I used to think that the “Save as PDF” button in different systems was made for counter-progressive people.
Robots don’t like reading PDFs. People with smartphones think they’re not convenient to read. Editing PDF is a hassle (it could take three years). It’s nice that the format does not impose restrictions on page size, but software expects pages up to 381 kilometers wide. The first PDF reader was called Acrobat, and its first version was Carousel. In other words, the circus in town and it brought the vulnerabilities.
It turned out that the format was made very well. It is open and has a beautiful ISO 32000 number. It is built into compatibility not only backwards, but also forwards. A rarity these days. With a reader from 1993, you can view modern PDFs, if there are no strange things like DRM. A modern reader can read the 1993 PDF fossils. In this case, the page layout will not move. In short, given the constant reworking of UI systems, exporting to PDF is an ideal option.
Here it is necessary to clarify that “PDF” is an umbrella term. It’s a whole list of formats. For example, there is PDF/A, it is designed for document archives. MIT recommends that students save their diplomas in PDF/A so that it will be convenient to work with them for hundreds of years.
So the format is not only well made for its narrow tasks, but also helps us fight the digital dark age. The “Download a beautiful PDF” button is good.
