Website only accepts PDF? How to make one on Mac
Convert what you have into a PDF on your Mac. With FileMate, right-click in Finder: Convert to PDF for Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, Create PDF for one photo or scan, and Merge into PDF… to combine several images or PDFs into one document in the order you choose. If the PDF is over the form’s limit, Compress PDF makes it smaller.
Your documents are turned into PDFs on your Mac, not on a converter website.
Make the PDF with FileMate
- A Word, Excel or PowerPoint file: right-click it and choose FileMate › Convert to PDF.
- One photo or scan: right-click it and choose FileMate › Create PDF.
- Several pages: select the images or PDFs, right-click, choose FileMate › Merge into PDF…, set the order, and click Merge.
- Over the size limit: right-click the PDF and choose FileMate › Compress PDF.
Why forms ask for PDF
A PDF looks the same on every computer, can’t easily be changed, and holds several pages in one file. That’s why job applications, universities, landlords, insurers and government portals ask for CVs, certificates, receipts and signed forms as PDFs.
The usual cases
| You have | You need | With FileMate |
|---|---|---|
| A CV in Word | One PDF | Convert to PDF |
| Photos of a signed form, front and back | One PDF, two pages | Merge into PDF… |
| A receipt photographed on your phone | A PDF | Create PDF |
| Three certificates as separate PDFs | One PDF | Merge into PDF… |
| A 40 MB scan, limit 10 MB | A smaller PDF | Compress PDF |
Without FileMate
- Word, Pages: File › Export To › PDF in Pages, or File › Save As › PDF in Word.
- Images: select them in Finder, right-click, and choose Quick Actions › Create PDF.
- Any app that prints: File › Print, then PDF › Save as PDF.
Tips for upload-ready PDFs
- Use A4 or US Letter pages for scans and photos, in FileMate’s Page size for images menu, so the PDF prints and displays like a normal document.
- Put pages in order before merging. FileMate lets you drag them into order; macOS’s Create PDF uses file names.
- Name the file clearly, for example
Surname CV.pdf. Reviewers download many files.
Get FileMate
Documents, photos and scans become one upload-ready PDF from Finder’s right-click menu. FileMate does it on your Mac, and your documents stay there.
Normal price €9.99, now €4.99 incl. VAT
One payment, no subscription. macOS 14 Sonoma or later, Apple silicon or Intel.