Do you need to distribute your Microsoft Office files as PDF documents often? Depending on which version of Office you have, there are different ways to save your document as a PDF. For Office 2007, for example, you can save files to PDF using an add-in supplied by Microsoft, called Save As PDF or XPS.

This add-in creates PDF files for files in Access, Excel, InfoPath, OneNote, PowerPoint, Publisher, Visio, and Word. The functionality in this add-in was added into Office 2010 as a built-in feature. In Office 2013 and 2016, the feature is built-in also, but accessed via the Export option.

Table of Contents

    This post shows you how to install Save As PDF or XPS and use it to create a PDF file from within Word 2007. We also show you how to use the built-in Save as PDF feature in Word 2010.

    Word 2013/2016

    It’s really easy to save a document into PDF format in Word 2013/2016. All you have to do is click on File and then Export.

    How to Create PDF Documents in Microsoft Office image 1

    On the right-hand side, you will see the Create PDF/XPS button.

    How to Create PDF Documents in Microsoft Office image 2

    The Save As dialog will appear and you’ll see some options for saving the PDF at the bottom of the dialog. You can also click on the Options button for more customization of the PDF file.

    How to Create PDF Documents in Microsoft Office image 3

    You can optimize the PDF file for standard publishing or for online publishing, which will reduce the size further.

    Word 2010

    The ability to save documents as PDF files in Word 2010 is already built in. You do not need to install an add-in. To save a document as a PDF file, click the File tab.

    Clicking the File tab in Word 2010

    On the File tab, select the Save As option in the list on the left.

    Selecting Save As on the File tab in Word 2010

    The Save As dialog box displays. Navigate to the folder where you want to save your PDF file and enter a name for the file in the File name edit box. Select PDF (*.pdf) from the Save as type drop-down list.

    Selecting PDF as the file type in Word 2010

    The same optimize choices and options are available in Office 2010 like in Office 2013 and 2016. .

    Clicking the Options button for the PDF file type in Word 2010

    Word 2007

    To be able to save a file as a PDF file in Word 2007, download the Save As PDF or XPS add-in from

    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=7

    To install the add-in, double-click on the .exe file you downloaded.

    Save As PDF and XPS installation file

    Read through the Microsoft Software License Terms and select the Click here to accept the Microsoft Software License Terms check box. Click Continue.

    License Agreement

    Once the installation is complete, the following dialog box displays. Click OK.

    Installation complete dialog box

    Open a file in Word 2007 that you want to convert to PDF. Click the Office button.

    Clicking the Office button in Word 2007

    Move your mouse to the Save As option on the Office menu and hover over the right arrow. The Save a copy of the document submenu displays. Select PDF or XPS from the submenu.

    Selecting the Save As PDF or XPS option in Word 2007

    The Publish as PDF or XPS dialog box displays. Navigate to the folder where you want to save your PDF file. Enter a name for the PDF file in the File name edit box.

    If you want the file to open automatically in the default PDF reader, select the Open file after publishing check box so there is a check mark in the box.

    Select one of the Optimize for radio buttons depending on whether your document will be viewed both online and printed (Standard) or mostly online (Minimum size).

    There are some additional options that can be set for the PDF file. To access these options, click the Options button.

    Clicking the Options button on the Publish as PDF of XPS dialog box

    You are returned to the Publish as PDF or XPS dialog box. Click the Publish button to save your file as a PDF file with the selected options.

    Clicking the Publish button

    If you selected the Open file after publishing check box on the Publish as PDF or XPS dialog box, the PDF file opens in the default PDF reader automatically after saving the file.

    The PDF file open in a PDF reader

    NOTE: The Save As PDF or XPS add-in in Office 2007 only converts files to PDF format. It does not allow you to apply any security to the PDF documents. Enjoy!

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