The simplest way to convert Word to PDF

Open your Word document, then go to File in the top left corner. Click Save As. A dialog box will appear asking where you want to save the file and what format you want. In the dropdown menu labeled Save as type, scroll down and select PDF. Choose where you want to save it on your computer, give it a name if you want to change it, then click Save. That's it — Word converts the document to PDF automatically.

This method works in Microsoft Word 2010 and newer on both Windows and Mac. The PDF will look almost identical to how the document appears in Word, including fonts, images, and page breaks. If you have never saved a file before, the process is the same as saving any other document — you are just choosing a different format at the end.

Key Takeaways

  • Word's Save As feature converts to PDF in one step without installing anything extra.
  • The PDF will preserve your formatting, fonts, and images exactly as they appear in Word.
  • You can password-protect a PDF during the save process if your version of Word supports it.
  • If Save As is not available, you can print to PDF instead using your computer's print dialog.
  • PDFs created this way cannot be edited in Word — if you need to make changes, edit the Word file first and convert again.

Where to find Save As on different versions of Word

In Word 2016, 2019, and Microsoft 365 (the subscription version), click File at the top left, then Save As. On the left side you will see options for where to save — your computer, OneDrive, or SharePoint. Click This PC if you want to save locally. Then select your folder and change the file type to PDF.

On a Mac, the steps are identical. Open File, click Save As, and look for the format dropdown. It may say Word Document (.docx) by default. Click that dropdown and scroll to find PDF. If you do not see PDF in the list, your version of Word may be very old — in that case, use the print-to-PDF method described below.

In older versions of Word (2007 and earlier on Windows), you may see Export as PDF instead of Save As. Click that option and follow the same steps. The result is the same.

Using Print to PDF if Save As does not work

If your version of Word does not have a PDF option in Save As, you can print to PDF instead. Open your document, then go to File and click Print. In the printer dropdown at the top, look for an option that says Print to File, Save as PDF, or Microsoft Print to PDF — the exact name depends on your operating system and what printers you have installed.

Select that option, then click Print. A dialog will ask where you want to save the file. Choose your folder, name the file, and click Save. The document will be converted to PDF and saved to your computer. This method works on almost any version of Word, including very old ones, because it uses your computer's built-in print system rather than Word's own features.

Checking that your PDF looks right before sharing

After you save, open the PDF file to make sure it converted correctly. Look for any pages that did not format the way you expected, images that did not come through, or text that looks wrong. Most of the time Word converts perfectly, but occasionally a complex document with unusual fonts or layouts may have small issues.

If something looks wrong, go back to the Word document, fix the problem there, and convert again. It is much easier to fix the original than to try to edit the PDF later. If the issue is just a single page, you can also delete that page from the PDF using a free online tool or a PDF editor, though that is slower than fixing the source.

Adding password protection when you save

If your version of Word is Microsoft 365 or Word 2016 or newer, you can password-protect the PDF while saving. When you click Save As and select PDF as the format, look for a button that says Options before you click the final Save button. Click it, and you will see checkboxes for Encrypt the PDF with a password. Check that box, then click OK.

When you click Save, Word will ask you to enter a password twice. Anyone who opens the PDF will need to type that password. This is useful if the document contains sensitive information. Keep the password somewhere safe — if you forget it, you cannot recover it, and the PDF will be locked permanently.

Why you might want to convert to PDF

PDFs look the same on every computer, phone, and printer, no matter what software the person viewing it has installed. Word documents can look different depending on what version of Word someone is using and what fonts they have. If you are sending a document to someone and you want to may provide it looks exactly the way you formatted it, PDF is the safest choice.

PDFs are also harder to edit by accident. Once you convert to PDF, the person reading it cannot easily change the text or formatting — they would need special software to do that. This makes PDF useful for contracts, official documents, or anything you want to stay exactly as you created it. If you need the document to be editable, keep it in Word format instead.

What happens to your original Word file

Converting to PDF does not delete or change your Word document. The original .docx file stays on your computer exactly as it was. You now have two files: the Word version and the PDF version. If you need to make changes, edit the Word file and convert again. You can delete the PDF anytime without affecting the original.

If you want to save space on your computer, you can delete the Word file after you convert, but most people keep both. The Word file takes up very little space, and you might need to edit it later. Only delete it if you are certain you will never need to change the document again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I convert a Word document with tracked changes to PDF?

Yes. The PDF will show all the tracked changes — insertions, deletions, and comments — exactly as they appear in Word. If you want the PDF to show only the final version without the change marks, go to the Review tab in Word, click Accept All Changes, then convert to PDF. This is permanent in the Word file, so save a copy first if you might need the tracked version later.

What if my Word document has links or bookmarks?

Links and bookmarks convert to PDF and stay clickable. A link to a website will work in the PDF. Internal bookmarks (links to other pages in the same document) also work. This is useful for long documents like manuals or reports where you want readers to jump between sections.

Can I convert multiple Word documents to PDF at once?

Word does not have a built-in batch converter, so you have to convert each document one at a time. If you have many documents, you can open them in a folder and convert them quickly by repeating the File > Save As > PDF steps for each one. Some third-party tools offer batch conversion, but Word's own feature requires doing them individually.

Will the PDF be smaller in file size than the Word document?

Usually yes, especially if your Word document has a lot of formatting or embedded objects. PDFs are optimized for viewing and sharing, so they often compress better. However, the difference is usually small — a few hundred kilobytes at most. If file size matters for email or uploading, PDF is generally the better choice.

What if I need to edit the PDF after I create it?

Go back to the Word document, make your changes there, and convert to PDF again. This is faster and more reliable than trying to edit the PDF directly. If you only need to make small changes and do not have the Word file anymore, free online PDF editors like Smallpdf or ILovePDF can help, but they are slower than editing the source document.