Some users may wonder how to create a PDF on their iPhone. For those in the know, PDFs are one of the easiest ways to send something to someone, and Apple continues to make the process easy for everyone, even on an iPhone. Considering that some companies use PDFs as a practical second currency, knowing the best way to create PDFs right from their smartphone can be incredibly important for some users. Fortunately, this is super easy.
If you want to create a PDF from your iPhone, be it an image, screenshot, documents and more, I’m here for you. We’ll take a look at how to create PDFs right on your iPhone, and also look at how you can save them to your phone or share them with others. Even better, once you know how to do this with one document type, you’ve got your basics covered for almost every other common file type. With that in mind, let’s begin.
How do I create a PDF on my iPhone?
When it comes to creating PDFs with an iPhone, you have a few basic options. Luckily for users, Apple includes some built-in ways to create a PDF. Each of them is pretty easy to use, just requiring you to navigate to the right menus. Easily share and save PDFs on your iPhone. Before we dive into some other ideas, let’s explore these options first.
Your first option is to create a PDF from the Share menu. When it comes to the iPhone, anything you can send to a printer can also be converted to a PDF fairly easily. So, if you want to turn a photo into a PDF or even an entire webpage, all you have to do is click the “Share” button a few times. An easy way to think of it, similar to “printing” a file as a PDF if you’ve ever had to do that before.
How do I turn a photo from my iPhone into a PDF?
For this example, let’s convert an image to a PDF file. While we’re using an image for this example, keep in mind that practically anything can be converted to a PDF fairly easily using the share button.
Time needed: 1 minute.
Just follow these steps to create a PDF on your iPhone.
On your iPhone, select a photo from your Photos app. Once opened, click the “Share” button at the bottom of the screen.
Scroll down and select Print.
This will bring up the print options page. While you can choose a printer to start printing your image, you can instead share the image as a PDF by clicking the share button at the top of the screen.
You now have a PDF to share with the same options as with anything else. If you want to save the PDF file on your iPhone, select the “Save to Files” option.
Here we go! You now save articles as PDF instead of printing them. Keep in mind that this works for pretty much anything that has a share option, meaning this can work with websites, text files, and more too.
How do I send a document as a PDF from my iPhone?
Of course, you can also use the Files app to send documents as PDFs on your iPhone. While the Share option lets you send most things as a PDF either to yourself or to other users, the Files app may be a better choice for those who want to send documents. Luckily, sharing something as a PDF follows pretty much the same instructions as sharing anything else as a PDF.
Open a file in the Files app. Select the share icon in the lower left corner. If Files have another app open, just find the Share button. Choose Print. Now select the share icon at the top. They will share your file as a PDF.
That’s really all there is to it! There are two different ways to save files as PDF directly to your iPhone. It’s really important to remember that you have to press the share button in two different places. As long as you choose Share > Print > Share, you will be sharing your files as a PDF and not in their typical file format.
How do I save a screenshot as a PDF on my iPhone?
The really cool thing about this feature is that it also works for screenshots. Any screenshot you take with your iPhone can follow the actions “Share” > “Print” > “Share as PDF”, which makes sending a screenshot as PDF incredibly easy.
Now if you want to save these to your own device, remember that you can save them to Files. When it comes to sharing things with myself, I’m happy to send them to my email address. While it adds an extra step, I like keeping things in my email as a secondary place for files and anything else I want. You can save your PDFs just as easily using the Save to Files option, but I find it much more convenient to have these things in my email.
Create a PDF with the Google Docs app
Given that Google Docs can be very popular even for iPhone users, this seems worth mentioning, especially since the steps involved are a little different than what you would normally share files on your iPhone. Of course, if you’re using Apple Pages, you can still take the Share > Print > Share route, as I’ve called it, but using Google Docs requires different actions to save an item as a PDF.
Google Docs files and anything that can be imported into the app can be saved as PDF. You just have to know where to look.
From the Google Docs main menu, find your document and then select the three dots below it. From the menu, choose Send Copy. In the next menu, select PDF and then Ok. Google Docs will now generate your PDF and you can choose where you want it to go from the Share menu. So that your pictures count
Luckily for those who need to use PDFs almost constantly, Apple has you covered. Considering that a PDF is often easier to work with than other file types, there’s a reason your iPhone makes it so easy to create and share. That way, if your boss asks you to convert an image to a PDF and send it to him, you’ll know exactly what to do. Knowing this, you can easily become one of the most helpful people in the office and all you have to do is say thank you to your iPhone.
Of course, when it comes to the iPhone’s capabilities, it doesn’t end there. Now that you know how to share items as PDF, you might need a refresher on how to convert documents to PDF in Apple Pages. Or, if you need a little breather from work, maybe you can take the time to set up your iPhone as a gaming-only device? Whatever you need, your iPhone usually has it covered.
