How to Save in InDesign as a PDF

Nov 19, 2020

In just about every application in the Adobe software suite, they've built their own file types when you save. In InDesign, the default file type you can save as is .indd, which stands for "InDesign Document." But you can export the file into a variety of file formats, including as a .pdf.

In this guide, we'll show the easy way to save your InDesign documents as new file types, including PDFs.

Adobe InDesign

Howchoo is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission at no cost to you.

We're going to "export" the file, as opposed to saving it.

Go to File in the top toolbar.
Select Export....
In the export window, use the Format dropdown menu to select Adobe PDF (Print) (see below).
Click Save.
In the Export Adobe PDF window, you'll be given some advanced options for exporting.
When ready, click Export.

Resize InDesign Images Wrap InDesign Text

Show all in the InDesign Basics series

NEXT UP

Michael (179)

Dec 28, 2020

2 minutes

It's not immediately clear how to draw a triangle in InDesign, nevermind a perfect or right triangle!

Export InDesign as a PDF