A Word document is a set of instructions that each computer lays out for itself. Open the same file on a different machine, with different fonts or a different version of Word, and the lines break differently, a table slips onto the next page, and the signature block ends up alone at the top of a blank sheet. A PDF fixes the layout once, so everyone sees the same pages. That is the whole reason to convert.
Converting is easy. Converting well depends on a few choices most people never notice they are making.
Save As PDF versus Print to PDF
There are two common ways to make a PDF from Word, and they produce noticeably different files.
Save As or Export to PDF (File > Save As, then choose PDF as the file type) uses Word's own PDF export. It understands the document: hyperlinks still work, headings can become bookmarks in the PDF's sidebar, and the file can carry the structure that screen readers need.
Print to PDF (File > Print, then choose Microsoft Print to PDF or a similar printer) treats the PDF as a sheet of paper. You get the look of the document, but links stop working, there are no bookmarks and the accessibility structure is lost.
For almost everything, use Save As. Print to PDF is a fallback for programs that have no export option of their own.
The options worth changing
In Word for Windows, the Save As dialogue has an Options button once PDF is selected. Most people never press it. These are the settings that matter:
- Create bookmarks using: Headings. If you used Word's heading styles, this turns them into a clickable outline in the PDF. For anything longer than a few pages, readers will thank you.
- Document structure tags for accessibility. Leave this on. It lets screen readers follow headings, lists and reading order, and some organisations require it.
- Document properties. This copies the title, author and other fields into the PDF. Useful when they are correct. Embarrassing when the author field names the colleague who created the template five years ago.
- ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A). PDF/A is an archiving format that embeds all fonts and avoids features that may not display the same way in future. Tick it when a court, university or government archive asks for PDF/A, but not by default, as it can make files larger.
Next to the file type there is also a choice between Standard and Minimum size. Standard keeps images at print quality. Minimum size lowers their resolution, which is fine for a document that will only be read on screen.
The tracked-changes trap
This is the mistake that causes the most trouble. If a document has tracked changes or comments, and Word is set to show them, the PDF can include them: deleted wording crossed out in red, inserted text underlined, and comment balloons in the margin. Contracts and offers have gone out showing every earlier draft, including the figures that were negotiated away.
Before converting:
- On the Review tab, accept or reject every change, then turn off Track Changes.
- Delete every comment. On the same tab, use Delete > Delete All Comments in Document.
- In the Save As options, check that Publish what is set to Document, not Document showing markup.
Then open the PDF and look at it. Hiding markup in Word's view does not remove it from the file.
Why the layout moves, and how to stop it
When a converted PDF looks wrong, the problem almost always started before the conversion.
Convert on the computer where the document looks right. A PDF records what Word showed at that moment. If you email the .docx to someone else to convert, their fonts and settings will lay it out again, and that is where the slipped table comes from.
Use fonts that can be embedded. Word embeds fonts in the PDF so the recipient does not need them installed. A small number of fonts are licensed in a way that does not allow this. If a heading looks wrong in the PDF, try a common font instead.
Set the paper size before you start. Word in the United States and some other countries defaults to Letter (216 by 279 mm). Most of the rest of the world uses A4 (210 by 297 mm). A Letter document printed on A4 gets odd margins, and a long one can gain or lose a page. Check Layout > Size first, especially in templates downloaded from the internet.
Check image compression. Word compresses pictures when it saves, by default to 220 pixels per inch in recent versions. That is fine for photos, but it can soften detailed diagrams or scanned signatures. The setting is under File > Options > Advanced, in the Image Size and Quality section.
Google Docs, LibreOffice and phones
The same ideas apply in other programs. In Google Docs, use File > Download > PDF Document; links are kept. LibreOffice Writer has File > Export as PDF, with a detailed options window that includes PDF/A, bookmarks from headings and tagged PDF for accessibility. On a phone, the Word and Google Docs apps both offer PDF export; it works, but check the result carefully on a larger screen before sending anything important.
Check before you send
Open the finished PDF and spend thirty seconds on it.
- Scroll every page. Look for tables split in the wrong place, headings stranded at the bottom of a page, and blank pages at the end.
- Click a link to confirm links survived.
- Look for markup. Red text, underlines or comment balloons mean the tracked-changes step was missed.
- Check the properties. PDF metadata shows the title and author the file is carrying. Correct or clear them.
- Check the size. If an upload form rejects it, Compress PDF can usually bring it down without visible loss.
If the PDF is one part of a larger set, convert each document first, then combine them with Merge PDF and number the finished set with Page numbers, so the numbers run continuously across the whole pack.
The tools linked here run in your browser, so contracts, offers and other drafts never leave your computer while you check and tidy them.