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I am looking to install a PDF writer so I can capture documents and save them to a customer file. Is there an Apple function for this or do I need to install a PDF program?
MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2012), OS X Yosemite (10.10.1)
Everything on OS X is PDF. You don't need any PDF writer. There are lots of option to save any documents in PDF.
This is a good example just to start.
Do I then just hit save or save as and store in a file?
Safari, Apple Mail, TextEdit, Numbers, Pages just to name a few, all of them have the "Export as PDF" in File menu.
You can also save a document as a PDF file from the Print dialog window.
Print the file, and select the PDF button in the lower left of the print dialog, then select "Save as PDF..."
Like Alberto Ravasio wrote, OS X contains an option to output anything you see as PDF.
See
Preview (Yosemite): Print PDFs and images
So for example, if you are doing research and see an article on Wikipedia that you want to save, you go to the File menu in Safari and select Export as PDF, give it a name, and a location on your drive. You can then open those documents with Preview or with Adobe Reader.
Similarly, if you use Pages or Numbers or Excel or Word, you can send the output to a PDF file, similar as if you were printing it. So no, you don't need a PDF writer.
I am looking to install a PDF writer so I can capture documents and save them to a customer file. Is there an Apple function for this or do I need to install a PDF program?
But if you are looking for screen scrapers or data collectors, that is something else.
This PDF ability in OS X is a major advantage the Mac has had over the years. It is often forgotten as to how well it really works and how flexible, along with Preview, it works.
Also see this Youtube video, it is a little older but you can still do the same thing with your PDF files as the presenter is doing with jpg images. He is using Preview.
It is pretty good, guy is calm presenter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnAT8fV4Hhw
The idea is that you would collect the contents of page(s) for example you found via the web, save them as PDF, edit the page(s) you don't need. And you do this within Preview, using it to open your PDF files.
Then, if you wanted to combine PDFs from several sources, follow the directions in the Youtube video above. It works, and it is all "free" as it is on your OS X already.
Can I install a PDF writer such as CutePDF on my Mac? Or, how do I create PDF files for saving in files?
