mar50

can anyone tell me the difference between a zip file and a single pdf. thanks or your help.

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

A .pdf is a document (text file).
A .zip fie is a container for almost (i think) any file and can hold multiple files.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

A PDF is just a particular file format, like a Word document, for example. You need an Adobe program to read them, or, one of the many free apps that are available. PDF is a very popular file format.
ZIP files are compressed files that can include numerous file formats, including PDF. They are compressed to make them easier to send and receive. There are numerous programs for zipping and unzipping the files, including free ones that let you un-zip only. Some operating systems can un-zip some of them. WinZip was a very well known one. Once un-zipped you can then access the individual file or files. ZIP files often have a file icon with a zipper on it. Camera firmware updates are usually zipped.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

A .zip file is also compressed to make it smaller.

User ID

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An important thing about zip is that it can package
multi-level file and folder structures so you can
email the whole thing intact.

You can mail files uncompressed, even of they are
very large. But you can't mail a heirarchical folder
structure, even if the total contents is very "light
weight" ... meaning very small file sizes.

You could have a multilevel folder structure full of
verrrrrry small text files so that the whole thing is
very "light weight". So you don't need zip for it's
compression to smaller size, but you do need zip
cuz you have to package multilevel folders.

You can't even mail a SINGLE folder without zip,
cuz it's still "multilevel" considering the outer part
is the folder and within it is the actual file or files.
IOW you can't just "attach" a folder the way you
simply "attach" a file. But when you zip stuff, the
mail system sees the whole thing as if it were just
one file ... a ".zip" file. The multi-folder-and-files
nature of the contents is hidden from the mailer.

.

bobmcculloch Loc: NYC, NY

PDF = portable document format
ZIP = compressed , possibly pass worded file

mar50

Thanks everyone for your help. I greatly appreciate it!

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

That's why we're here! If we can't confuse you nobody can!

annadonmac Loc: East Tennessee

RichieC Loc: Adirondacks

PDF is originally an acrobat file and stands for portable document format PDF. Was intended for people to be able to view a document with images and fonts intact ( embedded). came about when Mac and DOS machines couldn't see anything the other was working on but could access the very same printer... so PDF is actually technically a virtual printer. note in print dialog you can choose PDF ... you "print to file". Sort of a file interrupted on the way to a printer and then a software able to display that print file on ANY compter screen.

Zip is a compression and encryption algorithym that once "Zipp'd" can protect files through the web, compress them, include a password, compress whole folders etc. etc. There are many others, Zip is the most common and widespread and supported type, maybe RAR #2... some are for compressing and protecting disk images- like a DMG or ISO etc.

b1, zip, jar, xpi, rar, 7z, arj, bz2, bzip2, tbz2, tbz, txz, cab, chm, chi, chq, chw, hxs, hxi, hxr, hxq,
hxw, lit, cpio, deb, gz, gzip, tgz, tpz, hfs, iso, lzh, lha, lzma, rpm, tar, xar, z, taz, xz, dmg, cb7, cbr,
cbt, cbz

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

Contrary to many opinions here, zip does not mean compressed. A zipped file might also be compressed, but it is not necessarily compressed. Often, a file may be zipped simply to encrypt it.

A pdf file might be zipped, just as any type file (I think) can be zipped. I've even zipped a zipped file.

James Slick Loc: Pittsburgh,PA

Even if compression wasn't a thing (and it is), A *.ZIP file is a convenient was to package up a bunch of unrelated filetypes (like the contents of an entire folder) and send it online as 1 file. This is a great way to make sure you get every file. A lot of software is distributed this way, most often using self extracting *.ZIP files.

dave.speeking Loc: Brooklyn OH

PDF are vector graphics.
jpg files are raster graphics.

RichieC Loc: Adirondacks

NO. PDF stands for Portable Document Format. PDF and JPEG are not really comparable other than you can look at them.PDF's can even be interactive- you can fill out forms and enter them into a database online etc. They can be annotated and shared and can be securely and legally "signed"

The individual placed graphics and text in a PDF are available to extract if you have a full version of Acrobat. IE you can strip out placed images and graphics and edit text. PDF's retain vectors, such as fonts which are made from vectors ( How you can increase/decrease text size), andvector based illustrations/logos etc., even photoshop can have path's . PDF's can recognize and separate spot colors. PDF files can contain raster images like embedded jpeg and tiff files. I Create PDF's from InDesign brochures etc. which is a composing software that combines raster and vector art to retain high end output for post script printers and output devises like direct to plate for lithography etc. I do this for a living.

JPEG is a compression algorithym that delivers only pixels. the vectors in all fonts and illustrations and any spot colors will be antialiased and rasterized into RGB pixels and thus un-zoomable. These graphics only appear good at size created and or smaller. If you zoom in , you'd get soft edges and big pixels...

JamesCurran Loc: Trenton ,NJ

ZIP files were originally designed to compressed collections of file. Encryption was added much later. I'm not even sure you can turn off compression. (Although some file don't get much smaller).

A PDF file is mostly (at least originally) essentially just a compress PostScript. PS is basically just a list of commands of how to draw a page (text and images) on a printer.