Skip to main content
M
mfultonvernadero
Participating Frequently
April 21, 2025
Question

Export a Word Document to PDF, Retaining Track Changes, BUT Not Showing Deleted Bookmarks in PDF

  • April 21, 2025
  • 3 replies
  • 3283 views

My supervisor needs to create Word documents with tracked changes, but convert the document using No  Markup to create a "clean" version. He does not want to create a separte Word document with changes accepted. The problem is that Adobe picks up the headings for deleted/moved text in tracked changes and includes them in the bookmark pane of the PDF, even when changes are hidden. 
Is there a way around this? 

3 replies

O
office365computing
Participant
May 14, 2025

You can indeed export a Word document to PDF while retaining track changes but avoiding the display of deleted text or bookmarks in the PDF. The key here is to ensure that when converting the document, Word is set to show the "No Markup" view, which hides all the changes and deletions from the final output.

 

Here's how you can do it:

1. Open your Word document and go to the Review tab.

2. In the Tracking section, select No Markup from the dropdown under the Display for Review option.

3. Now, go to File > Save As, and choose PDF as the file type.

4. Before saving, click on Options. In the Options window, make sure that the "Document structure tags for accessibility" checkbox is unchecked. This prevents Word from retaining bookmarks for deleted text.

5. Save the document as a PDF.

 

This should generate a PDF without showing any deleted content in the bookmarks or the PDF itself, while still maintaining the track changes. For more tips on handling PDF conversions and saving emails in Office 365, you can refer to this helpful guide: A Guide to Save Office 365 Emails as PDF with Ease.

M
mfultonvernaderoAuthor
Participating Frequently
April 30, 2025

I am also not allowed to create a Word document with the changes accepted, even if I will delete it later. The concern is file space. 

Meenakshi Negi
Community Manager
Meenakshi NegiCommunity Manager
Community Manager
May 8, 2025

Hi mfultonvernadero,

 

If you can not share the file, please create a test file in Word and follow the same steps as in the original file. You can record all the steps you do and then share that file and the screen recording with us. We are sorry, but we do not understand the workflow properly, as mentioned here. It will help us replicate the behavior and share the correct information with you.

 

Thanks,

Meenakshi

Meenakshi Negi
Community Manager
Meenakshi NegiCommunity Manager
Community Manager
April 23, 2025

Hi mfultonvernadero,

 

Thank you for reaching out.

 

Please share the steps you take when converting the Word document to PDF and the settings you set in the MS Word application. It would be helpful if you could share the screen recording or the screenshots for better understanding.

More details will help us to understand and share the correct information. In the meantime, please refer to the information in the following help document: https://adobe.ly/42TRJ7r. 

 

Thanks,

Meenakshi 

 

M
mfultonvernaderoAuthor
Participating Frequently
April 30, 2025

I can’t provide a screenshot of the document since it is confidential, but I can give you the information about our version of Word and Adobe and the steps I’ve taken.

I’m using the desktop app for this version of Word:

* Microsoft® Word for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2408 Build 16.0.17928.20512) 64-bit

I have tried both of these methods to save to Adobe Acrobat:

* Adobe PDFMaker Office COM Addin

* MS Word’s Export > Create Adobe PDF

My preferences for Acrobat are set to Convert Word Headings to Bookmarks. (Since we define Word styles for the headings, converting in terms of styles should have the same result.)

What I have to do:

  1. Leave the tracked changes in the document. I am not allowed to create a version with changes accepted.
  2. Change the Review in Word to No Markup.
  3. Print the result to PDF using one of the options above.

When I open the Bookmarks pane in Acrobat, the result shows all the deleted and moved headers as well as the headers that appear in the No Markup version. Is there a way to convert to PDF that will only pick up the changes viewed in the No Markup version?

Thank you.

Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices