If you want to make the occasional PDF file but you can't justify the rather expensive Adobe Acrobat Professional product that gives you the capability, there are other ways that don't cost any money at all.

First download and install the Ghostscript and GSview products from the Ghostscript download page. Ghostscript is an open software workalike for Adobe's proprietary PostScript page description language (PDL).

Now using the printer setup panel, install a suitable PostScript printer that includes color capability and has a resolution of at least 600 dpi. The Apple Color LW 12/660 is a good choice. As you go through the print setup wizard, select the option that says you always want to print to a file rather than a physical printer. Give the printer a name like "Make PostScript File" or some such.

Then when you have a document or window of any sort that you would like to turn into a PDF file, print it using the Ctrl-P key sequence and when the print dialog appears, choose Make PostScript File or whatever you called your printer. You will be prompted for a file name; call it yourchosenname.ps. This creates a PostScript file that can be sent to a real PostScript printer or viewed with GSview. When you installed GSview it will have captured the association for the .PS extension so you should be able to simple double-click your PostScript file and have it launch the GSview program with your document displayed. You'll probably have to click past the registration notice but there is no need for you to register GSview for non-commercial home use.

Assuming your document looks okay in GSview, select File/Convert from the menu and choose pdfwrite in the output list. This will create a PDF document from your PostScript file. The PDF file is much smaller than the PostScript file and can be emailed to friends without worrying about viruses or the possibility that someone will modify your document and pass it off as their own.

If you use ABC+ notation to create music scores, you probably already use the abcm2ps program to create PostScript files from your ABC source file. Using GSview, you can turn your score into a PDF file for sharing with friends or placing on a Web site.

Since the Adobe Acrobat Reader is free to everyone, there is no expense in sharing documents and music this way.

      - Mark