How to Display a PDF File in a Picture Box

Even older computers can display most kinds of graphics.

If you would like to display a PDF on a Web page, you have several options. Usually people choose to link directly to the PDF document on the site; however, this option requires that the user has Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on her computer. A way to circumvent the necessity for Adobe Acrobat Reader is to save the PDF as a graphic and upload it to the website as a picture; almost all computers have the ability to display graphics.

Things You'll Need

• Graphics editing program

Instructions

1. Load your graphics editing program and open the PDF file.

2. Resize the document in your graphics editing program, if necessary. In most programs you will either have an option to resize on the main toolbar or you may select "Image" on the top toolbar, then "Image Size." Most programs allow you to resize a picture by pixels or percentages. Try reducing the picture size by percentages. Begin with 80 percent, and see if that is reduced enough. If the PDF has words on it or if it is a document, you probably do not want to make it too much smaller or no one will be able to read it.

3. Select "File" on the top toolbar and click "Save As." This opens a save menu. If you are given a graphics format option, select JPEG. JPEGs are meant for photographs and images with details, but the file size is reduced so the amount of data is less and the image of your PDF will download more quickly when someone views it on their computer.

4. Link to the image of the PDF on your website as you would any other picture. You can place it inside a larger HTML or XHTML page or link directly to the image. The image will then open in its own window when the user views it on his computer.

References

• Adobe Acrobat Help and Support: Save a PDF File as an Image
• Universal Document Center: How to Convert PDF to Image File