When your thesis or dissertation is complete and revisions have been made to the document, you will need to convert your word processing document to Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF) in order to submit your file electronically to the University of Pittsburgh’s institutional repository, D-Scholarship@Pitt, at http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/. It is your responsibility as the author to completely review the PDF document for conversion accuracy, and to adhere to requirements for the electronic version. Refer to the ETD Format Guidelines Manual for details on PDF requirements.

 PDF is the cross-platform standard for electronic document distribution. PDF is a universal file format that preserves fonts, formatting, graphics, and color of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it. You can convert any document to PDF using either Word's save as command or via Adobe Acrobat software.  You can view and print PDF files using the Adobe Acrobat Reader or a Web Browser that has the Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in. Please refer to Pitt IT's software for students for pricing and availability (https://www.technology.pitt.edu/software/student). It should be noted that the Mac versions of Word do not fully integrate the PDFMaker functionality and you may need to locate a PC to do the final conversion.

ETD Template v1.9 and later versions

For Mac users:

• Complete your ETD editing and be sure to update your Table of Contents and any Lists of Figures or Tables you might have used.
• Navigate to the File menu and select the Save As command.
• Under the options for File Format, select PDF.
• Be sure that the options for "Best for electronic distribution and accessibility (uses Microsoft online service) and hit Export. (see image below)

• Open up the newly created PDF and check the bookmarks and other links within the document. 
• If this method causes any errors or fails to create the PDF, you may need to use a PC with  PDFmaker and Adobe Acrobat DC to complete this step.
• If your document is larger than 40MB the Word for Mac client might not be able to compile your document into a PDF. If that is the case you may wish to use the Pitt Virtual Lab client to use a virtual PC to do your conversion. (https://www.technology.pitt.edu/services/virtual-lab)

For PC users:

• Complete your ETD editing and be sure to update your Table of Contents and any Lists of Figures or Tables you might have used.
• Navigate to the File menu and select the Save As command.
• Select PDF as the file type and then hit the More options link under that drop-down menu.
• In this Save As menu, click the Options... button in the lower portion of the box.
• In the Options box that opens, select under the Include non-printing information section --> Create bookmarks using: Headings.
• Be sure to not select the Word bookmarks as this will create more bookmarks than are necessary and not be acceptable by your school.
• Hit Ok and then click Save.
• This should open your PDF in an Adobe Reader application. Check the bookmarks and other links within the document.  
• If this method causes any errors or fails to create the PDF, you may need to use a lab PC with PDFmaker and Adobe Acrobat DC to complete this step.

ETD File Names

Consideration should be given to the file name of the PDF version of your thesis or dissertation. An appropriate naming scheme for your PDF file should include your last name, or a combination of last name, first name and middle initial, date/year, and should not contain any spaces.

Example file names include smithja_final_etd.pdf, smithja_final_etd2018.pdf, and smithja__final_etdPitt2018.pdf.  Please try not to use alphanumeric characters and try not to use spaces between the portions of the file name. It is better to use an underscore ( _ ) just in case there is an issue with the file system when uploading.

If you have multiple files that constitute your entire work, naming them with a numeric sequence (e.g., smithja_1.pdf, smithja_2.pdf) will allow you to link the files in the correct order and guide readers through the document in a concise manner. Electronic theses and dissertations can have multimedia objects linked to the ETD. Audio, video, or other types of files can accompany your text-based document, but will need to be linked to the PDF file. Any files that will be linked to the PDF file should have file names that identify the object as it is identified in the document (e.g., audio1.wav, figure1.jpg, video1.mpg). ProQuest’s Guide to Publishing states that if multimedia elements are used in the document, file formats should be identified in the dissertation/thesis abstract.

Bookmarks

The PDF version of your thesis or dissertation must include bookmarks for various items in the Word document.

Specifically, bookmarks must be made for:
• Every item listed in the document’s Table of Contents
• All figures listed in the document’s List of Figures
• All tables listed in the document’s List of Tables
• Any captioned items such as equations or media clips etc.
• And for the Title Page, Committee Page, Abstract, and Appendix

Bookmarks can be automatically created from your Word document if you’ve formatted it with the correct styles. 

PDF Review and Settings

Once you convert your word processing document to PDF, it is your responsibility as the author to completely review the PDF document for conversion accuracy, and to make sure that the document adheres to requirements for electronic theses and dissertations. If the document contains links to web site addresses, test the links within Acrobat/Reader to confirm that they are still active. You should print or review the document on screen to make sure that all components of the document (e.g., text, formulas, and graphics) converted correctly. University of Pittsburgh ETDs must include bookmarks for the table of contents and lists of figures and tables.