Is there an easy way to save a Word document as a pdf?

[minor7flat5]

@Kevbo

As an example, if I email invoice.pdf to a client, I’d prefer it to be impossible for them to alter the numbers etc., but I’ll take difficult.

The PDF file format has built in security features to allow you to select encryption, as well as to specify which operations are allowed: annotation, form filling, reordering, copy/paste, and full text editing.

Many PDF generation tools have settings that you can tweak to enable or disable these security features. For example, the venerable Adobe Distiller app has many flexible settings for controlling not only how the doc is generated, but also what security limitations are applied.

Note: This functionality is kind of like a padlock on a shed: it keeps the honest people honest. There are tools out there that allow users to bypass these security features. If they do so, however, they know that they are in the wrong.

[Northern_Piper]

Thanks for the comments, everyone. I guess I’ll have to talk to our IT guys to see about getting one of these options installed.

@MikeS

On the off-chance that you’re using Mac, no third-party software is required. Just go to File > Print, and in the bottom left of the dialogue box that pops up there will be a drop-down menu labeled “PDF…”. This allows you to save as PDF, open the PDF in Preview, and a bunch of other things.

I use a Mac at home, but my question arose at my office, where it’s PCs. Now I’m even more puzzled: if Microsoft gives this option for MS Word for Macs, which is only a small part of their market, why wouldn’t they include it in MS Word for PCs?

[Richard_Pearse]

@Northern_Piper

I use a Mac at home, but my question arose at my office, where it’s PCs. Now I’m even more puzzled: if Microsoft gives this option for MS Word for Macs, which is only a small part of their market, why wouldn’t they include it in MS Word for PCs?

It has nothing to do with MS, Macs have the PDF function built in to the operating system.

[Enright3]

What version of Word are you using? I use Office 2007, and I can just click Save As… and I’m given an option to save it as a pdf file. This is a PC, running Windows XP by the way.

[Northern_Piper]

Office 2003.

[The_Senor-Rhetor]

1. Get a Mac. Microsoft Office for Mac allows you to save Word documents as PDFs.
2. Download the office suite Open Office free from openoffice.org.
   Open your DOC file in Open Office.
   You can save it as a PDF there.