PDF and XPS

  PDF has many advantages. It is a special file between image and Microsoft Word. It means that you cannot change the layout, but still you can select and copy the words. Microsoft Word, which looks like slurry, is suitable to edit, but it is not suitable to store and share. You may find that the position of words and images will be different in different versions of Microsoft Word, although the file is the same. Sometimes, you will mistakenly press other keys, and then the whole layout will be changed.

  Adobe Reader, Foxit Reader, and XChange Viewer support Multilanguage of .pdf files. You do not have to worry the encoding of PDF files. 

  Adobe Reader has more functions and image presentations, but the speed is slowest. Besides, it require Internet connection in order to read some PDF files. Finally,  Adobe Reader cannot save data of PDF forms.

  The speed of Foxit Reader is fastest. However, it may have to install other character sets online when lacking corresponding characters. Besides, it has waterproof after saving data in PDF forms

  XChange Viewer is distinctive and lightweight. It has many useful functions and do not have limitations. You can down it at http://www.docu-track.com/downloads/users/
  
  It has two versions. You have to install the ordinary version. Unlike Adobe Reader and Foxit Reader, you can choose not to install the IE or Firefox plug-in. You can directly save the PDF files after clicking them instead of opening on your browser. As a result, you will not mistakenly close the windows. The portable version, which is called XChange Viewer - Portable, does not require installation. It is quite useful to use it on other computers. You can store this portable freeware in a flash drive and portable hard disk.
  
  You just need one PDF reader on your computer. CE recommends you to use XChange Viewer. You should uninstall Adobe Reader and Foxit Reader first, and then install XChange Viewer. Opening PDF on the browser is a terrible thing. You can choose not to install “Addin for Internet Explorer” or “Addin for Mozilla FireFox”. 

  Later, you have to spend much time changing back. Usually, you can press "Ctrl+Z" key. However, it cannot succeed every time. Similarly, it is a terrible experience when you print or show it to your clients. The space and paragraphs can be superposed or increased. Besides, it could cause errors without sake.

  You may not open .doc or .docx files again for the rest of your life. You may have thought of changing .doc or docx files to images, so that the layout will never be changed. It is a clever method. However, you have to generate many large images. In addition, you cannot select and copy the words insides, because they have become a portion of images. They look like paper money. 

  In this case, PDF is created to solve this problem. The creator is not God but Adobe. The layout is fixed and cannot be changed. However, the words are embossing. The effect is almost like a coin. As a result, you can still select and copy the words inside. 

  There are two ways to create PDF file: Convert to PDF and Print to PDF.

  Convert to PDF: It supports hyperlink, bookmark and email address. The disadvantage is that it cannot exactly covert complex tables.

  Print to PDF: Use a virtual printer to print files to PDF. It supports complex tables, just like printing paper. Definitely, you can click nothing inside. Hyperlink, bookmark and email address cannot be supported. As a result, the file size is smaller.

  To create PDF files free, you can use OpenOffice and PrimoPDF. OpenOffice is suitable to convert files to PDF format. You have to copy or insert contents in it first and then export to PDF.  PrimoPDF is a virtual printer. It is suitable to print files into PDF format directly. Note that it requires .NET Framework 2.0 and its SP2. You can check your computer: C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework. If it does not contain a folder named v2.0.50727, or you cannot see the Microsoft.NET folder on C:\WINDOWS, you have to go to Microsoft Download Center to download and install them.
 
  [File]--[Print], select the PrimoPDF virtual printer, and then you can print to PDF files. A virtual printer is not a real printer. It just prints files into electronic files. PDF and XPS are typical examples. If you need to print PDF or XPS files into paper, you have to open PDF files with PDF Reader or open XPS files with XPS Viewer first. [File]--[Print] and then select a real printer. 

  You can directly export to PDF by using OpenOffice. Export to PDF is an optimized way to convert to PDF. Microsoft Office 2007 can also export to PDF, but you have to download the add-in called SaveASPDFandXPS.exe. 
  
  Go to Microsoft Download Center and then search by publish. Note that this function can only support Office 2007. You cannot add this add-in into the old versions of Microsoft Office.
  
  You can export Microsoft Word to OpenOffice first if you use Word 2003 or older versions and want to export to PDF. Definitely, this plug-in cannot be perfect. Many formats will be lost. You have to edit the formats later. Fortunately, the contents cannot be lost. Finally, you can use OpenOffice to export the file to PDF.


  XPS is also a coin. The different is that PDF is fifty cents while XPS is one dollar. XPS is more excellent than PDF. It has the property of fixed layout and supports XML. A XML file is a product between Windows Notepad and a database. As a result, XML is widely used to define data. You can use some professional software to extract data from XPS files. However, you can neglect this function if you are not a smug expert. You can directly open it and find the data by your eyes. If the file has many words inside, you can find them like most files, such as Microsoft Word, Windows Notepad, and Web pages: [Edit]--[Find] or "Ctrl+F".

  The most important thing is that you can completely recover this kind of files once they are mistakenly deleted, or your hard disk is broken. At present, XPS is the strongest file. Its structure is much more precise and secure than other files.

  For the same contents, the file size of XPS is always larger than PDF, because of the XML tags. The tags of XML, just like guideposts, define the contents as data. As a result, computers do not recognize them as ordinary characters. Character with XML tags are data. 

  Convert to XPS: It supports hyperlink, bookmark and email address. The disadvantage is that it cannot exactly covert complex tables. You need to use Microsoft Office 2007. Microsoft Office 2007 also has this function, but you have to download the add-in called SaveASPDFandXPS.exe. Go to Microsoft Download Center  and then search by publish. Note that this function can only support Office 2007. You cannot add this add-in into the old versions of Microsoft Office.

  Print to XPS: It does not support hyperlink, bookmark and email address. However, it can display complex tables. Besides, the file size is smaller. The virtual printer is free at all. You can directly go to Microsoft Download Center and search by XPS Essentials Pack. Its full name is Microsoft XML Paper Specification Essentials Pack. After installation, you can print any file into XPS: [File]--[Print], and then select [Microsoft XPS Document Writer].
 
  You should download this software first. Go to Microsoft Download Center and then search by msxml. It helps the operating system to analyze XML files. Install this software first.

  Then, download xps essentials pack and install it. 

  [File]--[Print] and then select the XPS virtual printer.

  At present, little printers supports XPS. It means that you cannot directly print it into paper. However, three years later, this problem will be fully solved. Microsoft will induce and threaten all printer manufacturers.


  layout: You can simply think that layout is the surface. You can directly see the result. For a word file, layout consists of font color, size, lien-height, space of letter, space of words, align, font name, hyperlink, background color, word wrap and so forth. For an image, layout consist of consists of foreground color, background color, line, pixel, size, resolution, gray scale, shadow, three-dimensions, distance, facula, transparency and so forth. 

  Structure: You cannot see the structure. You can simple know the structure through the format of a file. Mostly, structure represents the algorithm and elements, which are quite like mortar and bricks. Structure is used to edit and save files correctly. 

  For example, you can see the same contents of a .doc file and .odt file. It means that their layouts are the same. However, their structures are different. One is Microsoft; another is OpenOffice. The differences between PDF and XPS are the same. Similarly, two photos can look the same. However, one can be PNG while another is JPEG. Their structures are also distinct. In real life, the typical example is counterfeit money. Counterfeit money has the same layout of real money. However, its structure is much coarser. To distinguish paper money, you can buy a special key ring, which light can generate ultraviolet radiation. Usually, you do not have to worry about coins. Counterfeit money is not made from air. It still has cost. At present, little coin has the par value of one hundred dollars.