PDF files are among the most used to exchange documents in digital format both at home and professionally. Creating PDFs is not difficult (there are special programs) but difficulties can appear when we have documents made with Office (therefore .doc but also spreadsheets and presentations) that we want to convert to PDF in order to be able to share them more easily, given that PDFs are recognized and read by any modern operating system (on Windows 10 Edge is also able to read PDFs, if we do not yet have Adobe Reader installed).
In this guide we will show you all the valid methods that we can use to convert Office documents (Word, Excel and Powerpoint) to PDF in a completely free way, without having to buy any type of paid program.
READ ALSO -> Top 10 programs to edit PDF
Convert Office documents to PDF with a virtual printer
From Windows 8.1 onwards (therefore also in Windows 10 ), Microsoft has integrated into the operating system a virtual printer capable of saving every document or image to PDF, so as to create PDF files in every program that supports printing, therefore included the Office suite (but we can use any other compatible program).
To use this printer, simply open the File menu at the top left and click the Print button (the path is practically identical on any Windows program that can open Office documents, at most you can find a direct icon for printing in the toolbar).
Among the available printers, select Microsoft Print to PDF, check the properties of the created document and click Print .
A resource explorer window will open where we can choose where to save the PDF file created from the Office document.
This method is the fastest way to convert Office documents to PDF, because we can create the PDF already when writing or reviewing the Office document, so that we don't have to use other programs.
If we still use Windows 7 as the operating system we will have to integrate the virtual PDF printer through third party programs; the best we can install is doPDF, available for free download from here -> doPDF .
We start the installation of the program, which will also bring with it the .NET framework (necessary for the operation of the virtual printer) and a plugin that integrates directly into the Office for printing PDFs (superfluous, since it will be enough to use the printer created by the program ).
At the end of the installation, simply open Office or any other program used to open documents, launch the desired document and finally open the menu File -> Print .
We select among the available printers doPDF 9 and confirm to create the PDF starting from any Office document.
In addition to DoPDF, there are also other free virtual printer programs to create pdf with which you can convert any printable document.
Convert Office documents to PDF via LibreOffice
Another method that we recommend to use to convert Office documents to PDF is to install the free LibreOffice office suite on your PC, downloadable from the link here -> LibreOffice .
This free suite is compatible with Windows, Mac and GNU / Linux so it can be used to convert Office documents to PDF on any type of PC.
Once the installer has been downloaded, start it and always click Next during the installation, the program is safe and does not present any bad surprises (such as additional programs or toolbars).
At the end we open LibreOffice and use it to open the file created with Office; automatically the suite will open the right program based on the file extension (Docs with Writer, spreadsheets with Calc and presentations with Ingress).
Once the Office document is loaded, you can convert it to PDF by simply clicking on the File menu at the top left and using the Export to PDF format item.
The program will choose the destination path where to save the document in PDF, all that remains is to indicate our favorite folder to carry out the conversion.
In addition to the File menu, you can find an icon in the PDF-shaped toolbar, which can be used to achieve the same functionality without opening the menu.
Convert Office documents to PDF online
If we do not want to use programs to convert Office documents to PDF we can rely on the conversion sites present online, where it will be sufficient to load the Office file we want to convert and start the process, so as to obtain the download of the converted file in PDF directly inside the browser.
This method is the best to use on company PCs with blocks when installing new software, so that you can convert to PDF without having to ask the system administrator for permission to install a new program.
Below we have created a list with all the best sites that offer the conversion of Office documents to PDF in a fast and free way.
- SmallPDF
- ToPDF
- ILovePDF
- OfficeToPDF
- Convert PDF
- OnlineToPDF
- HiPDF
The functioning of these sites follows an identical pattern whatever the site chosen: you will be asked to load the Office file to be converted (choosing it from the hard disk), the site will convert in a few seconds and will offer you to download the converted file via the same browser.
In some cases we may also insert an email address where to send the file, so as to also send it to colleagues or to your email inbox as a backup.
Convert Office documents to PDF on smartphones and tablets
If we want to convert Office documents to PDF from our portable device we will have to use specific apps according to the operating system used on smartphones or tablets.
1) PDF Converter (Android)
On Android devices we recommend using the PDF Converter app, available here -> PDF Converter .
With this app, simply load the Office document that we intend to convert and confirm the conversion to immediately obtain the desired PDF file in the internal memory of the device.
In addition to converting to PDF, it also allows you to convert PDF to Office formats and manage JPEG images (for example if we have scanned sheets with the scanner) so as to merge them and convert them to PDF.
2) PDF Converter Documents To PDF (iOS)
If we have an Apple device (iPhone or iPad) and we want to convert Office documents to PDF we will have to use the free PDF Converter Documents To PDF app, available for download from here -> PDF Converter Documents To PDF .
This app allows you to convert any type of Office document to PDF, to sign documents that need to be signed or compiled and to convert JPEG images stored in the device's memory to PDF, useful if we have scanned with the scanner and wish to combine them into a single PDF file to share or send via email.
If we are looking for apps that can scan paper documents and convert them immediately to PDF, we refer you to reading the following guide.
READ ALSO -> PDF document scanner app for Android and iPhone
