Converting Microsoft Word to PDF or EPUB

So, I’ve been messing around with various online converters to turn my Microsoft Word docs with images into Adobe PDF, but they keep tripping over themselves. Everything gets messed up—an image or header centered on the page suddenly jumps to the left or right, or text I specifically padded away from the top margin gets shoved right back to the edge. How do I fix this?

I tried downloading some EPUB readers too, but they just throw errors at me about needing to install other software or whatever.

Tried using those online PDF editors, but honestly, I have no clue what I'm doing with them. I can't even find basic stuff like editing text or moving images, which is exactly what an editor is supposed to do, right?

It's the same story with every single conversion tool. It looks fine in Microsoft Word, then everything shifts once it's converted. Is Microsoft Word broken? Would installing a fresh version of Microsoft Word actually solve this?
I noticed the first few pages usually come out fine. Maybe if I chop the document into ten smaller pieces, convert them one by one, and then stitch them back together later, it might work?

Microsoft Word lets you save stuff as a PDF. Just use Save as...

Yeah, you can definitely save a document as a PDF directly from Microsoft Word—though, if I recall correctly, you might need to have the full version of Adobe Acrobat installed (not just the free Reader) to really get that specific functionality integrated into the software. And honestly, it’s not even under the "Save as" option; you actually have to go through the "Print" menu and just select Adobe PDF as your virtual printer. That way, you ensure the PDF looks exactly like your original page in Microsoft Word.
If you're looking for some free alternatives, you could always try using CutePDF Writer
. As for converting things over to EPUB format, you can easily handle that using a program called Calibre.
Now, if you actually want to dive in and edit an EPUB file, you'll definitely want a solid HTML editor on hand—something like Notepad++ or maybe Sigil.

Jonathan Mendoza17 said:Yeah, you can Save as a PDF directly from Microsoft Word, but you’ll likely need the full version of Adobe Acrobat installed—not just the free Reader—to actually trigger that integration. It’s usually tucked under Print rather than the Save as menu; just select Adobe PDF as your printer. If done right, the PDF should be a carbon copy of your Microsoft Word layout.
If you want free options, try CutePDF Writer.
To convert to EPUB, use Calibre.
For editing an EPUB, grab an HTML editor like Notepad++ or Sigil.

Thanks a lot, I'll give that a shot!

Jonathan Mendoza17 said:Yeah, you can export from Microsoft Word as a PDF, but you usually need Adobe Acrobat installed—not just the Reader—to actually plug that function into Microsoft Word. It’s not even under Save as; you have to go through Print and select Adobe PDF as your printer. The goal is for the PDF to look exactly like the page in Microsoft Word.
For free options, try CutePDF Writer.
To convert to EPUB, use Calibre.
If you want to edit an EPUB, grab an HTML editor like Notepad++ or Sigil.

I just finished installing and converting using CutePDF, but for some reason, I'm hitting the same wall as those online tools. Headings—and sometimes images or captions—keep shifting left or right compared to how they look in Microsoft Word. It’s probably a formatting glitch where the different sizing makes the software misread their positioning.

Whatever. This still saves me a massive headache because it's faster than uploading everything to a website. I'll just manually fix the headings until they sit right. It'll take some effort, but it beats the online route any day.

I haven't run into a single instance where this didn't work. Tried it on plenty of machines, both with and without Adobe Acrobat XI installed.
(The reader was probably...)

Sure, formatting glitches happen sometimes—it might skip a page or mess up a header—but it’s rare. Usually only happens if you're using some weird Microsoft Word template.

Plus, it's a solid PDF printer. I've never had issues with the output file's formatting.

http://download.cnet.com/PDF24-Creat...-10569740.html

You can load a file directly into it to print to PDF with extra options, or just select it as your destination through the standard Word print menu.

Edit: This works for anything from Office 2007 onwards. If you're running some prehistoric version, all bets are off.
Btw, you mentioned epub—are you actually looking for an epub, or is the goal a PDF?

Calibre is free and handles conversions from Word to just about anything, including epub and PDF.

James Thomas80 said:I managed to get everything installed and converted using CutePDF, but I'm hitting that same wall as those online converters. For some reason, titles—and sometimes images or captions—end up shifted left or right compared to how they look in Word. It's probably a formatting glitch since the sizes don't match the rest of the text, so the layout engine just misreads where things should sit.

Either way, this makes my life way easier since it beats waiting on slow web uploads. I’ll just manually nudge the headers until they actually look right. It’ll take a little extra effort, sure, but still way faster than fighting with an online tool.

Honestly, I think the root issue is just how Word handles content formatting. I've seen plenty of cases where perfectly formatted text gets totally trashed when you import it into another app or convert it to a PDF.
The trick is probably being super strict with your Word setup. Use the toolbar for centering, stick to tabs for indenting, and then run the conversion. If things go sideways, at least the mess will be "consistent," right?

I gave it a shot in LibreOffice, and the tabs and centering seem to hold up fine across different fonts. Not totally sure about the images and captions yet, though...

Jonathan Mendoza17 said:Yeah, you can save from Microsoft Word as a PDF but I think you need Adobe Acrobat installed (not just the reader) to actually get that functionality inside Word. And honestly, it’s not even under Save as, it’s more like a Print option where you select Adobe PDF as your printer. The PDF should look exactly like your Microsoft Word page.
For free options, maybe try CutePDF Writer.
To convert to EPUB, you could probably use Calibre.
If you want to edit an EPUB, you'll likely need an HTML editor like Notepad++ or Sigil.

That's not really true. You just hit Save as... and pick one of the formats from the list. PDF is right there.