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How to create PDF files with Scientific WorkPlace and Scientific Word

Version: 5.x - Scientific WorkPlace & Scientific Word

In Version 5.x of SWP and SW, you can create Portable Document Format (PDF) files directly from TeX source files. If you use Scientific Notebook or you have an earlier version of the program, see About PDF files.

No additional software is necessary to generate PDF files, but to preview or print the files, you must have a PDF viewer such as Adobe Acrobat, which you can download here: Download Adobe Acrobat .

To generate PDF files:

  1. Open the document
  2. From the Typeset menu, choose Output Choice.
  3. Select a PDF output option and choose OK.
  4. Save the document.
  5. From the Typeset menu, choose a PDF option: Compile PDF, Preview PDF, or Print PDF.
    The program compiles the document, displaying details in the PDFLaTeX window inside the TrueTeX preview screen. When the compilation is complete, the program returns to the document window, displays the document in your PDF viewer as it will appear in print, or sends it to the printer, depending on the PDF option you selected.

TrueTeX, the TeX and LaTeX implementation supplied with the program, supports pdfTeX, an extension of TeX that uses pdfLaTeX to create a PDF file from a TeX source file. The resulting PDF file is the typeset version of your document in PDF form. It can be viewed on any platform using a PDF viewer.

The PDF and DVI files for a given document have essentially identical appearances but different file types. They differ in the type of graphics they can use. Also, typeset PDF files can support some features that typeset DVI files cannot, such as rotation of text and the use of the hyperref package, which extends the hypertext possibilities of .tex documents, so that typesetting the document with pdfLaTeX produces a table of contents linked to the body of the document, automatically creating bookmarks, linked headings, and thumbnails.

Last revised 07/14/07