Why send a PDF instead of a Word file
A Word file looks the way it does because of the fonts, the version of Word and the settings of the computer that opens it. Open the same file on a phone, in another program or on a computer that lacks your fonts, and lines can wrap in new places, pictures can move and page breaks can shift. A PDF fixes the pages as they are. It opens on almost any device without an editing program, and people are less likely to change it by accident. That is why employers, schools, offices and online forms usually ask for a PDF.
There is one case where you should keep the Word file: when the other person needs to edit it. A contract draft that will be revised is a good example. For anything that is finished and only needs to be read, printed or filed, send a PDF.
Option 1: Save as PDF inside Word
If you have Word, this is the best choice, because Word itself draws the pages with your own fonts. Open the document, choose File, then Save As or Export, and pick PDF as the file type. Google Docs offers the same under File, Download, PDF Document, and most other word processors have a similar option. When you can use it, use it.
Option 2: Convert the .docx file with Velfile
Sometimes Word is not at hand. You may be on a phone, on a shared computer, or on a laptop without Office. For those moments, Velfile has Word to PDF.
- Open Word to PDF and choose your .docx file. The limit is 25 MB.
- Press Convert to PDF.
- Press Download PDF, then open the file and look through it.
The conversion happens in your browser, on your own device. The document is not uploaded to a server, which matters for things like CVs, contracts and school papers.
Prepare the document first
A little preparation gives a better result.
- Save it as .docx. The older .doc format is not supported. In Word, use Save As and choose .docx.
- Use ordinary fonts. The converter replaces fonts with the standard PDF fonts: a sans serif, a serif and a monospaced one. Common fonts such as Arial, Calibri and Times New Roman are matched sensibly. A decorative font will not survive.
- Keep the layout simple. Headings, paragraphs, lists, tables and pictures convert well.
- Put page numbers in the footer inside Word. Footers that use page number fields are kept. If you forgot, add them to the PDF afterwards with Page Numbers.
- Shrink big pictures. A few large photos can make the PDF heavy. Resize them first, or compress the PDF at the end.
What to expect from the result
The result carries the content of your document, but it is not a pixel-perfect copy of what Word would produce. Three differences are worth knowing.
- Because fonts are replaced, lines can break in different places and the document can end up a little longer or shorter than in Word.
- Some items are not included: text boxes, shapes, charts, equations, footnotes and columns. Links keep their text but are not clickable.
- Letters outside the Latin alphabet, such as Arabic or Chinese, cannot be drawn and appear as a question mark.
If your document depends on any of these, for example a CV designed with text boxes and columns, export it from Word or Google Docs instead.
Check the result before you send it
Scroll through the PDF once, from the first page to the last. Look at the following.
- Is any heading stranded at the bottom of a page, away from its text?
- Do the tables fit inside the page, and are the columns still readable?
- Are all the pictures there, and in the right place?
- Are names, numbers and dates correct? A PDF is harder to fix than a Word file, so read it now.
- Is the number of pages what you expected?
Common problems
- The text looks different from Word. That is the font replacement. Use plain fonts, or export from Word.
- A picture is missing. Some picture formats used inside Word files, such as EMF or WMF, cannot be included. Paste the picture again as PNG or JPG.
- The file could not be read. It may be damaged, protected by a password, or not a real .docx file. Open it in Word, save a fresh copy as .docx and try again.
- The PDF is too large. Run it through Compress PDF. In Keep text mode, the text stays selectable and only the pictures become smaller.
What to do next
Once you have the PDF, a few small jobs are often left. To join it with other documents, use Merge PDF. To add your signature to a letter, use Sign PDF. To stamp a word such as DRAFT on every page, use Watermark PDF.
Last updated: 19 October 2026