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Mac PowerPoint to PDF Instructions

One way to avoid computer compatibility problems is to make a PDF of your poster and print the PDF rather than the PowerPoint file. This may also make the file significantly smaller in terms of disk space. You will, however, need to change some settings in your “Page Setup.” Here are instructions for making a PDF from PowerPoint on a Mac.

  • 1. With your poster file open, go to “File” on the menu bar and select “Page Setup.”

  • 2. In the size section, you should see the following:

    • Slides sized for: custom

    • Width: 48 inches

    • Height: 36 inches

  • 3. Toward the bottom of that window, select “Options.”

  • 4. From the “paper size” pull-down menu, select “Manage Custom Sizes...”

  • 5. On the left, towards the bottom, click “+”

  • 6. The word “untitled” will appear in the list above. Double-click on this and rename it “poster.”

  • 7. Change the settings as follows:

    • Page size: width 36 in, height 48 in

    • ** note that the height and width are the reverse of the actual poster. This is because the roll of paper in the printer is 36 inches wide so the poster actually prints sideways.

    • Printer margins: top 0 in, right 0 in, left 0 in, bottom 0 in

  • 8. Click “okay” in the three pop-up windows to close “Page Setup.”

  • 9. Go to “File” on the menu bar and select “Print” (your poster should appear in the window in the correct orientation).

  • 10. At the bottom left corner, click on “PDF” and then “save as PDF.”

  • 11. Name the document with the “.PDF” extension.

  • 12. Open the resulting PDF file and make sure that everything looks the way you intended.

Our thanks to Margaret Funnell of the Office of Undergraduate Advising & Research for these instructions.

The Office of Undergraduate Advising & Research also offers guidelines for creating a poster. Click here for more information.