Convert DOCX to PDF

A DOCX file never looks quite the same on two computers. Word, LibreOffice, Google Docs and Pages each lay out the text with their own engine and with whatever fonts happen to be installed. A PDF freezes every line and page break, which is why job portals, universities and e-signature services ask for it. This converter turns a Word document into a PDF in a few seconds, without Word on your machine.

When a PDF is the better file to send

• CV and cover letter. Recruiters open attachments on phones and in applicant tracking systems. As a PDF, a two-page CV stays two pages and nobody sees your spelling-check underlines.
• Thesis or coursework. Many university systems accept only PDF, and the page numbers have to match the printed copy.
• Contracts and offers. A PDF is harder to change by accident and is the usual input for electronic signatures.
• Printing. Copy shops print from PDF so that their copy of Word cannot reflow your document.

What happens to your DOCX during conversion

The file is converted on our own servers in the Czech Republic with standard PDF export settings. In detail:

• Fonts are embedded, so the PDF looks the same everywhere. What matters is which fonts the server has. Calibri and Cambria are replaced by Carlito and Caladea, and Arial, Times New Roman and Courier New by the Liberation fonts. These are metric-compatible: every character has the same width, so line and page breaks stay where Word put them. Other commercial fonts get a similar substitute, and then the text can reflow.
• Headings become PDF bookmarks and the PDF is tagged, which helps screen readers and the reading view on phones.
• Hyperlinks to web pages and cross-references inside the document stay clickable. The text stays real text, so the PDF is searchable.
• Images are stored as JPEG at quality 90 and downsampled to 300 DPI if they are larger. That is enough for print, and a photo-heavy report often ends up smaller than the DOCX.
• Page size is taken from the document. A template made in the US stays on Letter (216 × 279 mm) and gets scaled when printed on A4.
• Comments are not exported. Tracked changes are drawn the way the document shows them, so unaccepted edits appear as coloured and struck-through text.
• Form fields and content controls are printed with their current values. The result is not a fillable form.

Common problems and how to fix them

DOCX to PDF changes the font or moves text to the next page

In documents from the last few years the usual suspect is Aptos. Microsoft announced it in July 2023 as the new default font of Microsoft 365, replacing Calibri, and it is a cloud font that exists only inside Microsoft 365. Any converter outside Word, ours included, has to substitute it. Aptos has different character widths, so a paragraph can gain a line and push a table onto the next page. Before converting, select all text and switch to Calibri or Arial, or export the PDF directly from Word.

Red text and strike-throughs appear in the PDF

Those are tracked changes. In Word choose Review > Accept > Accept All Changes (or reject them), save, and upload again.

The table of contents shows wrong page numbers

A table of contents is a field that keeps the numbers from its last update. If you edited the text afterwards, right-click the table in Word, choose Update Field, save and convert again.

The file cannot be converted

Password-protected documents cannot be opened on the server. Remove the password in Word (File > Info > Protect Document) and try again. Files over 100 MB need to be made smaller first, usually by compressing the pictures.

DOCX and PDF side by side

Rename a DOCX to .zip and you can open it like any archive: the text sits in word/document.xml, pictures in word/media. The Library of Congress keeps a detailed description of the DOCX format. More on both formats: DOCX and PDF.

Other ways to do it, and when this converter helps

If you have Word, File > Save As > PDF gives the most faithful result, because Word lays out its own file with its own fonts, Aptos included. Its Options dialog can also produce PDF/A (ISO 19005-1) for archiving, which our converter does not do. Microsoft describes the options in its support article. Google Docs and LibreOffice export PDF as well.

This converter is handy when Word is not available: on a phone, on Linux, on a borrowed computer, or when you have a whole folder of documents. You can upload up to 10 files at once and download the PDFs together as a ZIP, or have the link sent by e-mail. Each file can be up to 100 MB, with 10 files per hour and no registration. Uploads are deleted right after conversion and the results after 14 days.

Going the other way? Try PDF to DOCX. For old Word 97–2003 files there is DOC to PDF, and for spreadsheets XLSX to PDF.