How to Create a PDF File with OpenOffice

Last Updated: February 7, 2022

If you send somebody a file you created in OpenOffice, the person may have trouble opening the file if they haven't installed OpenOffice themselves. We'll show you how to make your OpenOffice files more compatible by saving them as PDFs.

Steps

1
Install OpenOffice.org.
2
Open OpenOffice.org Writer and create a document.

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3
Finish the document.
4
Click the File menu.
5
Click Export as PDF.
6
Name the file.
7
Click "Save". That's it; you have easily created a new PDF file.

Community Q&A

Question

What should I do if the steps still don't let me save a document as a PDF?

Community Answer

The best way is to download one of the free PDF creator programs from the Internet. I have used CutePDF with OpenOffice for years and it has been flawless. Once you download CutePDF to your computer, you create and save your OO document in the normal way. When you are ready to generate your PDF you click on the PRINT command as if you wanted to print a hard copy. This generates on your screen a list of the printers available to you -- except CutePDF is now on the list. Select it as your "printer" and in a moment you will be asked in which folder you want the PDF saved. Done! The program is elegantly simple.