How do I convert a Word document into a PDF?

Here is a free PDF converter.

Just hit “Save as”. When the box opens up, select “save as type” and select PDF from the drop down menu.

I’m using Microsoft Word 2007, btw…

According to the Microsoft Office website:
“Although Word does not provide a direct way to save documents in this format, many third-party software products provide the capability to convert Word documents to PDF and to convert PDF files into the Word file format.”

Here are a few sites that claim to convert Word documents to PDFs for free. I have never tried them, so I can’t vouch for them.
doc2pdf
pdfonline
expresspdf

Thanks @marinelife, but it messed up my fonts in the process :(

My word 2007 has a tab that says “acrobat”, and then an option to “create .pdf”.

Word 2007 and up can “Save As” PDF (Windows and Mac)

If your copy of Word 2007 does not, you may need the plugin
2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF

From most other Windows programs the free CutePDF writer works pretty well.
http://www.cutepdf.com/

The not-free NovaPDF is even better
http://www.novapdf.com/

@Rarebear I think that means you have Acrobat installed, which is excellent but pricey.

@jaytkay I didn’t install acrobat. Just the reader.

The easiest way without having to install something is

http://www.zamzar.com/

Upload your document, select the format you want to convert to, type your email.

There system will convert and email you the results.

It’s fast and free

Weird thing is that there’s a button in my Word toolbar that reads “Convert this Word document to a PDF”....but when I click it, absolutely nothing happens!

Thanks for all the helpful sites; unfortunately, they keep taking my fonts and turning them into a simple Arial-type font. This is for a business card, so I need to keep the fonts I’ve chosen…

HEY guys, I figured it out! I had to manually go into my Programs and find “ScanSoft PDF Create”....not sure if this came with Word or what. Worked like a charm. It’s the same thing that converted my files yesterday, but for some reason it wasn’t working directly inside the document today.

Thanks again for all the help :)

If you run into problems with the “Convert” button in your toolbar, you can also click “Print” and choose “Adobe PDF” from among your printer options. This worked for me in Word 07; FWIW I had only Adobe Reader at the time, also.

I use openoffice . It’s free, uses open formats, understands Microsoft Word documents, and will spit out a pdf.

Another alternative is to print it to a pdf file. I have a PDF application that acts like a printer. When you print a document to it, it is routed to a pdf file rather than an actual printer.

Google Docs is a nice and free alternative to Word, but you can also just copy all of the text from Word into a Google Docs page and then “Download As” a pdf file.

For folks on a Mac, it’s built into the OS. Open the doc to convert, goto file, select print. When the print dialogue box opens, click on bottom left drop down menu and select Save As, PDF.
Hope this helps anyone doing a future search.

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