- Draft view. Go to the View tab and click on Draft in the "Views" section
- Show formatting button. Go to the Home tab and click the Show/Hide Formatting (¶) button in the "Paragraph" section
- Reveal formatting pane. Hold the "Shift" key and type "F1." Click on any content to view how the text is formatted and see links to the menus to make adjustments. You can also use the compare option to see how formatting differs from one selection to another
- Navigation pane. Go to the View tab and click Navigation Pane in the "Show" section. When the pane opens, click Pages. This can help you see if page sizes differ
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Contact UsConvert a Paperback Word File to PDF
For paperbacks, PDFs is preferable to Microsoft Word documents. PDF means "Portable Document Format" and doesn't depend on system limitations, printer characteristics, or available fonts. PDF documents will look the same on any computer. Browse the topics below to learn about converting your file from Word to PDF.
Common formatting issues and fixes
It's easier to see the formatting issues listed below if you change the view settings in Word. Try using:
Check your settings
To help ensure your file looks as intended, we recommend checking your settings.
Creating a PDF
In the PDFMaker settings, leave the checkbox "Convert Document Information" unchecked. If it's checked, it can cause problems in the structure of the file.
Printing to PDF
When you print to the Adobe PDF printer or use PDFMaker, the document will reflow to best match the printer. For the best results:
- Set Adobe PDF printer as the default printer. Under the File > Options > Advanced > Layout options dialog setting, check "Use printer metrics to lay out document"
- Go to File > Print, select the AdobePDF printer, and click on Printer Properties
- On the Adobe PDF settings tab, select "PDF/X-1a." If this option is not available on your system, select "High-Quality Print" or "Press Quality" from the list of presets
Embedding fonts
Embedding fonts is not set by default. Go to File > Options > Save and check the "Embed fonts in the file" box. Make sure the "Embed only the characters used in the document" and "Do no embed common system fonts" boxes are unchecked.
Tips for avoiding file rejections
Always make a copy of your file to work on before you format it. That way you'll have a clean backup.
Word document looks different depending on the computer
- Word uses the default printer to display your document. Always use Adobe PDF or PDFMaker as the default printer to ensure that the Word file appears the same when using a different computer
- Fonts that are installed on one computer may not be on another. In this case, the font will be replaced. The size and spacing of characters can vary significantly from one font to another. This can dramatically change the formatting
Word file is corrupted
A DOC file and a DOCX file are not the same and file formats should not be changed. DOCX files are capable of storing file information differently than DOC files. When you save a DOCX as a DOC, the file information is downgraded, which can corrupt a file.
Fixing a corrupted Word file
There are four ways to overwrite file errors or fix structure problems:
- Rename the file. This can overwrite erroneous data introduced in previous saves.
- Copy to a new document. Filed data is stored at the end of the document. Turn on Show formatting to see formatting marks. Copy everything but the last paragraph tag (¶), then paste into a new document.
- Save the file as XML. This will fix file structure issues. The XML file can then be re-saved as a Word document.
- Save the file as TXT. This will remove all formatting and any formatting errors that have been introduced to the file. Copy everything and paste into a new document. Then you can re-format your file.
Keyboard shortcuts to remove formatting
- CTRL+Space. This removes all character-level formatting. Select text, then hold CTRL and press the space bar to remove fonts, underlining, boldface, and italics to return text to the default.
- CTRL+Q. This removes all paragraph-level formatting. Select text, then hold QTRL and press Q to remove any line spacing, line before/after paragraphs, indents, etc.
Tips for Mac users
- Convert the file to Rich Text Format (RTF) to preserve formatting. Re-open the RTF file in Word for Mac and convert it back to its native format. This can remove file damage
- Copy everything except the last paragraph mark (¶) to a new document. The paragraph mark "holds" certain style and section formatting in Word for Mac. Leaving this mark behind will sometimes remove file damage
- Click Select All from Edit menu, hold down Shift and press the Left Arrow key once. Release the Shift key
- Click Copy from the Edit menu and then click New Blank Document from the File menu
- In the new document, click Paste from Edit menu. You can then reapply style and section formatting
- Copy all to a text-only file and then copy back to a new blank document in Word for Mac. This will remove all formatting and hopefully file damage from the file. But this will also require re-formatting
