TXT to PDF — Converting a Notepad to PDF format.

A woman working from home uses a laptop to convert a Notepad file to a PDF.

Make fully workable PDFs out of your Notepad files. Learn how to easily convert Notepad documents to PDF files with a few simple tools.

Many people — whether students or working professionals — use Windows Notepad to jot down quick notes and document drafts. Notepad documents are often saved as TXT files. It’s a conveniently lightweight file format that can be viewed on practically any computer, but it’s also very basic in its functionality.

If you’d like to do more with Notepad files, such as add comments or annotations, you can convert them to PDF files with Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat online services. Both make converting Notepad documents to PDF quick and easy.

How to convert Notepad files to PDFs.

If you don’t have Adobe Acrobat software, try out the PDF conversion tool in Acrobat online services. It’s free and easy to use. You can find it quickly using any web browser, and you can do it from anywhere — even on a mobile device. You’ll just need to sign in with a Google, Apple, or Adobe account.

Follow these quick steps to turn your Notepad file into a PDF:

  1. Open Acrobat or launch Acrobat online services from any web browser.
  2. Select the Convert to PDF tool.
  3. Sign in with a Google, Apple, or Adobe account.
  4. Drag and drop your Notepad file into the converter. You can also click the blue button labeled “Select a file” to manually locate your document.
  5. After the conversion is complete, download your new PDF to save, share, or send.

The steps are similar if you’re using Adobe Acrobat software:

  1. In the File menu, choose Create > PDF from File.
  2. In the Open dialog box, select the file you want to convert. If you can’t locate the file through browsing, open the Files of Type dropdown menu and search for TXT files.
  3. Click Open to convert the file to a PDF.
  4. Choose File > Save or File > Save As to name your PDF and decide where it should be saved.

Batch convert TXT to PDF.

If you want to compile all your TXT notes in one PDF, you can do so quickly with the Merge PDFs tool in Acrobat online services.

  1. Navigate to the Merge PDFs tool.
  2. Drag and drop your files into the conversion frame. You can also locate your files manually.
  3. Highlight the files you want to combine and select Save.
  4. Download your converted and merged PDF file.

If you want the files to stay separate but want to convert them all at once, follow these steps:

  1. Navigate to the Convert to PDF tool.
  2. Select your files manually or by dragging and dropping them into the drop zone.
  3. Download your PDF files once the converter has finished.

TXT vs PDF.

The .txt file extension is not unique to Windows Notepad. It is a basic file type that can display most simple text-based files. For example, it can also be created in WordPad and TextEdit. A TXT file works across platforms and operating systems using an ASCII or Unicode character set. In contrast to a PDF, it works great for jotting down ideas.

PDFs are also frequently text-based, but they have the capacity to display images and more complex formatting. Even for a text-only document, the PDF format adds polish, professionalism, and finality to the content.

The PDF can serve either as the final touch or the first step to enhancing the content you might create in a TXT file. With greater possibilities for editing, adding shapes and images, sharing, commenting, and collaborating, a PDF can take the content in a TXT file to the next level.

Edit your fresh PDF files.

Once the PDF is converted, you can immediately begin to work with it. Add comments and notes, highlight text, compress the PDF to reduce file size, and more.

Acrobat isn’t just a Notepad-to-PDF converter, either. The converter works the same when you need to convert Word or Excel documents or images to PDF — or the other way around.

Adobe makes it easy for individuals, professionals, and businesses to create world-class documents with all the tools you need for creating, viewing, editing, and collaborating in one place. These powerful tools are accessible and intuitive, making it possible for anyone to express their unique ideas in the most impactful ways and get work done faster.

Explore what more you can do with Adobe Acrobat to work with all your PDFs.