Is InDesign formatting saved when converted to pdf?

[sheana2014]

Hi,

I am creating my first print book with inDesign. To upload it to Amazon it must be in pdf format. Are document sizes kept, such as a 6x9 inch book, after conversion to pdf?  How is this possible? What happens during the conversion?

Thanks in advance.

[Test Screen Name]

Yes, the InDesign sizes are used to create the PDF page sizes. I'm not sure what leads you to ask "how is this possible" - how could it be otherwise?

[sheana2014]

 Thanks for answering my question. I don't know much about creating pdf's so that might explain my question.  But the important thing is that whatever size I select to create is what is uploaded to KDP after pdf conversion.

[James Gifford—NitroPress · Accepted solution]

You probably have the common confusion that PDF=E-Book=EPUB=PDF... that is, they're all the same.

PDF is, more than anything else, an electronic print format. Whether it's an integral feature or relies on a plug-in or separate 'print driver,' its function is to create a precise electronic version of what would hit paper. That makes it uniquely valuable because, one way or the other, almost any program on any platform can create PDF pages, and a reader is available for all those platforms and more. It's as close as we've come to universal publishing. (And it has other end uses, as well.)

E-books can use many formats, including PDF. And EPUB is a completely alternate format that is meant to create "liquid" text, more like basic or old-school web pages, and can only be clumsily forced to create fixed pages like PDF—and then is wholly dependent on which reader app is selected as to how, and how well, it presents that content and those pages.

So, yup, if you export/print to PDF, it should look just like it would if you printed to paper, page size and all. Maybe only those of us who struggled with getting documents to print and to other platforms before it existed can really appreciate its wonders. 🙂

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[sheana2014 · Accepted solution]

Thank you so much for your very indepth answer. I helps to look under the hood so to speak and understand enough to know the process enough to give me confidence in using the product/software.

[Test Screen Name]

Here's something you might find useful. Open a PDF, any PDF in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader. Move the cursor to the BOTTOM LEFT of the document page. Acrobat should show you the size of the page (in inches or mm). You can use this to check you are getting what you expect when you make a PDF.

[sheana2014 · Accepted solution]

This is extremely useful....thanks so much!

[BobLevine]

Or you can enable it in your preferences. I like having it on at all times.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Just one more aspect of your question: PDF is the right format to upload print books to KDP. It is accepted for Kindle, but not recommended. You will want to export to EPUB (with some formatting changes, most likely) if you want to add a Kindle edition to your listing.

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