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LunaFile
May 14, 2026·5 min read

Word to PDF: The Complete Conversion Guide

Everything you need to know about converting Word documents to PDF — preserving fonts, layouts, tables, images, and hyperlinks correctly every time.

PDF is the standard format for sharing documents you want to look the same on every device. A Word file you send might render differently on the recipient's machine if they have a different version of Word or are missing your fonts. Converting to PDF locks the layout so it looks exactly as you intended, on any device.

Why Convert Word to PDF?

  • ›Layout lock: PDF preserves your exact fonts, spacing, and page breaks.
  • ›Universal compatibility: Every device can open a PDF. Not everyone has Microsoft Word.
  • ›Professional standard: Resumes, contracts, invoices, and reports are always sent as PDF.
  • ›Prevents accidental edits: Recipients cannot easily change the content of a PDF.
  • ›Printing fidelity: PDFs print exactly as they appear on screen, page breaks and all.

What Gets Preserved in the Conversion?

  • ›Text formatting: bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, font sizes, and colours.
  • ›Common fonts: Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, Georgia, and most system fonts.
  • ›Tables: all borders, cell colours, merged cells, and table text.
  • ›Embedded images: photos and illustrations at their original quality.
  • ›Page layout: margins, columns, headers and footers, page numbers.
  • ›Hyperlinks: clickable links are preserved in the output PDF.
  • ›Lists: numbered and bulleted lists retain their indentation and formatting.

What Might Not Convert Perfectly?

Rare or custom fonts not installed on the server may be substituted. Very complex layouts using text boxes precisely positioned over images may shift slightly. Word-specific features like comments, tracked changes, and Smart Art graphics are not always preserved.

Tip: Best practice: before converting, accept all tracked changes, flatten any Smart Art to images (right-click → Convert to Picture in Word), and embed any custom fonts in the document.

.DOCX vs .DOC — Which Should You Use?

.DOCX is the modern Word format (introduced with Office 2007) and converts more reliably than the older .DOC format. If you have a .DOC file, open it in Word or LibreOffice and save as .DOCX first — the conversion result will be better.

Step-by-Step Conversion on LunaFile

  1. 1Go to the Word to PDF tool.
  2. 2Upload your .docx or .doc file (up to 50 MB).
  3. 3LibreOffice renders each page of your document to PDF.
  4. 4Download the result. The PDF is ready to share.

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