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Senior Computer Tutor
Don Edrington
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Basics of PDF and ZIP FilesUnlike traditional word processing documents that depend on a reader's having a compatible word processor and fonts matching those used in a file, PDF documents are embedded with everything needed to have the same appearance when opened in a Windows, Macintosh, Linux, or any other operating system environment. This is why most downloadable government forms are offered in a PDF format. It's also worth noting that nowadays many book publishers will only accept manuscripts in a PDF format. Adobe Acrobat can be rather pricey, but some free programs, such as OpenOffice and Google Docs, can create PDF files. One normally creates, say, a regular word processing or a spreadsheet document and then clicks on File>Export>PDF to convert the file. Thus, creating a PDF file is relatively easy; however, editing an existing PDF document usually requires Acrobat. Well, Acrobat can be downloaded from Adobe.com for a 30-day free trial. If you decide to buy the product, Amazon.com usually charges less than Adobe. Google lists a number of Web sites that claim to offer free PDF editing, but I have yet to find one I like. If you have found one, please let me know. ZIP Files
As for ZIP, the words "zip" and "unzip" have become synonyms for "compress" and "decompress," regarding digital files. Think of a compressed file as a dehydrated food that has had all its water removed to make it smaller and lighter for shipping and storage. Add water and it becomes useable again. Many downloadable programs have been zipped to speed up their transfer time, but they must be unzipped in order to be used. In the early days of PCs a program named WinZip was used to do these conversions, but all recent versions of Windows have a built-in unzipping utility. Double-clicking any file with a .ZIP extension should open it. If you want to zip a file, right-click it, choose Send To: New>Compressed (Zipped) Folder and follow the prompts. I prefer to use a free program named JZIP, which can be downloaded from Download.com. Copying compressed files to an external storage device is a great way to back up important documents. Also, be aware that zipping and unzipping files COPIES them as they are converted. The original documents always remain intact. Finding a Program's Version Number
Carol Kurth wrote to ask how she could tell what version of MSN Messenger she is using. Well, the version number of most programs can be found by clicking on Help, and then clicking About. Knowing an application's version number can be helpful in circumventing compatibility issues that can occur among various versions.
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