PDF Maker

Pros

• Supported by a command line terminal
• Password-based encryption options
• Advanced tagging and indexing
• Can be deployed via USB drive

Cons

• Doesn't support conversion to other file types

If you want an easy method for creating and sharing PDF files, PDF Maker can deliver a reliable solution. The feature set is surprisingly dense considered that this is free software, and it can be deployed either on your computer or via a USB drive for easy implementation on any machine. Considering Windows' woeful lack of a serious, built-in PDF utility, that's a valuable backup drive to keep around.

The functionality here is pretty deep too. PDF Maker supports an extensive variety of image and text formats, so that you can create dynamic and expressive magazine-style layouts. Over 80 different file formats are supported right out of the box, and you don't need printer drivers to get quality results.

You can layer a variety of more advanced options into your PDF files as well. Whether you're looking to encrypt a file to protect your copyright or provide tags and indexes for easier navigation, you have the options you need here. PDF Maker can also perform simple conversions of existing non-PDF files, and it can scale to perform batch processing for the demands of more serious power users.

A further level of control comes in the form of the command line interface. While it's not going to be the ideal choice for every user, it's both a great way to learn CLI fundamentals and a powerful means for PDF creation without needing to use a bulky visual interface. PDF Maker may be a pretty simple program, but it does the very few things it's designed to do exceptionally well.

Pros

• Supported by a command line terminal
• Password-based encryption options
• Advanced tagging and indexing
• Can be deployed via USB drive

Cons

• Doesn't support conversion to other file types