Formatting Attachments for Email
As a wedding planner, I see many proposals and contracts from other wedding professionals in my inbox. When the document arrives in an editable format, such as in Microsoft Word or Excel, I cringe. Think about it this way - would you send a contract to a potential client via snail mail on a plain piece of white paper, in PENCIL? I sure hope not!
This is my thought process - Where is your logo? What if the person doesn't have the right software to open it? What if they open up your contract and change it before signing it and you don't notice? None of these are good things!
This is why I recommend sending attachments as Portable Document Formats. PDFs are standard, and everyone can open them with right software, which is free.
Saving your document as a PDF is easy. If you use a PC and don't have the option in Microsoft Office and you don't want to purchase Adobe Acrobat, there are free options available. My friend, Sarah, is always sending me tidbits of info and she clued me in on this PDF Creator, which I use on a daily basis. It's easy to use and best of all, absolutely free. If you are a Mac user, all you do is press print and pick "save as a PDF". Here's what it looks like when you save a Word document as a PDF on a PC...
After "printing as a PDF", you will be able to save it in a new location and attach it to your email just like any other document. The recipient should be able to open it, and if they cannot, recommend they download Adobe Reader, for free.
6 inspiring comment(s):
Aletha, you are so right! Everything I send is in PDF and I haven't gotten a "I couldn't open the document" yet.
Wow! Great post, Aletha!! I was never for sure how to create a PDF file. Now I'm educated. Thanks!!
In newer versions of word, you can just click on the windows icon, select save as, and then "save as pdf" as well... it's even easier!
Yep, Heather - you are right! However not everyone has the newer versions of Word, me included.
Thank you for the tip :)
I use a Mac now, but when I was on a PC, my fav PDF maker was Primo PDF - another great FREE tool!
Lindsey - I've never used Primo PDF, but I've read it works just as well! Thanks for the tip - hopefully my readers find the right one for them. :)
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