How to Convert Word to PDF

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format that the Adobe Corporation developed. It is used to easily transfer documents via the Internet.

PDF files are protected from changes and retain a presentation’s exact elements, thereby avoiding problems like missing fonts or broken layouts. PDF files can be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader, an easily downloadable application that all OS-Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X support.

Converting MS Word Documents to PDF

Sending a uniform file to many recipients, transferring files from one OS to another, and having a presentation printed out in computer shops are just few of the many reasons that users convert their files to PDF. There are many applications that view and convert Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files to PDF. These include Adobe Acrobat, OpenOffice, Word to PDF Converter V3.0, among others.

There are also sites like doc2pdf that offer easy Word-to-PDF conversion without downloading any program. Upload the file to be converted to PDF format, and it will be within minutes.

Converting MS Word Documents to PDF with a Document Converter

Converting MS Word files to PDF is just a matter of choosing the document converter as the printer. The document converter can be set as the default printer by going to Start > Control Panel > Printers and Faxes. In the following window, right click the document converter then choose Set As Default.

If there is another printer attached, choose the document converter from the Print window pop-up. To do this, follow the steps below:

How to Select Document Converter as Non-Default Printer

1. Open the document in Word.
2. Choose File then Print.
3. Choose the document converter (Adobe PDF printer or Universal Document Converter).
4. If using Adobe PDF printer, just click OK, specify the filename and PDF file location, then Save it. If using the Universal Document Converter, click Properties then choose Document to PDF, Color, Multi-page in the scroll bar. Click OK then Print.

Converting MS Word Documents to PDF with OpenOffice

If using OpenOffice or Linux, convert the document to PDF with Macro. Follow the steps listed below to do this.

How to Use Macro on OpenOffice to Convert MS Word Documents to PDF

1. In OpenOffice, click Tools > Macros > Macro.
2. Click Organizer then choose the Libraries tab.
3. Set Application/Document to soffice, click New then name the library.
4. Click the Modules tab, select the library, then click New Module. Rename the module to Conversion for easier access.
5. When a window pops up, paste the following code: Sub ConvertWordToPDF(cFile) cURL = ConvertToURL(cFile) ‘ Open the document. ‘ Just blindly assume that the document is of a type that OOo will ‘ correctly recognize and open — without specifying an import filter. oDoc = StarDesktop.loadComponentFromURL(cURL, “_blank”, 0, Array(MakePropertyValue(“Hidden”, True), )) cFile = Left(cFile, Len(cFile) – 4) + “.pdf” cURL = ConvertToURL(cFile) ‘ Save the document using a filter. oDoc.storeToURL(cURL, Array(MakePropertyValue(“FilterName”, “writer_pdf_Export”), )) oDoc.close(True) End Sub Function MakePropertyValue( Optional cName As String, Optional uValue ) As com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValue Dim oPropertyValue As New com.sun.star.beans.PropertyValue If Not IsMissing( cName ) Then oPropertyValue.Name = cName EndIf If Not IsMissing( uValue ) Then oPropertyValue.Value = uValue EndIf MakePropertyValue() = oPropertyValue End Function
6. Save and exit OpenOffice.

Use OpenOffice Macro on Linux to Convert MS Word Documents to PDF

Create a shell script in /usr/local/bin/: #!/bin/sh DIR=$(pwd) DOC=$DIR/$1 /user/bin/oowriter-invisible “macro://Standard.Module1.ConvertWordToPDF($DOC)”

Run the shell script on the Microsoft Word document and it will create a PDF file.

Use OpenOffice Macro on Windows to Convert MS Word Documents to PDF

After closing OpenOffice, create or open the file. Type this command:

@ECHO OFF “c:program filesOpenOffice.org1.1.0programsoffice”-invisible “macro:////NameofyourLibrary.Conversion.ConvertWordToPDF(%1)” Rem “c:program filesOpenOffice.org1.1.0programsoffice” -invisible “macro:////NameofyourLibrary.Conversion.test(%1)”

From the command line, type: convert c:docu9.doc. The docu9.pdf file can be found in the C: folder.

Converting MS Word Documents to PDF on Mac OSX

Converting documents to PDF in Mac OS X is almost the same as converting it in Windows. However, a document converter is not necessary for converting MS Word documents to PDF on Mac OSX. Follow the steps below to convert a word file to PDF on Mac OSX.

How to Convert MS Word Documents to PDF on Mac OSX

1. Open the word file in the text editor.
2. Click File then Print.
3. In the Print window, click the PDF button at the bottom-left then select the “Save as PDF…” option.
4. Choose the location, rename the PDF file, then click Save.

Video: How to Convert Word to PDF