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kgbf
Known Participant
October 11, 2020
Question

Converting Word to PDF ruins formatting...please help!

  • October 11, 2020
  • 1 reply
  • 22385 views

I'm using Microsoft Word 2016 on a work laptop, and whenever I save to PDF, the formatting gets completely ruined. It's a staff bio doc that consists of a title, a space after the title, then a simple one-word column with each row consisting of a paragraph wrapped around a photo. I've also inserted lines (shapes) between each person's bio. 

 

When I save it to PDF (which is absolutely necessary because I'm also using a brand/company font), words from the page 2 move up to page 1, messing up the lines and spacing for the rest of the document. (On certain pages further within the document, I've added extra spacing to properly align photos with text.)

 

I've spent hours already trying to fix this issue, and implemented tips from other threads to no avail. I attempted to save it as a Microsoft PDF instead of printing it to PDF, saving it as a 93-2007 doc file instead of docx...nothing works. Something that should take 30 seconds is taking forever...does anyone know of another solution? What's causing this? Thanks in advance!

1 reply

gary_sc
gary_sc
Community Expert
October 11, 2020

HI kgbf,

 

How are you creating your PDF? When you say you are "save to PDF," that says to me that you are not using the Acrobat Ribbon to do the work. If you are using Microsoft PDF, than (assuming that you are on a PC), you essentially did nothing different than when you did the "save as PDF."

 

Do you have Acrobat or Acrobat Pro on your computer and if so, did you use the Acrobat Ribbon to access the PDF creation or not. BTW, I'm NOT talking about Acrobat Reader which does not have the capability to create PDFs, only read them, comment on a PDF, and/or fill out forms.

 

If it makes you feel any better, both Apple's and Microsoft's PDF generation has issues that can from minimal to severe. 

K
kgbfAuthor
Known Participant
October 11, 2020

I am saving from within Word 2016, and I have Adobe Acrobat DC. And yes, I am using a PC. The methods I have tried: 

  • File --> Save as Adobe PDF
  • File --> Save As --> PDF
  • File --> Print --> Microsoft Print to PDF
  • File --> Print --> Adobe PDF Printer

 

I just tried 'Create PDF' from the Acrobat tab and had the same (incorrect) results.

 

Is it something to do with the tables or spaces I'm using? Also, in the first four methods, the print preview looks good, but it saves/prints to PDF with formatting changes.

gary_sc
gary_sc
Community Expert
October 11, 2020

Can you please share with me one of your word documents and one of the PDFs that was generated from the file? I have a hunch but need to see these files to verify.

 

If you want, you can DM me with the files. I PROMISE I will not share or distribut them, chances are the content will be meaningless to me.

 

Thanks,

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