1. Missing Fonts (Font Substitution)
What happens: The PDF uses a different font than your Word document. Text looks thinner, thicker, or spaced differently. Lines break at different points, and content may overflow to extra pages.
Why it happens: The conversion tool doesn't have the exact font you used in Word. It substitutes a visually similar font, but "similar" isn't "identical" — character widths differ, causing text to reflow.
The fix:
- ✓ Switch to standard fonts: Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, Georgia, or Verdana.
- ✓ Or embed your custom font: File > Options > Save > "Embed fonts in the file."
- ✓ Avoid using more than 2-3 fonts in a single document.
2. Broken Tables
What happens: Table columns shift, text wraps incorrectly inside cells, or tables split across pages in unexpected places.
Why it happens: Word uses auto-fit columns that adjust based on content and window size. The conversion engine calculates column widths differently, especially for tables with merged cells or nested tables.
The fix:
- ✓ Set fixed column widths: right-click table > Table Properties > Column > set a specific width in inches or centimeters.
- ✓ Avoid nested tables (tables inside table cells).
- ✓ Minimize merged cells — use simple grid layouts where possible.
- ✓ If a table splits across pages badly, add a manual page break before it.
3. Header and Footer Shifts
What happens: Headers or footers appear in slightly different positions, overlap with body text, or disappear entirely on some pages.
Why it happens: Complex header/footer layouts with multiple columns, images, or tab stops are interpreted differently by conversion engines. Different-first-page and odd/even headers add complexity.
The fix:
- ✓ Keep headers and footers simple — single line of text, one image (like a logo) at most.
- ✓ Set explicit header/footer distances from the page edge in Page Layout > Margins > Layout tab.
- ✓ If using page numbers, use Word's built-in page number feature rather than manual text.
4. Image Quality Loss
What happens: Photos, charts, and graphics appear blurry, pixelated, or lower quality in the PDF than in the Word document.
Why it happens: Word may have compressed images when you inserted them (it does this by default), or the conversion tool applies its own compression. Resizing images by dragging handles in Word also degrades quality.
The fix:
- ✓ Disable Word's auto-compression: File > Options > Advanced > Image Size and Quality > check "Do not compress images in file."
- ✓ Insert images at the exact size you need — don't resize by dragging handles.
- ✓ Use OmnisPDF for conversion — it preserves original image quality without aggressive compression.
5. Margin Changes
What happens: Content appears shifted — more or less white space on the edges, text closer to the page border, or content cut off at the edges.
Why it happens: Word's margin presets ("Normal," "Narrow," "Wide") translate to specific values that some converters interpret slightly differently. Mirror margins for booklet printing are particularly problematic.
The fix:
- ✓ Set custom margins with exact values: Page Layout > Margins > Custom Margins.
- ✓ Use at least 0.5" (1.27cm) margins on all sides — smaller margins may be clipped by some PDF viewers.
- ✓ Avoid mirror margins unless you specifically need them for double-sided printing.
6. Hyperlinks Not Working
What happens: Links that were clickable in Word are no longer clickable in the PDF. They appear as blue underlined text but don't go anywhere when clicked.
Why it happens: The link was pasted as plain text rather than inserted as a proper hyperlink. Some converters (especially "Print to PDF" on Windows) strip hyperlinks entirely.
The fix:
- ✓ Insert links properly: select text > right-click > Hyperlink (or Ctrl+K) > paste URL.
- ✓ Don't just paste URLs as text and rely on auto-linking.
- ✓ Use OmnisPDF's Word to PDF tool instead of "Print to PDF" — it preserves hyperlinks.
7. Page Break Problems
What happens: Content that was on page 3 in Word ends up on page 4 in the PDF. Or a heading appears alone at the bottom of a page with its content on the next page.
Why it happens: Word calculates page breaks dynamically based on fonts and spacing. If the converter uses slightly different fonts or spacing, text reflows and page breaks shift. "Keep with next" paragraph settings may not be honored.
The fix:
- ✓ Insert manual page breaks (Ctrl+Enter) where you need pages to break — don't rely on Word's automatic breaks.
- ✓ Use "Keep with next" paragraph formatting for headings: select heading > Paragraph > Line and Page Breaks > "Keep with next."
- ✓ After fixing font issues (Cause 1), page break problems usually resolve on their own.
Quick Reference: All 7 Fixes
| Problem | Quick Fix |
|---|---|
| Missing fonts | Use standard fonts or embed custom ones |
| Broken tables | Set fixed column widths, avoid nesting |
| Header/footer shifts | Keep layouts simple, set explicit distances |
| Blurry images | Disable Word compression, insert at correct size |
| Margin changes | Set custom margins with exact values |
| Dead hyperlinks | Insert with Ctrl+K, don't paste as text |
| Page break shifts | Insert manual page breaks, fix fonts first |
Still Having Formatting Issues?
If you've tried the fixes above and your PDF still doesn't match your Word document, consider these additional steps:
- ✓ Flatten the PDF after conversion using Flatten PDF to lock all elements in place and remove any interactive layers.
- ✓ Try converting from a different Word version. Word 365 (online) sometimes produces different output than Word 2019 or 2016. Save the file, re-open it, and try converting again.
- ✓ Simplify the document. The more complex your layout (multiple columns, text boxes, SmartArt, embedded objects), the more likely something will shift. Simplify where you can.