01 May in Infographics

[Infographic] The Evolution of PDF: A Brief History

Table of Contents

PDF Overview

If you’ve ever wondered how PDF came to be and who its brilliant inventor was (I know, riveting stuff), you need not to wonder anymore. We’ve done a whole bunch of research and have come up with an infographic that explains the history and evolution of PDF.

This infographic will demonstrate what a PDF is and how it came to be the king of file types in terms of compatibility and security (among other things). It will also offer a brief history on its inventor, John E. Warnock, and when and why he came up with PDF in the first place.

Who Uses PDF?

This infographic will also touch upon the different industries that use PDF on a regular basis to take care of business, and the key features a PDF software offers.

After all, PDF has come a long way since its origins, offering users a wide range of advanced functionality, including PDF editing, annotation, security features, and even electronic signatures.

In fact, PDF software such as Soda PDF are fully equipped with all these features, and much more. What’s great about Soda, though, is that it offers both a desktop version and a web app so you can literally work on your PDFs wherever you are, on any device.

Is PDF Worth It?

You’ve probably asked yourself if PDF is actually worth it. Why shouldn’t you just use paper instead? Who cares about saving trees?

Well, if you’re not concerned about the environmental implications of using excessive amounts of paper at home or at work, there are many other reasons why PDF trumps paper (all addressed in the infographic!).

What About MS Word?

Not only is there the question of why you should use PDF over paper, there’s also the question of why use PDF over Doc? Don’t get us wrong, MS Word is a great program. In fact, this blog post was drafted in Word.

However, it’s no surprise that it lacks in certain aspects, especially when it comes to keeping the proper formatting once shared or printed.

Let’s be honest, we’ve all been there: you’ve worked on your Word doc for hours, and after countless frustrating instances of random formatting issues, you’re ready to send it off to your coworkers via email. You go on your lunch break, proud of the work you’ve done.

When you get back to your desk, you see an email from your co-worker. You expect it to say “Wow, great work! You’re amazing!” Alas, nope. You read those dreaded words “I can’t view the document.” It quickly dawns on you that you probably should have converted it to PDF first, that way the formatting would have stayed intact.

Lesson learned.