Windows 7 – PDF Blog – Topics from the makers of Win2PDF

Many people have tried the limited “Microsoft PDF Printer” capability that Microsoft has made available in Windows 10 and have asked how to use the PDF writer in Windows 7. The short answer is: You can’t. It’s not available in Windows 7.

A couple of months ago we posted that Win2PDF still supports the Windows XP operating system. The same holds true for Windows 7: All of the features in Win2PDF 10 work the same in both Windows 7 and Windows 10 & 11.

Win2PDF is especially useful for XP and Windows 7 users who need a PDF writer, but what about Windows 10 and Windows 11 users? If they already have access to “Microsoft Print to PDF”, why would they need Win2PDF?

Many reasons. Here is a summary of features that are available in Win2PDF that are NOT available in the Microsoft Print to PDF printer.

It uses the default file name of document being printed when saving a PDF
It saves files in other formats like XPS, TIFF, JPG, PNG, BMP, and SVG
It saves files as PDF/A (archival PDF)
It supports higher resolutions (up to 2400 DPI)
It supports more paper sizes.
It saves files as non-searchable (image-only) PDFs
You can view a PDF file after it has been created
You can email PDF file after it has been created
You can change resolution of PDF files to reduce file size
You can automatically name PDF files without user interaction
You can password protect PDF files (Win2PDF Pro only)
You can disable the ability to print PDF files (Win2PDF Pro only)
You can disable the ability to copy text or images from PDF files (Win2PDF Pro only)
You can disable the ability to modify PDF files (Win2PDF Pro only)
You can set a watermark image on the PDF file (Win2PDF Pro only)
You can set a background image on a PDF file (Win2PDF Pro only)
You can print a copy of the PDF file to the default paper printer
It supports a developer API for developer integrations
It supports an administrator configuration tool for changing default behavior
It supports a stand-alone SMTP email program for automated sending of PDFs
It supports naming PDFs based on the contents of the document
It supports a command line interface
It supports batch conversions, batch renaming, and watch folders

If your organization uses a mix of different versions of Windows, standardizing on Win2PDF allows you to support all versions from Windows XP through Windows 11.

Earlier this month Microsoft officially ended support for Windows 7.

“The specific end of support day for Windows 7 was January 14, 2020. Technical assistance and software updates from Windows Update that help protect your PC are no longer available for the product. Microsoft strongly recommends that you move to Windows 10 to avoid a situation where you need service or support that is no longer available.”

This will pose problems for many companies, especially considering the fact that this operating system is still being used on approximately one-third of PCs globally.

Many customers have been hesitant to move to Windows 10 for a variety of reasons, and one significant issue is that some software applications that worked in Windows 7 don’t work in Windows 10. Since upgrades to Windows 10 can break older versions of business applications, IT departments have been reluctant to make the changes so far until they work out solutions that are compatible.

The good news for Win2PDF users is that Win2PDF 10 fully supports both Windows 7 and Windows 10, so there should not be any issues as far as Win2PDF is concerned. And we plan to continue support of both operating systems as well as Windows XP and Windows Vista for the foreseeable future.

One note, however: Anyone using the older Win2PDF 3.5 or earlier versions (prior to 2009) will need to upgrade to the most recent Win2PDF 10 version to use the software with Windows 10.

Tag: Windows 7

Microsoft Print to PDF Missing in Windows 7

Microsoft Officially Ends Support for Windows 7, Win2PDF Doesn’t