How to create a PDF from Microsoft Office

The steps below use Word, but Excel and PowerPoint work the same way in each version. Microsoft keeps a support page covering PDF export across its current apps.

Office 2013, 2016, 2019 and Office 365 on Windows

1. Open the document and click File > Export.
2. Choose Create PDF/XPS Document, then click the Create PDF/XPS button.
3. Pick a folder and name. Leave “Save as type” on PDF.
4. Choose Standard for printing or “Minimum size” for email and web.
5. Tick “Open file after publishing” if you want to check the result, then click Publish.

File > Save As, with PDF picked under “Save as type”, reaches the same dialog.

Click Options in that dialog before publishing to set a page range, create bookmarks from your headings, keep document structure tags for screen readers, or save as PDF/A for long-term archiving.

Excel and PowerPoint differences

In Excel, the Options button decides what goes into the PDF: the current selection, the active sheet or sheets, or the entire workbook. Excel paginates the PDF the way it would print, so set a print area and choose Fit All Columns on One Page under Page Layout first, or wide sheets will split columns across pages.

In PowerPoint, Options lets you publish slides, handouts with several slides per page, notes pages or the outline, and choose whether hidden slides are included. Handouts make a compact file for sending a deck to someone who only needs to read it.

Office 2010

1. Click File > Save As.
2. Open the “Save as type” list and choose PDF.
3. Set Standard or “Minimum size”, check Options if needed, and click Save.

Office 2007

Office 2007 saves PDFs natively once Service Pack 2 is installed. Click the round Office button, point to Save As, and choose “PDF or XPS”, then click Publish. Without SP2 the menu item is missing and needed Microsoft’s free “Save as PDF or XPS” add-in. Office 2007 left Microsoft support in October 2017, so installing the service pack through Windows Update is the better route.

Office for Mac 2016 and 2019

Click File > Save As, open the File Format menu and choose PDF. Of the two choices offered, “Best for electronic distribution and accessibility” keeps hyperlinks working, while “Best for printing” suits a file headed for paper. The macOS print dialog also has a PDF button that saves any printable document.

Any Windows 10 program: Microsoft Print to PDF

Windows 10 includes a virtual printer called Microsoft Print to PDF. Press Ctrl+P, choose it as the printer, click Print, and pick where to save. This works in any program that prints, but the PDF comes out as a flat printout: hyperlinks and bookmarks are lost.

Google Docs, without Office

1. In Google Drive, click New > File upload and choose the Word file.
2. Right-click the uploaded file and pick Open with > Google Docs.
3. Click File > Download > PDF Document (.pdf).

Complex layouts can shift slightly in conversion, so check tables and page breaks before sending.

Adobe Acrobat DC

Acrobat Pro DC, or a subscription to Adobe’s PDF Pack, adds a Create PDF tool; the free Acrobat Reader DC cannot create PDFs on its own.

1. Open Acrobat and go to Tools > Create PDF.
2. Choose Single File, click Select a File, and pick the Office document.
3. Click Create, then save the result.

With Acrobat installed, Office also gains an Acrobat ribbon tab whose Create PDF button keeps links, bookmarks and tags, useful for long reports and forms.