Businesses have also used many different kinds of documents. Contracts, budgets, schedules, blueprints, and many other documents created a lot of paper that was once stored in old-school filing cabinets. The documents and their homes took up considerable space. Technology has gifted the business world with digital files that can store anything paper can on a computer hard drive. These files can also be made portable using thumb drives, as well as emailed or texted to those who need them. There are many different formats for digital documents. Perhaps the most versatile and useful is the PDF file.
1. They Can Be Editable
When creating digital documents, you can use the editable PDF file format. This allows the document to be edited by the recipient. It’s useful for getting signatures on contracts or other documents or securing information such as names, addresses, and social security numbers. The creator can grant editing permission to only the recipient, thus protecting the safety of sensitive information and the integrity of the file.
2. They Can Be Password-Protected
Business documents often contain sensitive personal information or data that a company would not want its competitors to get their hands on. PDF files can be password-protected. This can provide a high level of security and allow a business and its employees to limit access to any document to those who are authorized to view it.
3. They Can Be Appealing Visually
PDFs can use photos, drawings, videos, graphs, and multiple fonts and colors to create a document that is attractive and easy to read and understand. Never underestimate the power of visual appeal when creating an important document that imparts vital information.
4. They Can Be Interactive
PDFs can display much more than what is on the page. Links to videos and sound files can be embedded that allow the recipient to interact with the document, accessing media that helps explain and clarify the data contained in the file. Music files can also be embedded as can hyperlinks to pertinent websites. Sending a single PDF can be like sending a chunk of the internet in one easy-to-share file.
5. They Can Be Portable
Having easy access to documents is very helpful in the business world. The portability of PDFs is one of their most attractive features. They can be accessed on desktops, laptops, tablets, or smartphones as long as they have a reader app installed such as Adobe Acrobat. This is useful to employees such as salespeople who can show documents to potential customers while on calls.
6. They Can Be Easily Searched
PDFs can contain a huge number of pages, making it difficult to find that quote or statistic you need right now. Fortunately, they are easily searchable. They also can be created with a table of contents with links to each section.
Business documents need to be secure, easy to create and read, portable, and take up little space. When it comes to digital formats, it’s hard to beat a PDF file. It has all the features any business needs in its documents.