How to convert a Word document to PDF

Why send a PDF instead of a Word file

• It looks the same everywhere. A Word file can reflow when the reader has other fonts, another version of Word or a different paper size; a PDF keeps every line and page break where you put them.
• It opens anywhere. Every computer, phone and web browser can show a PDF, with no word processor needed.
• It's harder to change by accident, which suits contracts, invoices, CVs and reports.
• It's ready for the next step: signing, sending for signature, merging, numbering pages and long-term archiving all work on PDFs.

How to convert Word to PDF in PDFZyro

1. 1Create a free PDFZyro account and click Office to PDF on the Home page.
2. 2Click Choose files, or drop your files onto the page. Word documents (.docx and .doc) and Word templates work, and so do Excel, PowerPoint, OpenDocument (.odt, .ods, .odp) and RTF files. You can add up to 50 files at once.
3. 3Wait for each file to finish uploading. Remove any you added by mistake with the X next to its name.
4. 4Click Convert to PDF. With several files, the button says how many it will convert. The conversion runs in the background and shows its progress.
5. 5When Your PDF is ready appears, click Open to view it. Each file becomes its own PDF in your documents, named after the original, and the uploaded files are deleted.
6. 6Download the PDF, or keep working on it: sign it, send it for signature, protect it with a password or merge it with other PDFs.

How to save a Word document as a PDF in Word and other apps

These are fine when you have the app and one document. An online converter helps when you're on a phone or a computer without Word, when you can't open the format someone sent you, or when you have a pile of files to convert in one go.

• Word for Windows: choose File, then Save As (or Save a Copy), pick a folder and choose PDF in the Save as type list. Click Options to choose the pages and to create bookmarks from your headings.
• Word for Mac: choose File, then Save As, and pick PDF in the File Format list. Choose Best for electronic distribution and accessibility to keep links and headings.
• Word for the web: the File menu has an option to download the document as a PDF.
• Google Docs: choose File, then Download, then PDF Document (.pdf).
• LibreOffice Writer: choose File, then Export As, then Export as PDF.
• Pages on a Mac: choose File, then Export To, then PDF.
• Any app: print the document and choose Microsoft Print to PDF on Windows, or Save as PDF in the PDF menu of the print dialog on a Mac. Links and headings are usually lost this way, so use it only when nothing else works.

Before you convert: tidy the Word file

• Accept or reject tracked changes, and delete comments you don't want others to see. Depending on how the document is set to show markup, they can end up in the PDF.
• Check the document properties (File, then Info in Word). The author, title and company can be copied into the PDF's metadata.
• Use Word's heading styles for headings rather than bold text. Word can turn them into PDF bookmarks, and they make long documents easier to find your way around.
• Watch out for unusual fonts. A converter can only use the fonts it has, and PDFZyro replaces any it doesn't have with similar ones, which can move line breaks. Check the PDF, or convert in Word when the exact font matters.
• Remove macros. Files with macros are refused for safety, so save a copy as .docx, .xlsx or .pptx first.
• Remove the password. A password-protected Word file can't be converted: remove the password in Word, then upload the file again.

Converting Excel and PowerPoint files to PDF

Office to PDF converts spreadsheets and presentations the same way. For Excel, set the page up before converting: in Page Layout, choose the orientation, set a print area if you only want part of a sheet, and fit wide tables to one page wide so their columns aren't split across pages. Hide or delete sheets you don't want in the PDF, and check the result, because what you see on screen isn't always what fits on paper.

For PowerPoint, each slide becomes a page. Animations and videos don't carry over to a PDF, so make sure every slide makes sense as a still picture.

What to do with the PDF next

• Combine it with other PDFs: open Merge and add the new PDF with the others, in the order you want.
• Get it signed: click Request signatures, add the people who sign and place their fields.
• Protect it: add a password to open it, or limit printing, copying and changes.
• Make it smaller: compress it if it's too big to email.
• Archive it: PDF/A for archiving makes a copy with every font embedded, for long-term storage.
• Keep the Word file as well. It's still the easiest place to make big changes, and you can convert again afterwards, or turn a PDF back into an editable Word file with PDF to Word.