoid them for unpublished or confidential papers, and prefer the built-in options above.
5. Tips for Review-Ready PDFs
- Embed your fonts. Missing fonts are the most common reason a PDF looks wrong on someone else's computer. Most "Save as PDF" and "Export" dialogs embed fonts automatically; with LaTeX, pdflatex normally does so as well.
- Do not password-protect or encrypt the file. Reviewers must be able to open and print it.
- Do not add annotations to your file. Such information might not be visible to reviewers.
- Check the finished PDF yourself before uploading: open it, verify that it displays correctly, and make sure it stays within the conference's file-size limit.
- For double-blind reviewing, remove author names from the text and from the document properties / metadata before exporting.
Good luck!