Sending a Word file means trusting that the other person has the same fonts, the same version of Word and the same page size settings. Often they do not, and your neat invoice or resume arrives with a table split across two pages. A PDF fixes the layout in place: it looks the same on a phone, a Mac, a Windows laptop and in a browser, and nobody can change it by accident.
This converter takes a Word document from any device, including phones and Chromebooks that do not have Word installed, and returns a PDF in a few seconds. It reads .docx, the older .doc format, OpenDocument .odt files from LibreOffice and .rtf files.
How to convert Word to PDF
- Save your document and close it in Word. A file that is still open can be locked or saved halfway, especially on network drives and OneDrive folders.
- Drag the file onto the box above, or click the box and choose it. The box shows the accepted types and the current size limit.
- Check the name and size in the file bar. Use Choose another file if it is the wrong version.
- Click Convert to PDF. You see the upload progress with megabytes sent, then In line with your position if the server is busy, then Convert.
- When the box says Your file is ready, the PDF downloads automatically. If it does not, click Download PDF.
- Open the PDF and scroll through every page once. The checklist below takes about two minutes.
- Click Convert another file to do the next document.
The file travels over HTTPS to our conversion server. The upload is deleted as soon as the job ends and the PDF 30 minutes after it is ready. The tool sends nothing except the file and the tool name.
What carries over into the PDF
| In your Word file | In the PDF | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Text, headings, bold, italics, colors | Kept | Text stays selectable and searchable |
| Tables, borders and shading | Kept | Very wide tables may wrap if a font is replaced |
| Images and logos | Kept at their resolution in the document | Word may have compressed them when saving |
| Headers, footers and page numbers | Kept | Different first page settings are respected |
| Hyperlinks | Usually clickable | Test one or two in the PDF |
| Page size and margins | Kept as set in the document | A4 stays A4, Letter stays Letter |
| Fonts installed with Office or Windows | Usually kept, or replaced by a close match | See the fonts section below |
| Comments and tracked changes | May appear as markup | Accept changes and delete comments first |
| Macros, form controls, embedded videos | Not kept as working features | A PDF shows the page, not the program behind it |
Fonts: the one thing to check
The layout of a document depends on the exact width of every letter. If your file uses a font the conversion server does not have, it substitutes a font with similar metrics. Common fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri and Cambria have well known equivalents, so documents in those fonts usually come out line for line identical. Brand fonts, script fonts and fonts bought from a foundry are where problems start: a slightly wider replacement font can push the last line of a page onto the next one, or make a heading wrap.
Two ways to avoid surprises:
- Embed the fonts in the Word file. In Word for Windows, go to File > Options > Save and tick Embed fonts in the file. Some fonts do not allow embedding because of their license, and the file grows, but the converter can then use the real font.
- Stick to common fonts for documents you send often. Invoices, quotes and policy documents rarely need a custom typeface, and a standard font is also easier to read on a phone.
Clean up the Word file before converting
Most PDF problems start in the Word file. A quick tidy saves a second conversion.
- Tracked changes and comments. Go to Review, choose Accept > Accept All Changes, then Delete > Delete All Comments in Document. Otherwise colored markup and comment balloons can end up in the PDF that your client sees.
- Hidden text and personal details. On Windows, File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document finds hidden text, author names and leftover comments.
- Update fields. Press Ctrl+A and then F9 so the table of contents, page references and dates are current. A PDF freezes whatever the fields showed when it was made.
- Blank last page. An empty paragraph after a table often creates a blank final page. Turn on formatting marks (Ctrl+Shift+8) and delete it, or set that paragraph to 1 pt font size.
Page size, margins and printing
The PDF keeps the page size set in the document, so check it before converting if the file will be printed. In the US and Canada the standard is Letter (8.5 x 11 inches). Almost everywhere else it is A4 (210 x 297 mm), which is slightly narrower and taller. A resume made in the UK and printed in Chicago on Letter paper either gets scaled down or loses a strip at the bottom.
In Word, open Layout > Size and pick the size your reader uses. Then look at Layout > Margins: very narrow margins (under about 0.25 inch or 6 mm) can be cut off by office printers, which cannot print to the edge of the sheet. If you do not know where the PDF will be printed, Letter with 1 inch margins or A4 with 2.5 cm margins is the safe choice for each region.
Images and PDF file size
A text only document of 20 pages usually produces a PDF of a few hundred kilobytes. Photos are what make a PDF heavy. Word normally compresses pictures when you save, but documents built from phone photos or screenshots can still reach 20 or 30 MB. That is too large for many email accounts, which cap attachments at 20 to 25 MB.
The fix is to shrink the pictures before converting: select a picture in Word, open Picture Format > Compress Pictures, untick Apply only to this picture and choose 150 ppi (often labeled Web or E-mail). For a PDF you have already made, Compress PDF does the same job afterwards.
Worked examples
An invoice made in Word
A one page invoice in Calibri with a logo, a five row table and a total converts into a 1 page PDF of about 100 to 200 KB, depending on the logo. Before sending it, check that the total and the bank details are on the same page as the table. If you send invoices every week, the free invoice generator creates a PDF invoice directly, with no Word file at all.
A resume in a designed template
Resume templates often use two columns, text boxes and an uncommon font. Convert it, then compare the PDF with Word side by side. If the sidebar text wraps differently, embed the font as described above or switch the template to a common font. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems read PDFs well, as long as the text is real text and not a picture.
A refund policy for your online store
You wrote the policy in Word and want a PDF to attach to order emails. Convert it and attach it, but keep the policy as a normal page on your store as well. Google Merchant Center looks for return policy and contact details on your website itself, and missing or hard to find policies are a common reason for misrepresentation warnings. The misrepresentation guide explains what Google checks, and the refund policy generator writes the page text. If you run several stores, AM Jarvis GMC Scanner and Fixer scans a connected store for missing policy pages and contact information and pushes the fixes.
Other ways to make a PDF from Word
- Word for Windows: File > Save As, then choose PDF in the file type list, or File > Export > Create PDF/XPS. Uses your own fonts, so it is the most faithful option when you have Word.
- Word for Mac: File > Save As and pick PDF under File Format.
- Google Docs: open the .docx in Docs, then File > Download > PDF Document (.pdf). Docs may reflow complex layouts when it opens the Word file.
- Print to PDF: every current operating system can print any document to a PDF file. Links are often lost this way.
- This converter: handy when you have the file but not the app: on a phone, a tablet, a Chromebook or a borrowed computer, or when someone sends you an old .doc you cannot open.
After converting: useful next steps
- Several documents that belong together, such as a quote, terms and a brochure, can be joined into one file with Merge PDF.
- If the document must be signed, add a signature in the browser with Sign PDF.
- To stop the PDF from being opened by anyone without the password, use Protect PDF.
Troubleshooting
The PDF has an extra blank page
An empty paragraph or a page break after the last table or image is spilling onto a new page. Delete it in Word, save and convert again.
Text wraps differently than in Word
A font was replaced. Embed fonts in the Word file or change the text to a common font, then convert again.
Colored underlines or comment boxes show in the PDF
The document still contains tracked changes or comments. Accept all changes and delete all comments, save, and convert again.
The table of contents shows "Bookmark not defined"
The table of contents or a cross reference points to a heading that was deleted or renamed. In Word, right-click the table of contents, choose Update Field and then Update entire table. Fix any reference that still shows the error, save, and convert again.
"This file could not be used"
The file is damaged, password protected, or not really a Word document (for example a renamed .pages file). Open it in Word or LibreOffice. If it asks for a password, remove the password in Word under File > Info > Protect Document and save a copy. For Apple Pages files, export to Word from Pages first.
The upload stops or fails
The message says the server could not be reached. Check your connection and click Try again. On a weak mobile connection, a large file with many photos may take a while; the progress bar shows how much has been sent.
"Daily limit reached" or "temporarily unavailable"
The first means you used today's free conversions; the count resets tomorrow. The second means the conversion server is paused for a moment. Click Check again after a minute.
Limits to know about
- One document per conversion, up to the size shown in the drop box.
- Password protected Word files cannot be converted until the password is removed in Word.
- Uncommon fonts may be replaced by similar ones unless they are embedded in the file.
- Macros, form controls and embedded media do not work in a PDF.
- The PDF is deleted from our server 30 minutes after it is ready.