Can an iPad make a PDF anymore?

[Padcatt]

Used to be, few versions of iOS ago, making a PDF from almost any app was as easy as Share > save as PDF, or something like that.

then, it changed and making a PDF is either no longer a thing you can do, or it’s tricky and convoluted to do.

Can anyone explain if and how iPads can make PDFs please?

thank you!

 

[twerppoet]

There are a few ways to make a PDF.

The oldest, and one that still works well, it to Print from the app. When the Print dialog shows the document preview, pinch out to expand the document to full(ish) screen. Go to the Share dialog (again) and this time choose Save to Files.

In many apps the Share dialog has a Save as PDF option. It works just like Print, but with fewer steps. I don’t know what the criteria is for this option to show up. If it is hiding or obnoxiously low on the list, go to the bottom of the list and choose Edit Actions. You can add it to the top items to make sure it always shows near the top (when available)

In many other apps you will find the PDF option in the Export options instead of the Save or Share options. This is where it is in Pages.

You can do some custom PDF creation using Shortcuts app and the Make PDF action. By itself it’s not very useful, but it you had a lot of PDF’s to create it could automate the task.

If you happen to have/use Readdle’s Documents or PDF Expert apps, the paid versions have PDF conversion and merge tools. I’ve been using this recently to combine scanned images (of documents) and the .txt files I’ve been creating for our club’s old records.

I’m probably missing a few methods.

 

[twerppoet]

If you have a specific job/task, let me know and I’ll see if I can figure out how to do it.

 

[Padcatt]

Thank you, twerppoet;

This is a helpful solution for most of our PDF-ing on iPad needs.

 

[flickeringflare]

In Safari, there’s also

Share > Markup > Done > Save File To...

which makes a PDF that’s as tall as the page you are viewing.

 

[twerppoet]

Which reminds me, if you do a screenshot in Safari, Mail, or a few other apps there will be a Full Page option at the top of the screen. This will give you the option to save as a PDF after you tap Done. I believe this is nearly identical to the Share > Markup > Done > Save File To workflow mentioned.

It’s especially handy when you wanted to save or print an email with the header info included. Normal print from email only includes the email’s body.

 

[Aerofly]

The ‘pinch out’ method that twerppoet mentioned is indeed an excellent way to get all the info printed to pdf for an email.
However the ‘print’ command for emails on the iPad can be difficult to find if you’ve not used it before. You’ll need to select the curved arrow at the bottom of the email, then scroll to the bottom to find the print command.
I’ve no idea why Apple decided to hide it way down there as I’ve been asked several times where to find it!

 

[Padcatt]

I’ve no idea why Apple decided to hide it way down there as I’ve been asked several times where to find it!

it's a bafflement to me, too! Used to be easy peasy to make a PDF in iOS. Tucking it away in an un-intuitive place seems to me very un-Apple-like.

Adobe likes to re-arrange the furniture as well and I can't understand why any developer would think it's a good idea to change something that is so part of the workflow as to virtually break it where you change methods and locations like that.