How to Export a Word Document to PDF Without Deleted Bookmarks
Question details
The user needs to export a Word document containing tracked changes to a PDF format without displaying deleted text and without deleted headings appearing in the PDF bookmark pane.
- Product
- Microsoft Word
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Exporting a document with active tracked changes to a clean PDF when file storage constraints prevent creating a separate file with accepted changes.
- Observed behavior
- By default, converting a document with tracked changes to PDF may include deleted text in the output or generate PDF bookmarks from headings that have been deleted but not yet formally accepted or rejected.
Ensure you have saved your current document with all tracked changes intact before adjusting export settings to prevent any accidental loss of review data.
Hide Tracked Changes and Adjust PDF Export Options
Change the document display to hide markup and modify the PDF save options to exclude document structure tags, preventing deleted headings from becoming bookmarks.
When you hide tracked changes, the text disappears from the visual layout but remains in the document's underlying structure. Because PDF generation relies on this structure to create bookmarks, you must explicitly disable structural tags during the export process.
Open your document, navigate to the Review tab, and select No Markup from the Display for Review dropdown menu to hide all tracked changes visually.
Click on File in the top menu, select Save As, choose your destination folder, and select PDF from the file format dropdown list.
Before clicking the Save button, click on the Options... button located in the Save As dialog box to open the PDF export settings.
In the Options window, uncheck the box labeled 'Document structure tags for accessibility'. This stops the program from generating bookmarks from the hidden document structure.
Click OK to close the Options window, then click Save to generate your PDF. Open the resulting PDF to verify that the deleted bookmarks are no longer present.
Export Word to PDF Cleanly with WPS Office
WPS Writer provides an intuitive interface to manage tracked changes and seamlessly export your documents to high-quality PDFs without unwanted markup or deleted bookmarks.
- 1. Open document in WPS Writer: Launch WPS Office and open your document containing the tracked changes.
- 2. Hide tracked changes: Navigate to the Review tab and select Final to hide deleted text and markup.
- 3. Export to PDF: Click on Menu in the top left corner and select Export to PDF.
- 4. Adjust settings and export: In the export dialog, ensure bookmark generation is disabled if necessary, and click Export to PDF to save your clean document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do deleted headings still appear as bookmarks in my exported PDF?
When exporting to PDF, word processors use the document's underlying structure tags to generate bookmarks. If tracked changes (like deleted headings) are visually hidden but not formally accepted or rejected, the structural tags still exist in the background. Unchecking 'Document structure tags for accessibility' during the PDF export prevents these hidden tags from becoming bookmarks.
Can I just accept all changes before exporting to PDF?
Yes, accepting all changes permanently removes deleted text and headings, ensuring a clean PDF export. However, if you need to preserve the tracked changes in the original document for future review or due to file storage constraints, hiding the markup and adjusting PDF options is the recommended workaround.
Will unchecking document structure tags affect the PDF quality?
It will not affect the visual quality, layout, or formatting of the PDF. However, it will remove structural tags that are used by screen readers, which may impact the document's accessibility for visually impaired users.
