How to use the flexible PDF portfolio and why you want to

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With so many of us working in complex jobs and fields, our information has grown equally complex. Which means that we frequently need to store various types of media in different formats together in order to archive a complete picture. That’s where the PDF portfolio comes in.

What is a PDF Portfolio?

A PDF portfolio lets you package multiple documents together into one PDF file. The best part is, the documents don’t all need to be PDF files. The modern PDF portfolio enables you to consolidate different types of media—such as PDF files, Word documents, video files, and audio files—into one PDF portfolio. Think of the PDF portfolio as a file folder. Documents can be in different formats and created in different applications. Each media file retains its individual properties and can be opened using the application that runs it so that you can use it again as intended.

What can I use PDF portfolios for?

There are a lot of ways that you can use PDF portfolios. For example, banks and real estate agencies can use PDF portfolios to keep all files for loan applications together. Law firms and legal organizations can put anything pertaining to a case—including depositions, interviews, videos of evidence, briefs, and more—into a PDF portfolio. You could use a PDF portfolio for onboarding new employees by keeping all your interactive forms for health insurance, I-9, 1099s along with your brochures on company policy, your employee handbook and a welcome video about your company.

If you’re in the construction or design business, you could use a PDF portfolio to gather all your CAD drawings of the blueprints, pictures of the work site, and any documents that cover planning and budgeting.

What’s more, one of the main benefits of using PDF portfolios is that you can package multiple digitally signed documents together without invalidating the signatures. That’s critical in any field where you’re archiving signed documents for the future because it means greater longevity.

PDF portfolios work well for if you’re a student submitting portfolios of your work in music or the arts to prospective universities. Using a PDF portfolio, you can include your photography, visuals of your painting, and a video presentation of you discussing your techniques into one complete file that’s properly formatted and works without concern about issues with compression reducing the quality of your media, since it’s in its original format and easily accessed with the appropriate applications.

What’s the difference between PDF portfolios and combined files?

The difference between PDF portfolios and combining files into a PDF is quite important. When you create a PDF portfolio, the portfolio “wrapper” is a PDF file, however, the files within it stay in their original formats. Photos are still in formats such as .JPG or .PNG. Text documents are still in formats such as Microsoft Word or plain text. Videos are still in .MOV or .MP4. You get the idea.

When you combine multiple files into a PDF, however, you’re converting all the formats of the files into PDF and then combining all of the pages into one PDF. No more native formats. Everything becomes PDF.

As you can see, that’s why it’s important to choose the right direction, and in many but not all cases, PDF portfolio is it.  You can create PDF portfolios in a leading PDF Editor, such as Foxit PhantomPDF, and view them in leading free PDF Readers.

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