“Print to file” to create a PDF, but it’s Microsoft’s stupid alternative format. Can’t even remember its name, nobody used it.
Save as PDF
Submitted 7 hours ago by GreenDust@lemmings.world to [deleted]
https://lemmings.world/pictrs/image/bd5f4030-8c94-4c31-a94b-53703763cbe0.jpeg
Comments
InFerNo@lemmy.ml 27 minutes ago
NotSafeForWorld@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 minutes ago
Fucking xps format. Like almost everything Microslop had touched, it can burn in software hell
ChaoticNeutralCzech@feddit.org 1 hour ago
Similarly, Android has distinct “share” and “open with” menus but I mostly use the former as the latter.
OriginEnergySux@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Boomers made me hate PDF filea
bunchberry@lemmy.world 46 minutes ago
the world is run by PDF files
ivanafterall@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Did you used to love pdf files?
Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 7 hours ago
You’re not lying. You are printing it as a PDF. Your electronic buddy doesn’t see a difference.
SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 hours ago
Beyond that, also, what’s so hard about clicking on “Export As… > PDF” which is literally in the file menu on LibreOffice at the very least. I don’t know about MS Office, but I would assume it’s the same.
Zwiebel@feddit.org 6 hours ago
It can produce different results than print to pdf unfortunately
Railcar8095@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
I’m going to assume you’re on the younger side. That’s a relatively recent thing. For many many years we had to install PDF printers.
Also the PDF printer is generic, but the export has to implemented for each application individually.
unknown1234_5@kbin.earth 6 hours ago
oop probably meant from websites
TheRealKuni@piefed.social 6 hours ago
Kids today don’t realize how much “printing” to files your computer does.
mech@feddit.org 4 hours ago
Just tell them it’s like the Share button on their phone.
rainwall@piefed.social 6 hours ago
This is as much linguistic tomfoolery for humans as it is a con for computers.
I dont know the history, but the most likely case is some microsoft engineer implemented the “print as pdf” option to get around an adobe restriction in the far past, and now we have this weird convention where you “print” to only 1 filetype to “save” it.
someguy3@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
Someone else pointed out that printing to pdf was a universal solution no matter the program. Instead of each program having to make their own export option.
tomiant@piefed.social 5 hours ago
When you are saving it as a .txt file, you are printing it as a .txt file, the computer sees no difference.
Sanctus@anarchist.nexus 5 hours ago
Not how printing as pdf works but I appreciate the effort
jaybone@lemmy.zip 4 hours ago
I haven’t looked at the printer driver interface on various different operating systens, but I imagine programmatically you don’t write ACSII text directly to it, the way you would with file io calls. Though on Linux you have “lpr” where you can pipe text directly to the command. It’s possible a printer could natively support this, but clearly it would be a different interface to render anything more complex than ascii text.
Zwiebel@feddit.org 6 hours ago
Err you are handing the file off to a pdf converter programm that acts like a print driver. So yes you are lying to your text programm
lime@feddit.nu 5 hours ago
pdf is a container format for code parsed by printers. there are no lies, just a virtual printer.
TrickDacy@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
Until you realize that a PDF is literally just a format based around a standard set of instructions used to print documents.
tomiant@piefed.social 5 hours ago
It stands for Print Da File.
ivanafterall@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Print Deeznuts Fuckyou
AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net 1 hour ago
Next time someone asks me what PDF stands for, this is what I will tell them
(I’m reflecting on how many times I’ve been asked what PDF stands for, because my comment would suggest it is a thing that happens often.
Doofensmirtz_meme.jpeg: “if I had a nickel for every time someone asked me what PDF stood for, I’d have two nickels. — which isn’t much, but it’s weird that it happened twice”
I think I’m just most people’s token techy friend. Or more specifically, I’m the techy friend who also knows loads of random shit and really enjoys answering random questions)
rmuk@feddit.uk 3 hours ago
Potable Document Format. Retains formatting and safe to consume.
Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de 6 hours ago
Yeah, if you print to a printer what you’re most often doing is saving it as an Adobe PostScript file and sending that to the printer. PDF is similar, just with extra bells and whistles.
Hawke@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
Im not so sure. I bet more than half of the drivers out there produce PCL output, and there are a lot of printers that use other languages too like ZPL and a myriad of others.
anton@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 hours ago
To be fair, they added stuff to it, like selectable text on a scanned page.
tomiant@piefed.social 3 hours ago
I think it’s worse that it’s quicker to take a screenshot of an image online than going through the trouble of saving it.
sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works 5 hours ago
exports are subject to tariffs, only religious people can be saved. So printing is the secular, free trade choice.
someguy3@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
Printing, for the rest of us!
FudgyMcTubbs@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
I mean, it’s just common sense.
Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Tech muggle here.
Could we just get rid of PDFs and switch to word docs and spread sheets instead? I know this will likely cause a slurry of consequences, especially in professional circles, but have you considered: fuck it.?
K thx bye.
mghackerlady@leminal.space 1 hour ago
No please, microsoft already has a monopoly I’d much rather the standard be open
Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 54 minutes ago
Open Office? Libre Office?
AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net 1 hour ago
That’s sort of like saying “I’m overheating because my apartment is 32ᵒC, let’s turn on the heating and see how we feel once it’s 45ᵒC”
Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 55 minutes ago
Critical temperature = user friendly. TIL.
BartyDeCanter@lemmy.sdf.org 1 hour ago
What if I don’t want to spend several hundred dollars per year to use a proprietary program that doesn’t run on my computer just to look at some documents?
Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Open Office? Libre Office?
GreenDust@lemmings.world 1 hour ago
Those have different purposes. Word/Excel documents are meant to be editable so that anybody who opens the file is able to add to it, etc. A PDF is effectively the opposite. A PDF is generally meant to be an immutable document that looks the same in any program that you use to open the file.
Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 48 minutes ago
I mean, fucking with a PDF isn’t exactly arcane knowledge, even after it’s been signed. It’s just cumbersome and tedious and requires counterintuitive actions like pressing Ctrl+P instead of Ctrl+S.
If their purpose is to be secure, they’re shit at their job.
alternategait@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Excel sheets are rarely accessible to screen readers. Word documents are pretty good, but tedious if you’re just trying to like read something. PDF has the best accessibility support around (except HTML, but thats a whole other can of worms).
Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 53 minutes ago
Sounds like screen readers need some improvement.
AethiopeRoot@lemmy.zip 1 hour ago
Lol …accurate
BanMe@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
Who remembers printing to a Postscript file and then running that through Acrobat to get a PDF? Back in the 90s when PDFs had to be explained.
sheridan@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
I discovered on Macs, you can unlock a “protected” PDF this way. Just open the PDF in Safari, File > Print > Save as PDF. It outputs a PDF that’s identical, except it’s unlocked (it doesn’t get converted to a bunch of raster images).
WalrusDragonOnABike@reddthat.com 6 hours ago
Pretty sure that works on all OSes.
Pdf24 let’s you just mass import pdfs and unlock them without destroying things like bookmarks and the text. I’m sure there’s other similar options.
altkey@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 hours ago
One time nothing really worked I used a pikepdf python lib. Open file -> Guess pass -> Resave. I was surprised it’s that simple.
marcos@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
Writing that PDF into an USB device or into a new file are basically the same thing…
AA5B@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
Or alternatively, why don’t we run with that approach? So many things would benefit from “save to text”. A bit farther afield but why not save to image, save to html, etc.
Diddlydee@feddit.uk 6 hours ago
What? I just click export.
WalrusDragonOnABike@reddthat.com 5 hours ago
Sometimes people have things saved to Google drive with the setting to save disabled but allow printing. Which means you can just print to pdf. Only case where I can think of where printing to PDF is the easiest option.
AeonFelis@lemmy.world 9 minutes ago
Laughing in LaTeX