Convert Word to PDF

Convert the file or export directly from Word

This tool accepts only DOCX files and creates a new PDF from them with searchable, selectable text. It does not replicate the pages from Word but typesets the content anew. Paragraphs and tables are reflowed, and all original fonts are replaced by the embedded font Liberation Sans. Pagination and page count may therefore differ from the Word document. This suits text-focused documents such as letters, cover letters, lists or simple tables, where the content matters rather than the exact page appearance.

If the original layout matters, export the PDF directly in Word. This applies, for example, to a designed CV, fixed page requirements or specific fonts. Word then creates the PDF from the page layout it calculates itself and offers additional export options. Microsoft describes this in the guide Save or convert to PDF or XPS in Office desktop apps.

For the reverse route, i.e. making a PDF editable again, use Convert PDF to Word.

How to convert a DOCX file to PDF

1. Click “Choose file” or drag the file onto the “or drop file here” area. Per run, the tool processes exactly one unencrypted DOCX file.
2. Start with “Convert to PDF”. With “Cancel” you stop processing, and no file is created.
3. In the result, read the “Notes on the result”. They state, for example, that an image now appears after its paragraph or that internal references were carried over only as text. The result also shows the size of the original, the size of the PDF and the page count.
4. Save the PDF with “Download”. Then open the saved file and check it before passing it on.
5. Use “Reset” to start with the next file.

The following upper limits apply to the file:

• up to 20 MiB file size
• at most 60 MiB of unpacked content
• up to 500,000 characters
• at most 100 PDF pages in the result

Even a smaller file is rejected if it contains content that the tool cannot carry over. The next section explains which content that is.

The conversion runs in your browser, and the file is not sent to a server. Your DOCX file stays unchanged, because a new PDF is always created. No account or payment step is needed for the conversion. For the tool to work, the page and the required font files must be loaded. Use without an internet connection is therefore not promised.

What is carried over and what leads to rejection

The tool carries over a clearly limited part of what Word can do. If a document contains unsupported components, the tool rejects it entirely. That way, no content goes missing from the PDF without you knowing about it.

These contents also lead to rejection

• Comments, tracked changes and hidden text
• Fields, footnotes and endnotes, equations, charts, text boxes and content controls
• multiple sections or multi-column text
• older DOC files, encrypted files, files with macros or ActiveX elements, and digitally signed DOCX files
• damaged or invalid files

Older DOC file or rejected document

A DOC file does not become a DOCX file just because you rename the file extension. The tool recognizes the old format and rejects the file. Instead, open it in Word and save it via “Save As” as a Word Document (.docx). You can also export it as a PDF right there. If a document is rejected because of complex content, the PDF export in Word is usually the more direct route. Alternatively, simplify the affected parts in a copy, provided the document is still correct afterwards.

The new PDF is an ordinary PDF. It is created neither as PDF/A nor as accessible PDF/UA, contains no structure tags for accessibility and carries no digital signature.

Exporting a PDF directly in Word

The exact menu names depend on your version of Word. Microsoft's guides are authoritative; the following routes summarize them.

• Word for Windows: Under “File”, choose the “Save a Copy” or “Save As” command and PDF as the file type. Under “Options”, you set the page range, among other things. There you also decide whether markup, document properties and structure tags for accessibility are exported as well.
• Word for Mac: Under “File”, choose the “Save As” or “Save a Copy” command and PDF as the file format. Finally, confirm in the dialog with “Export”. Microsoft points out that hyperlinks may be lost with the variant optimized for printing.
• Word for the web: Under “File” and “Export”, you download the PDF. In doing so, you decide whether comments should be included. The file ends up wherever your browser saves downloads.

You can find the steps in detail from Microsoft under Save or convert to PDF or XPS in Office desktop apps for Windows and Mac. For Word for the web, there is the guide Export Word document as PDF.

A font can also be substituted when exporting from Word, for example if it cannot be embedded. So check a PDF exported from Word for fonts and links as well.

Comments, changes and document content

Comments and tracked changes can contain internal notes, earlier wording or names that are not intended for the recipient. So decide deliberately before exporting whether they belong in the PDF. This tool does not make that decision for you. If the DOCX file contains comments, tracked changes or hidden text, it is rejected. So the tool neither leaves anything out unnoticed nor makes anything visible unintentionally.

If this content should not go into the PDF, edit a copy in Word:

• Resolve and delete comments
• Accept or reject changes
• Remove hidden text if it doesn't belong in the document

You can then convert the cleaned-up DOCX file here. If comments should deliberately remain visible, export directly in Word. In Word for the web, choose the download with comments; in Word for Windows, the option for markup.

The tool does not carry document properties of the DOCX file, such as the author or custom properties, over into the new PDF. The PDF receives its own technically generated metadata, for example about the creating program. This is not complete anonymization. Names and details in the visible text, in headers and footers or in images remain included. In Word for Windows, you set under “Options” when exporting whether the document properties go into the PDF.

A PDF is not automatically protected against changes, whether it comes from this tool or from Word. If you need to make sure a document arrives unchanged, converting it to a PDF is not enough.

Check the layout before sending

Open the saved PDF and go through it completely once, whether it comes from this tool or from Word. Pay particular attention to these points:

• Pages: Is every heading next to its text, and do important sections start where they should?
• Text: Are umlauts, ß, euro signs, names and amounts correct, and can they be selected?
• Tables: Are all rows present, and are the values in the correct columns?
• Images: Are photos and graphics in an understandable place, and are they fully visible?
• Headers and footers: Do the letterhead and footer appear as intended?
• Links: Can web links be clicked, and do they lead to the right destination?
• Content: Is the PDF free of comments, change markings or drafts that are not intended for the recipient?

Delete the Word original only once the PDF is right. For job application documents, you can find further tips in the guide PDFs for job applications.

Combining several Word documents into one PDF

The tool always converts exactly one file and does not merge files. If your cover letter, CV and attachments should end up in one PDF, proceed as follows:

1. Convert each DOCX file individually here. If the layout must stay exact, export each one as a PDF in Word instead.
2. Open Merge PDF files and select the new PDFs together with existing PDF attachments, for example a certificate.
3. Put the files in the desired order and merge them.
4. Check in the finished PDF that all pages are complete and in the correct order.

The merge tool accepts only PDF files. You therefore need to convert Word files first.

Reducing the size of the finished PDF if needed

You cannot tell how large the PDF will be from the size of the DOCX file. A DOCX file is packed internally, while the PDF contains embedded fonts and images. The PDF may therefore turn out larger than the original. The tool shows you the size of the result directly after the conversion.

If the file is too large, for example for an email or an upload form, you can reduce the size of the finished PDF. If a fixed upper limit applies, use PDF to target size. How much a PDF shrinks depends on its content; a specific size is not guaranteed. Afterwards, check that text and images are still easily legible.