Do you have a Microsoft Word document you need to export as a portable document format (PDF) file? Here are four ways to export or convert your Word document into a PDF.
Tip: of course, you can also convert a PDF to Word to make the document editable.
Content
- How to Convert a Word Document to PDF in Microsoft Word
- How to Export a Word Document as a PDF in Google Docs
- How to Convert a Word Document to PDF Using LibreOffice Writer
- Frequently Asked Questions
How to Convert a Word Document to PDF in Microsoft Word
You can export a Microsoft Word document directly from Word using the Export or Save As features as follows.
Using Export
Open the Word document you want to export to PDF format on your device. Click File in the top-left corner.
Go to Export in the sidebar, click on Create PDF/XPS Document, then the Create PDF/XPS button.
Type a filename for your PDF, choose a save folder, then click on Publish.
Tip: need to delete a page or more from a PDF? Here’s how to do that quickly.
Using Save As
Open or create the Word document you want to export to PDF format. Click on File in the top-left corner of the ribbon menu. Go to the Save As or Save a Copy tab, and choose the folder where you want to save your PDF file.
Click on the drop-down for file types, then select PDF (*.pdf).
Type a filename. If you’d like to edit the author, add a tag, or specify the manager, you can do that below.
Click Save to export the file.
Tip: did you know how easy it is to add a checklist in Word?
How to Export a Word Document as a PDF in Google Docs
Follow the steps below to download any Word docs as a PDF using Google Docs, which is free to use with a Google account.
Go to Google Docs in your web browser on your device.
Click the colorful + sign on the lower-right side of the display.
Click on File -> Open in the top-left corner.
Go to the Upload tab, and click on Browse. You can also drag the Word document from your File Explorer to the Open a file screen.
Look for the Word document, and click on Open. Wait for your file to finish uploading.
Click on File -> Download, and select PDF Document (.pdf) from the nested menu. Wait for the download to finish.
FYI: take a look at this list of LibreOffice Writer shortcuts to be more efficient while using the app.
How to Convert a Word Document to PDF Using LibreOffice Writer
LibreOffice is open-source software that has a Word counterpart, LibreOffice Writer. Install it and follow the steps below to use LibreOffice to convert a Word document to PDF.
Launch LibreOffice Writer on your device. Click on File -> Open. Locate the Word document you want to export, select it, then click Open.
Click on File -> Export As and click on Export as PDF.
In the PDF Options dialog box, click on Export. You can opt to turn just select pages of your document into a PDF by using the Pages field.
If you want to protect the resulting PDF, go to the Security tab, and click on Set Passwords.
Set and confirm the open and permission passwords, and click OK.
Confirm that the passwords were applied, and click on Export. Choose where to save your PDF, and press Save.
Tip: want to view your PDF later? Check out these free, recommended PDF readers for Windows.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some free online Word-to-PDF conversion tools I can use?
If you’d rather use an online free tool or a program to make Word docs conversion, check out some of the best free PDF convertors. Do realize that you need to be willing to upload the documents you want to convert into these web tools.
Note that some websites have limits on file size and the number of times you can convert a Word document to PDF. To get unlimited conversions, it’s best to use Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or LibreOffice Writer.
How do I edit a PDF’s metadata or add a password after I convert it from a Word document?
If you want to modify the author, tags, and title metadata after a Word-to-PDF conversion, use an online tool like Sedja, PDF Candy, or 2PDF. For more advanced editing, such as changing fonts, try a program like Filestar.
Try PDF2Go, iLovePDF, or Smallpdf if you want to add a password to your PDF. If you have a paid subscription to Adobe Acrobat, there is already an option to add a password to PDFs. You can also remove a password from a PDF using various tools.
Image credit: Pexels, Flaticon, Flaticon, Flaticon. All screenshots by Alexandra Arici.
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Alexandra Arici –
Staff Writer
Alexandra is passionate about mobile tech and can be often found fiddling with a smartphone from some obscure company. She kick-started her career in tech journalism in 2013, after working a few years as a middle-school teacher. Constantly driven by curiosity, Alexandra likes to know how things work and to share that knowledge with everyone.
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