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

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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.

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Export InDesign as a PDF