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Wrong language when exporting to PDF

Anonymous
2022-07-27T07:34:53+00:00

Hi,

I'm using Word 365 for Mac. When I save a Word document as PDF and choose "Best for electronic distribution and accessibility (uses Microsoft online service)", I get a tagged PDF. The language of this PDF is English, but in Word the language is Dutch. This is a problem for accessibility, since the languages do not match.

I have checked the language of the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro. Of course, I can change the language in Acrobat Pro, but that shouldn't be needed. A long time I thought it was a problem on my own MacBook, but I found out that my colleagues experience the same.

When I use Adobe's PDF Maker plug-in for Word, the language of the PDF is correct (Dutch). However, not all my colleagues have this plug-in and this plug-in has its own caveats.

In my Apple system preferences, I do not have English set up as language, but still "English (U.S.)" shows up in my languages in Word.

Saving a Word document as PDF and choosing "Best for print" is not an option, because then the PDF will not be tagged.

How to solve this?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For business | MacOS

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  1. Jim G 134K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2022-08-03T15:48:32+00:00

    Thank you for replying.

    My hunch is the language of the document will always be set to English.

    Word on line uses the same engine to make PDFs. Try using the on-line version of Word and see if the same English language is set by the on-line version. If it is, that reinforces my hunch.

    Regardless, please use the Menu Bar in Word and choose Feedback > I Don't Like Something and report the behavior as a bug.

    Thanks.

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  2. Anonymous
    2022-07-27T09:02:42+00:00

    Dear snl_,

    Good day! Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community. We are happy to help you.

    As per your description, please don’t worry, we can work together to narrow down and resolve the situation.

    As you mentioned, " but still "English (U.S.)" shows up in my languages in Word" I suspect the problem occur because there is English languages shows up in Word.

    First, please allow me to explain, the language is a property of the text. If a language attribute has been applied directly it overrides the Style. Select all (Command+A) then change the language attribute by going to Tools> Language or by using the Language button on the Review tab.

    If possible, could you, please disconnect your printer from your device//Mac OS and then try to exporting to PDF file format and verify the result with us.

    Also, to check if this problem is related to Word app itself when save Word file into PDF file format, if possible, could you please try go to Word for Web, login with your Microsoft Account and save your Word document as PDF and verify the result with us.

    Image

    Since you mentioned, "my colleagues experience the same" to confirm whether this is a bug in a specific version, please provide us the version information of your version of Mac OS and Office 

    Find out which macOS your Mac is using

    About Office: What version of Office am I using?

    Your understanding and patience will be highly appreciated. I hope that you are keeping safe and well!

    Sincerely, 

    Waqas Muhammad

    ***Note: In the event that you're unable to reply to this thread, please ensure that your Email address is verified in the Community Website by clicking on Your Account Name > "My Profile" > "Edit Profile" > Add your Email Address > tick "Receive email notifications" checkbox > click on "Save".***

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  3. Anonymous
    2022-08-02T15:57:36+00:00

    Hi Waqas Muhammad,

    Thanks for your thorough reply, please allow me to respond.

    I have already checked the language of the document, selected all content and applied the proper language (Dutch). Still, the language in the outputted PDF is English. I tried again now with a new blank document, with the same results.

    There is no printer connected and don't use print to PDF, since that doesn't provide me with a tagged PDF.

    When I use Word for Web and create a new document, I go to File > Export > Download as PDF. Now the language in the PDF is correct. That is good, but we're not using Word for Web and OneDrive for our business documents.

    My MacOS is version 12.5, but I'm having this problem for a long time, also in previous versions.

    My Word version is 16.63.1, license Office 365

    I suspect the language problem is in the export to PDF function within Word "Best for electronic distribution and accessibility (uses Microsoft online service)".

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  4. Anonymous
    2022-08-02T15:37:56+00:00

    Hi Jim,

    The language on my MacOS is set to Dutch.

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  5. Jim G 134K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2022-07-27T17:05:28+00:00

    What language is the OS set to on the machine saving the PDF?

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