Using the Save as PDF Add-in in PowerPoint 2007 for Windows

The Save to PDF option is not available by default, within PowerPoint 2007, or the other programs in the Office 2007 suite. However, you can easily download a small add-in that makes it possible to save PDFs from within PowerPoint 2007 by following the steps explained in our Getting Office 2007's Save as PDF Add-in tutorial.

Once you have downloaded and installed the Save as PDF add-in, follow these steps to use it to create PDFs in PowerPoint 2007 for Windows:

1. Open any PowerPoint presentation that you want to save as a PDF.

Save as PowerPoint, First

Make sure to save the presentation as a normal PowerPoint file first. If you don't save the presentation first, and then save a PDF of the presentation, you won't be able to edit the file or save any changes you made to the file subsequently.
2. Choose the Office button | Save As | PDF or XPS option, as shown in Figure 1, below.
3. 
   Figure 1: PDF or XPS

Missing Add-in?

You don't see the PDF or XPS option, as shown in Figure 1. Then, you need to check out the Getting Office 2007's Save as PDF Add-in tutorial.
3. Doing so brings up the Publish as PDF or XPS dialog box, as shown in Figure 2, below. Choose the location where you want the PDF file to be saved, provide an output filename, and choose PDF (*.pdf) in the Save As Type drop-down list.
4. 
   Figure 2: Publish as PDF or XPS
4. There are two Optimize for options available:

Standard (Publishing Online and Printing)

5. This option creates PDF files suitable for high-resolution printing.

Minimum size (Publishing Online)

6. This option creates PDF files intended for viewing on-screen.
5. (Optional) Click the Options button, as shown in Figure 2, above, which brings up the Options dialog box, as shown in Figure 3, below.
6. 
   Figure 3: Options dialog box
6. This is where you specify print settings, such as handouts with three slides per page, and customize other options as required. Click the OK button to apply these changes, and get back to Publish as PDF or XPS dialog box.
7. Now, click the Publish button.

Do you want to password-protect your PDFs so that others can only view them, but not make any changes? We cover this option in our Encrypt with Password Option in PowerPoint 2007 for Windows tutorial.

Problems with creating PDFs from PowerPoint? See our PDFs From PowerPoint Troubleshooting Issues page.