How to Convert Word to PDF (Preserve Formatting, Fonts, and Hyperlinks)

Converting a Word document to PDF is one of the most common document tasks — but doing it the wrong way results in fonts that substitute incorrectly, hyperlinks that stop working, and images that blur. There are multiple export paths on every platform, and they do not all produce the same result. This guide explains exactly which method to use and why, with full steps for each platform.

1. TL;DR — Best Method Per Platform

2. Save As PDF vs Print to PDF — the Important Difference

This distinction causes more confusion than anything else in Word-to-PDF conversion. Most operating systems provide a "Print to PDF" feature — on Windows it is called "Microsoft Print to PDF," on Mac it is the "Save as PDF" option in the Print dialog. These are fundamentally different from Word's own export function, and the differences matter.

What Print to PDF Does

When you print to a PDF, the operating system intercepts what your document would look like if it were printed and captures that as a PDF. It essentially takes a picture of each page and wraps it in a PDF container. The output looks visually correct — fonts, margins, images all appear right — but the PDF contains bitmapped renditions of those elements rather than live data.

Specific things that are lost when printing to PDF:

• Hyperlinks become dead — they appear as blue underlined text but clicking them does nothing
• Document bookmarks are lost — the navigation panel in PDF viewers becomes empty
• Accessibility tags are lost — screen readers cannot navigate the document structure
• Some fonts may not embed correctly, depending on the print driver
• Image quality can degrade with some print drivers, especially for small text in images

What Save As PDF Does

Word's built-in Save As PDF (and Export as PDF) is a purpose-built export that understands the document structure. It generates a PDF with a real text layer, embedded fonts, preserved hyperlinks, and optionally document bookmarks. This is the output you want for professional documents.

3. Method 1: Microsoft Word Save As PDF (Best Method)

This is the recommended method for anyone with Word installed. It produces the highest-quality output with all features preserved.

Windows: Word 2016, 2019, 2021, Microsoft 365

Mac: Word for Mac

On Mac, the path is slightly different. Go to File → Save As. At the bottom of the dialog, find the Format dropdown and select PDF. Click Export. This is Word's export path, not the macOS print dialog, so hyperlinks and fonts are preserved correctly.

An alternative Mac path: File → Export → Export to PDF. This opens a dedicated PDF export dialog with options including the "Best for electronic distribution and accessibility" setting, which optimizes the file for screen viewing and preserves all links.

4. Method 2: Google Docs

Google Docs is an excellent Word-to-PDF converter for documents that do not use unusual custom fonts. The output quality is very close to Word's own export, and it works on any device with a browser.

When Google Docs Works Best

For documents with standard formatting using common fonts (Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, Georgia), Google Docs output is virtually indistinguishable from Word's own export. Complex layouts with custom fonts occasionally show minor differences — Google may substitute a similar font if the exact custom font is not available in its rendering engine. For most business documents, resumes, letters, and reports, Google Docs is a reliable free alternative.

5. Method 3: LibreOffice Export

LibreOffice is a free, open-source office suite with an excellent PDF export engine. It gives you more control over output settings than any other free method.

Steps

1. Install LibreOffice from libreoffice.org (free for Windows, Mac, and Linux)
2. Open your DOCX in LibreOffice Writer
3. Go to File → Export as PDF
4. The PDF Options dialog opens — configure settings as needed (see PDF settings section below)
5. Click Export to save the PDF

LibreOffice PDF Settings Worth Knowing

LibreOffice's Export as PDF dialog has options that Word's dialog lacks. The General tab lets you choose which pages to export and set compression quality. The Initial View tab lets you specify how the PDF opens in viewers — page layout, magnification, and which panel (bookmarks, thumbnails, none) appears by default. The Security tab lets you add open password and permission passwords in one step. For power users who export PDFs regularly, these controls are a significant advantage over the simpler Word and Google Docs export dialogs.

6. Method 4: Convertlo Browser Converter

Convertlo converts DOCX to PDF entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded, no account is needed. This is the fastest method when you are on a device without Word or LibreOffice installed.

7. Method 5: macOS Print to Save as PDF

The macOS print dialog has a "Save as PDF" option built into every application — including Word, Pages, and any other app that can print. While this is the quickest path on Mac, it is the print-to-PDF method described earlier, with the associated limitations.

Steps

1. Open your document in any Mac application
2. Press Cmd+P to open the Print dialog
3. Click the PDF dropdown at the bottom-left of the dialog
4. Select Save as PDF
5. Choose a filename and location and click Save

When to Use This Method

Use the macOS print-to-PDF for: quick document shares where hyperlinks do not matter, printing from applications that have no built-in PDF export (web pages, image viewers, custom business applications), and creating PDFs from documents that are going to print, not to be read digitally. Do not use this for documents where you need clickable links, screen reader support, or PDF/A compliance.

8. PDF Settings That Matter

When you use Word's Save As PDF (or LibreOffice Export), the options dialog exposes settings that most people skip. A few of these are genuinely important depending on what you are doing with the file.

PDF/A: Long-Term Archiving

PDF/A is defined by ISO standard 19005 as an archival format. A PDF/A file is fully self-contained — it embeds every font, color profile, and resource the document needs to render exactly as intended, indefinitely. The document does not rely on fonts installed on the viewing computer, online resources, or any external dependencies.

When to use PDF/A:

• Legal filings — many courts and government agencies specifically require PDF/A
• Contract archiving — when a document must be readable decades from now
• Regulatory submissions — compliance filings that need to remain unchanged and verifiable
• Academic records — theses, dissertations, and research papers stored in institutional repositories

To enable PDF/A in Word (Windows): in the Save As dialog, click Options, then check "ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A)" under PDF options. Note that PDF/A prohibits certain features like encryption and embedded multimedia — this is intentional, as archival documents should not have features that could prevent future rendering.

Accessibility Tags

PDF documents can include structural tags that mark headings, paragraphs, lists, images, and tables. These tags allow screen readers (used by people with visual impairments) to navigate the document correctly. They also enable better text extraction and reflow on small screens. In Word's Save As dialog under Options, check "Document structure tags for accessibility" — it is on by default but worth verifying for documents that will be shared publicly.

Image Compression

Word's default PDF export compresses images to reduce file size. If your document contains charts, diagrams, or photos that need to be sharp, this can cause visible quality loss. Before exporting, go to File → Options → Advanced, find "Image Size and Quality", and set the default resolution to 220 ppi (or higher for print documents). Setting this before export produces noticeably sharper images in the PDF.

9. Preserving Hyperlinks and Bookmarks in PDF

Hyperlinks in PDF documents are one of the most commonly broken features in Word-to-PDF conversion. Here is a complete guide to ensuring links work in the final file.

URL Hyperlinks

Hyperlinks to external URLs (websites) are preserved when you use Word's Save As PDF. They are not preserved when you use Print to PDF. If your document contains linked text (blue underlined text that opens a website when clicked in the DOCX), verify in the PDF by clicking one of the links after export. It should open the URL in your browser. If it does not, you used the print path instead of the Save As path.

Cross-Document Links

Links to other documents (relative file paths) work in the Word document but typically do not work in the exported PDF because the recipient may not have the linked files in the same directory structure. If you need cross-document links in PDF, consider converting all related documents together and linking by bookmark reference instead of file path, or use hyperlinks to hosted URLs that the recipient can access.

Bookmark Navigation

Word headings can be converted to PDF bookmarks — the navigation panel in Adobe Reader and most PDF viewers. This makes long documents (contracts, reports, manuals) much easier to navigate. In Word's Save As Options dialog, check "Create bookmarks using: Headings". The resulting PDF shows a bookmark panel listing all heading-level text, allowing one-click navigation to any section.

This is one of the most useful settings for long documents and is completely free — it just needs to be enabled. A 100-page report with bookmarks is vastly more useful to the recipient than the same report without them.

10. Common Problems: Fonts, Margins, Page Breaks

Even with the correct export method, a few common issues appear regularly. Here is what causes them and how to fix each one.

Fonts Look Different in the PDF

If a font in your document is not properly embedded in the PDF, the viewer substitutes whatever font it has available. The substitution is usually close but visibly different — letter spacing, weight, and shape all change. The fix:

• Make sure you are using Save As PDF, not Print to PDF
• Standard fonts (Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman, Georgia) always embed correctly
• Custom or downloaded fonts: install them on the same computer where you export, not just where you view the document
• In Word's Save As dialog, verify that "Embed fonts in the file" is checked in the Options (it is on by default)

Page Breaks Are in the Wrong Places

Unexpected page breaks most often come from paragraph settings rather than the PDF export. Check: widow and orphan control settings (Format → Paragraph → Line and Page Breaks in Word), manual page breaks that were appropriate at the original font size but break awkwardly at another size, and table rows that have "Keep with next" checked unexpectedly. Adjust the paragraph settings in Word first, then re-export.

Margins Are Cut Off

If text is getting cut off at the edges of the PDF, the page margins in the Word document do not match the paper size or printer area assumptions in the export settings. Check Layout → Margins in Word and confirm the margins are at least 0.75 inches on all sides. Also verify the page size (Layout → Size) matches what you intend — a document set to Letter that exports expecting A4 (or vice versa) will clip content at one or both edges.

Images Are Blurry or Pixelated

This is caused by Word's default image compression during export. Before exporting, go to File → Options → Advanced, scroll to "Image Size and Quality", uncheck "Discard editing data", and set "Default target output" to 220 ppi or higher. Apply it to the current document, then re-export. The difference is noticeable immediately on any document with screenshots or detailed diagrams.

File Size Is Very Large

A PDF with high-resolution images can become very large — sometimes tens of megabytes for a single document. If the file is going online or by email, use the "Minimum size (publishing online)" option in Word's Save As PDF settings, which compresses images to web-appropriate resolution. Alternatively, run the exported PDF through a dedicated PDF compressor. For a 150 ppi screen-viewing resolution, most images are still sharp at typical viewing sizes.

11. Frequently Asked Questions

The difference between Save As PDF and Print to PDF is the single most important thing to know about Word-to-PDF conversion. Once you use the right export path, the output is consistently reliable. If you do not have Word installed, Convertlo's converter handles DOCX to PDF locally in your browser.