Creating a PDF Document


Reference Number: KB-00768
Last Modified: September 27, 2022

The information in this article applies to:

Chief Architect Premier or Chief Architect Interiors



QUESTION

How can I create a PDF document to send to my print shop or client?


ANSWER

Portable Document Format, or PDF files, are one of the most universally compatible and efficient file formats, and can be viewed and printed on most computer platforms.

With Chief Architect, you can save any view as a 2D PDF file by selecting Save as PDF as the Destination Name in the Export PDF dialog or one of the various Print dialogs.


To create a PDF file in Chief Architect

  1. Select File> Print> Print  .

    In Chief Architect X11 and newer program versions, you can also navigate to File> Export> Export PDF .


  2. In the dialog that opens, use the Destination Name drop-down menu to choose Chief Architect Save As PDF.

    Choose the Chief Architect Save As PDF option from the Destination Name drop-down menu in the Print dialog


  3. Choose your desired options, then click the Save As PDF button located under the preview. 


  4. In the dialog that appears next, type in a short, descriptive name for the PDF, specify an appropriate location to save the PDF to, then click Save.

    Specify a name and location to save the PDF file to


Chief Architect X5 and prior programs cannot inherently export to PDF files, although you can quickly and easily configure your computer to print to PDF files by installing a PDF printer driver. There are many of these programs available, however searching online for PDF printer drivers will provide results for a number of free PDF printer drivers.

For your convenience, Chief Architect has compiled a list of some of the more popular options available. To view this list, please see the "PDF Print Driver Information" resource located in the Related Articles section below.