Word File to PDF

Dear IslandGirl242

Thanks for raising your concerns in Microsoft Community.

I understand that you are having problems exporting Word documents to PDF. This problem is really annoying.

Usually this error message means that there is a lack of an application that can open the .pdf format. We can troubleshoot this aspect.

1--> Check default applications

• You can open the computer's settings, visit Apps > Default Apps, enter .pdf as the file type, and then check if there is an associated application. You can change the currently associated application to Microsoft Edge browser and click OK.
• Then reopen Word to check the situation.

2--> Reset Word

If the problem persists, you can try resetting Word to repair it and turn off its add-ons to avoid plug-in interference.

• Exit all Office programs
• Press Windows key + R at the same time, enter regedit, and press Enter;
• Locate the following key values ​​in sequence, rename the word folder (right-click it and select Rename, for example, rename word to wordold);

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\word
  
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\word
  

• Click Start, enter [%AppData%\Microsoft\Templates] in the search box, and press Enter;
• Back up and delete files with .dotm as the suffix, such as Normal.dotm;
• Open any Word file, click [File] in the upper left corner>[Options]>[Add-ins]>[Manage]
• Select [COM Add-ins], click [Go], uncheck all add-ins.

You can then check again how Word is running.

Disclaimer: Generally, modifying registry subkeys or work group is intended for advanced users, administrators, and IT Professionals. It can help fix some problems, however, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For further protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, clickHow to back up and restore the registry in Windows - Microsoft Supportto view the article.

3-->Confirm the Office version:

• You also need to check whether there are other versions of Office on your computer to avoid mutual interference between different versions.
• Go to [Settings]--[Apps]--[Installed Apps]--Search [Microsoft 365] and [Office]--Check the installed Office displayed. If there are other versions, you need to uninstall them.

4--> Create a new local account

• If the above solution does not work, we need to check for interference from the computer system and third-party applications.
• This operation is to use a new account configuration file. If the account configuration file is damaged, it will cause some problems in system use. You can follow the official Microsoft documentation to operate.
• Manage user accounts in Windows - Microsoft Support

I hope this is helpful to you and don't hesitate to ask any questions. I look forward to hearing from you and will continue to assist you.

Best Regards,

Tracy - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist