Saving a Word document as a PDF feels like a clean break: the PDF is "final", the Word file is the messy working copy. But some of the mess comes along. Tracked changes, comments, your name and the document's history can all end up in the PDF, some of them visible and some hidden.

Here's what carries over, and the settings that stop it.

What can carry over from Word to PDF

Visible: tracked changes and comments

This is the most embarrassing one. If Word is showing markup when you export, the PDF prints the markup onto the pages: crossed-out text, insertions in colour, and comment balloons in the margin. Your client or reviewer sees every edit and every "not sure about this" note.

Word exports whatever view you're in. So if you're in All Markup view, that's what the PDF gets.

Hidden: document properties

By default, Word copies document properties into the PDF:

  • Author: from your Office account or computer name.
  • Title, subject and keywords, often left over from a template.
  • Company and other fields in some versions.
  • Created and modified dates.
  • Creator and producer: the Word version and the PDF engine.

Hidden: history and IDs

PDFs also keep a hidden block of details (XMP), which can hold the same author and dates and a document ID.

Inside images

Photos pasted into the document keep their own metadata: camera, date and sometimes GPS. It survives into the PDF.

Before you export: clean the Word file

  1. Accept or reject every tracked change: Review → Accept → Accept All Changes (or reject). Then turn off Track Changes.
  2. Delete every comment: Review → Delete → Delete All Comments in Document.
  3. Check. Switch to All Markup view to confirm no changes or comments are left.
  4. Remove hidden properties: on Windows, File → Info → Check for Issues → Inspect Document, and remove Document Properties and Personal Information (plus comments and revisions, if it finds any). On a Mac, turn on Remove personal information from this file on save in Word → Preferences → Security & Privacy.

When you export: the settings that matter

On Windows, in File → Save As → PDF, click Options:

  • Under Publish what, choose Document, not Document showing markup.
  • Under Include non-printing information, untick Document properties. This leaves most of the properties out of the PDF.

On a Mac, File → Save As → PDF exports the current view. Make sure markup is hidden first.

After you export: check, and clean the PDF

Word's settings help, but a PDF still gets a creator, a producer and dates, and images keep their own details. To remove everything hidden:

  1. Drop the PDF on our PDF metadata remover. Signed out, it shows what the PDF carries, read in your browser without uploading it.
  2. With a free account, clean it. The file is rewritten without the author, title, software, dates, XMP history, document IDs or photo details, and checked again afterwards. The pages don't change.
  3. Open the result and check File → Properties.

One thing a metadata cleaner won't do: remove tracked changes or comments that were printed onto the pages. Those are now part of the page content. Fix them in Word and export again.

For more on PDF cleaning methods, see how to remove metadata from a PDF.

Google Docs and Pages

  • Google Docs: File → Download → PDF leaves out suggestions and comments unless you choose to include them, and names the PDF after the document title. Rename the document first if its title gives something away.
  • Pages: File → Export To → PDF. Hidden comments aren't included, but the author may come from your Mac's account name. Check File → Properties on the result.

Frequently asked questions

Do tracked changes show up in a PDF?

Yes, if they're visible when you export. Word prints the markup onto the PDF's pages. Accept or reject all changes, or choose "Document" (not "Document showing markup") in the export options.

How do I save a Word document as a PDF without comments?

Delete the comments (Review → Delete → Delete All Comments), or choose "Document" under Publish what in the PDF export options so markup isn't printed.

Does a PDF made from Word include my name?

Usually, in the Author field, taken from your Office account or computer name. Remove it with Inspect Document before exporting, untick "Document properties" in the export options, or clean the PDF afterwards.

Can I remove tracked changes from a PDF?

Not with a metadata tool. Once markup is printed onto the pages it's part of the content. Fix the Word document and export again. Only annotation-style comments added in a PDF reader can be deleted in the PDF itself.

How do I make a clean copy of a Word document?

Accept or reject all tracked changes, delete all comments, run Inspect Document to remove personal information, and save it as a new file.