PDF vs Word (DOC): When to Use Each

By Micheal Cartwright
September 26, 2008
PDF and Microsoft Word DOC formats are two universally accepted
document formats. Each has strengths and weaknesses. So which is the
best for your documents? The answer is: It depends. Let's take a look
at each of these two popular formats and when it's appropriate to use
them.

When to use PDF format

• Printing: When the goal is to produce a
  high-quality print job in which precise page layout and high resolution
  images are key, then PDF is the clear choice over DOC. PDF can create a
  WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) file which assures you that what
  you see on your screen is exactly what you'll see in your print. PDF
  files are accepted by professional printers, whereas Word DOC files
  usually are not. In addition, PDF's print-ready file transfer makes it
  easy to send a print-ready file to a printer in another department or
  even another country with little or no rework needed at the other end.
  
• Online Content: PDF is useful for taking
  high-quality documents (newsletters, catalogues, manuals, technical
  papers, etc.) and making them available on the internet. Not only can
  you secure your PDF so that it can only be read and not altered, you
  can also be sure that it will display correctly every time. In
  addition, PDFs can have a table of contents, bookmarks, intra-document
  hyperlinks, and searchability, so you can make your PDF behave like a
  Web page.
  
• Archiving: When compressed PDF files can be very
  compact, so it is ideal for storage. File layout is retained and can be
  viewed on all platforms. Plus, PDF files are searchable, making
  archived documents and items much easier to find, categorize, and
  organize.
  
• Business and Legal Documents: PDF's are essential
  for business and legal documents and forms that must retain their exact
  appearance. These important documents must retain their integrity and
  security. With the PDF format, you can secure your documents so that no
  one can change the wording of an application or the terms of an
  agreement.
  
• Combining Multiple Formats: PDF allows you to
  import text from a Word document, images of various formats, Excel
  spreadsheets, vector graphics, and more into a single PDF document.
  
• Anyone Can View It: To view a Word document, you
  must have proprietary software (Microsoft Office) installed on your
  computer. On the other hand, a PDF can be viewed by anyone who has the
  free Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is easy to download and which comes
  standard on many computers running Windows operating systems. This
  makes PDF the preferred format for creating a document that many can
  view.
  
• File Exchange: PDF is ideal for document exchange
  between users. Not only is it a compact format, but it can also store
  metrics and information about its own appearance (layout, fonts,
  content, color, etc.) within the document itself. This means that it
  may not have to rely on the fonts and settings that may or may not be
  installed on a user's computer to display properly.
  

When to use Word (DOC) format

• Reusing Images: Images in a Word document are easy to extract and reuse. This can't be done with a PDF, because its images are embedded.
  
• Word Processing: Microsoft Word is a word
  processor. Adobe Acrobat is not. Therefore, when it comes to written
  documents such as business letters, memos, etc., Word is much better
  suited for writing the actual composition. Word documents provide the
  benefits of spell-checking and grammar-checking, among many other
  useful writing tools.
  
• Editing: There's no doubt that Word is a powerful
  document editor. It contains intuitive formatting and compositional
  tools that allow you to format your document as you create it. Using
  Word and the DOC format, it is easy to edit large areas of text, change
  the flow between pages, and change font sizes and styles, among other
  things. With a PDF file you can only a few words at a time and have
  very limited editing options. When it comes to editing documents, Word
  is a much more powerful and pliant format than PDF.
  

Conclusion: Which is the best format?



The best strategy is one that incorporates the use of both of these
formats. The Word format is clearly the best choice for editing and
making changes to works-in-progress while the PDF format is the
preferred option for viewing and sharing documents. Thus, you can
maintain your original document in Word format and then convert your
document to PDF when it's finished and you are ready to share it with
others.

What if you've got a document that's in PDF format that needs major
editing? The best idea is to convert it to Word format, and make your
edits. Then create a PDF from that Word document. Not only does this
strategy allow you to use the powerful features of each format, but it
also allows you to edit and create high-quality customized PDFs using
Microsoft Word. There are several programs out there for converting PDF
to Word, including ours.
Cited from PlanetPDF

one small correction as to the ability to view word documents if I may.
you can view word documents without the need to have that specific version of office installed on your computer by downloading the free Word Document Viewer (or converter pack) for that version here:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/HA010449811033.aspx

they have viewers for other office apps there as well.

You can also get Open Office which fully supports opening, editing, and creating MS Office formats up to 2003 (last I checked).

www.openoffice.org
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another note, some linux distro's have an adobe PDF reader that is capable of actually detecting the letters in a PDF document so that one may copy and paste them into a document for edint in open office... and open office does of course have the ability to export directly to PDF - right on the toolbar so you dont have to look in any menus.

not sure if those PDF to DOC converter apps are free, but the method above surely is. ;)

i hav read some review bout the open office, it is really a powerful FREE office tool and user friendly as MS Office. but most of the user in malaysia prefer to MS Office, i m not sure that the document produced with open office can be read by MS Office.

as long as you make sure when saving it to "save as type" - "microsoft office word document". (same for the spreadsheets and presentations) That box is right underneath where you type in the name of the document.

I use it on my own machine as I don't use office application enough to warrant paying for the full MS office suite.