Skip to content

How to Save a Word Document as a PDF

2 minute read

Word Green

Converting a Microsoft Word document to a PDF file is useful for many reasons. We’ll show you two ways to do it, along with some helpful customization options.

PDFs are a great type of file to share between different operating systems, because there are typically no conversion issues. You can really count on them to appear the way you intend them to. They are also great for preventing editing to a file without the use of specialized software. They typically have smaller file sizes, and for official communications, many businesses and organizations prefer the PDF standard.

There are two ways to create PDFs within Microsoft Word.

Option 1: Save As

  • In Word, go to File > Save As instead of just saving the file.

save-word-doc-as-pdf-screenshot-01

 

  • You can then select the PDF file type from the dropdown menu. Give your file name a name that’s distinct from the Word version to keep them from getting confused. And now you have a PDF version of your Word document!

save-word-doc-as-pdf-screenshot-1

 

Option 2: Export

  • If you want a little more control control over the PDF creation process, you want to come up to File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document. 

save-word-doc-as-pdf-screenshot-2

  • Click Publish if you’re done. But if you want to see some customization options, click Options. 

save-word-doc-as-pdf-screenshot-3a

 

 

Helpful customization options when exporting

  • PDFing a page range. You can select a page range to export as a PDF, rather than exporting the entire document. This is really helpful when you only need a portion of a document in PDF form.

save-word-doc-as-pdf-screenshot-3

 

  • Include tracked changes in the PDF. Another helpful option for documents that you may have shared with collaborators is the option that says, “Documents showing markup.” If you check this box, it allows you to include any tracked changes in the PDF that you export from Word.

Click here to watch this video on YouTube.

Reviewed and working in 2021

Sign up for our newsletter