When it comes to saving documents to the web, Adobe's PDF format rules the roost. However, users have traditionally grumbled about the fact that you need to shell out lots of cash in order to get Acrobat, the program used to create PDF files. Thankfully, FreePDF offers a free alternative that does a pretty good job of making PDF files complete with password protection. As a result, you can use the program to save files from a number of formats into printable format, including Word documents, pictures or Web pages.

The program is a doddle to use, installing itself on your machine and adding an option for you to 'Print to PDF' in your printer dialog. From here you can choose from a wide variety of options for output, such as the dimensions or the resoltution. Despite the fact that you're limited to the number of PDF files you can generate, FreePDF XP performs very well and is a viable alternative to Acrobat.