Converting Paper Documents to PDF Files

James Marshall is a pro journalist who covers technology and computer troubleshooting. He is also skilled with Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, and other word processors.

Michael Heine is a CompTIA-certified writer, editor, and Network Engineer with 25+ years' experience working in the television, defense, ISP, telecommunications, and education industries.

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Converting paper documents to PDF files is possible with a scanner and Adobe Acrobat or another software program that generates PDFs. Plus, if your scanner has a document feeder, it's possible to convert multiple pages to PDF at once. If you don't have a scanner or all-in-one printer, don't worry: there's an app for that.

Convert Paper to Digital Files With Adobe Acrobat

To convert paper documents to PDF files using Adobe Acrobat, connect your scanner to your computer by cable or wirelessly, then:

1. Load the paper or papers you want to convert into your scanner.

Open Adobe Acrobat and then select File >Create >PDF from Scanner. PDF from Scanner" width="1600" height="807" />

Scanner dropdown list" width="1427" height="841" />

In the Scanner drop-down list, select your scanner or printer.

Keep the default scanner settings or choose a new setting. Select Scan.

After Acrobat has scanned and read your documents, select the Save icon in the Untitled.PDF tab.

In the Save As PDF window, choose where you want to store the PDF (My Computer or Document Cloud). Then, if necessary, choose Compress PDF or Restrict Editing. When saving the PDF on your computer, select Choose a Different Folder to name and select Save to save the file in a folder.

Use Mac Preview to Convert Paper to Digital

Macs ship with an app called Preview. Many home desktop all-in-one printers and scanners are accessible in the Preview app.

1. Load the document into your scanner or all-in-one printer.