What Is a PDF?

A PDF is a kind of document file that looks the same on any computer, phone or printer. Forms, letters, bills and instructions are often sent or downloaded as PDFs. A PDF's name ends in .pdf, such as form.pdf.

What it looks like

A PDF opens as pages, like sheets of paper, with its words and pictures in the same places wherever you open it. You can read and print a PDF, and some PDF forms have boxes you can type in, but you usually cannot change its other words.

On Windows and on a Mac

On Windows 11, a PDF often opens in Microsoft Edge, which has a PDF reader built in. On a Mac, a PDF usually opens in the Preview app.