How To Add A Printer To Windows Vista

I was printing off receipts from Newegg and other sites where I've purchased things from when the idea occurred to me: It would save a lot of paper if I could simply print all of them to a PDF file instead, which I could and then store in nicely organized folders instead of having paper copies everywhere. So how exactly do we print to a PDF in Vista?

The answer is a freeware utility chosen CutePDF Writer, and if you can stand rebooting your computer twice (painful) then yous can go it installed without a lot of trouble. The great matter about this utility is that information technology even works in Vista 64-bit, while many of the other utilities do not. Update: Y'all can also use the freeware doPDF author for a less messy installation.

Installing CutePDF Writer

There are actually two pieces to the installation… you lot'll demand to first install Ghostscript (provided on the download site itself), which is the engine that actually will catechumen the printer output into a PDF. Installing it is simple enough…

At the stop you'll get a dialog request if the program installed correctly. Make certain to click "This plan installed correctly".

The adjacent step should exist to install CutePDF itself, merely unfortunately it cannot be installed while UAC is enabled. What nosotros'll accept to do is disable UAC, reboot, install CutePDF, and so re-enable UAC and reboot once more.

Update

It looks similar near people are able to install this application without any issues at all, so your best best is to run the installer, and hopefully it volition work. If it doesn't, then yous tin follow the instructions for disabling UAC.

Open up Command Panel, find User Accounts, and then click the link for "Turn User Business relationship Command (UAC) on or off"

Now uncheck the box, click OK, and and so reboot your calculator.

Now outset the CutePDF installation, which should but take a couple of clicks.

Important: Get back in and re-enable UAC using the aforementioned mechanism as to a higher place, just brand sure to bank check the box. At this point y'all should be all done.

Using CutePDF Writer

Creating a PDF is as unproblematic as clicking the Print button in whatever application in Windows, and then choose CutePDF Author every bit the printer.

If yous click on Properties, you can turn off colour, which should reduce the size of the files by a ton every bit long every bit you don't mind black & white.

There are even more settings behind the Avant-garde push button, like quality options, compression, or even the pick to embed fonts in the PDF or not.

Y'all'll be prompted to choose a filename, and so y'all tin can view your printed folio every bit a PDF document:

This really works well for printing receipts, or even for printing an commodity to PDF for later reading offline.

For extra credit, you can save whatsoever Office 2007 document every bit a PDF with a native plugin.

Update: Easier Install Method

Carlo noted in the comments that you could alternately use the too gratis doPDF software, which has a much simpler installation, but doesn't have support for converting to blackness & white, or any of the really advanced features in CutePDF.

Using it works exactly the aforementioned, just choose it from the print dialog. You can adjust the scaling and resolution options as well from the properties screen.