I already saved my Word file as PDF and it shows comments. Can I fix it without redoing all the work?

You cannot remove comments from a PDF that already has them. You must go back to the original Word document, delete all comments and accept all changes, then save again as PDF using the correct settings.

Does hiding markup on screen (No Markup) also hide it in the PDF?

No. The No Markup view only changes what you see on screen. The markup still exists in the file. Unless you change the Save As or Print settings to exclude markup, it will appear in the PDF.

Will the Document Inspector remove all tracked changes automatically?

No. The Document Inspector finds hidden data like comments, revisions, and hidden text, but it does not accept changes or delete comments. You must accept all changes and delete all comments first, then run the Inspector to catch any leftover items.

What if I only want to remove comments but keep the tracked changes visible in the PDF?

To keep tracked changes but remove comments, delete all comments first, then when saving as PDF, choose Document showing markup under Publish what. This will include the tracked changes but no comments.

Save Word as PDF Without Comments or Tracked Changes

You need a PDF that looks finished. Not one littered with red strikethroughs and ballooned margin notes. The fix runs through Microsoft Word's Review tab and a couple of hidden settings. Do the steps in order and the output is a clean file. A contract, a manuscript, a report. No revision history. No stray comments. Just the final text.

Why Your PDF Shows Comments and Tracked Changes

Word defaults to carrying its edit trail into the export. If the file still holds tracked changes or comment threads, the PDF renders them as part of the page. Red underlines, struck-through paragraphs, and those balloons reappear. This catches people who shared a draft, made a round of changes, and then hit Save As without clearing the deck. The settings that stop it are not hard to find. You just have to hit them in the right sequence.

Hide Markup on Screen as a Temporary Check

Before you touch anything permanent, preview the clean version. This step does not alter the file. It shows you what still needs removing.

Switch the Display for Review Setting

Open the Review tab. In the Tracking group, pull down the menu labelled Display for Review. Choose No Markup. The screen drops every tracked change and comment, showing the text as though everything had been accepted. This is a visual toggle. The markup is still there. If you export to PDF now without changing the export settings, it all comes back. Use this view to confirm the final wording, then move on.

Permanently Accept All Changes and Delete Comments

To stop red edits and comment balloons reaching the PDF, you must finalise the file. Two separate actions. Do both.

Accept All Changes

Stay on the Review tab. In the Changes group, click the arrow under Accept. Select Accept All Changes. Every tracked edit becomes permanent. The text now stands as the final version, with no pending revisions.

Delete All Comments

Still on the Review tab, move to the Comments group. Click the arrow under Delete and choose Delete All Comments in Document. Every comment thread vanishes. After these two steps, the file holds no visible edit trail. Switch Display for Review back to All Markup and scan through to confirm nothing remains.

Check for Hidden Markup with Document Inspector

Accepting changes and deleting comments clears what you can see. Word sometimes keeps hidden data: revision identifiers, invisible text, old metadata. The built-in inspector hunts those down.

Run the Inspector

Click File, then Info. On the right, click Check for Issues and choose Inspect Document. A panel lists what it will scan: comments, revisions, hidden text, and more. Click Inspect. If the tool finds anything, it offers a Remove All button. Use it. This scrubs the file of leftovers that might otherwise surface in the PDF.

Save as PDF with the Correct Options

Word gives you two paths to a PDF. Save As and Print. Both have a switch that decides whether markup travels with the text. Set it right.

Save As PDF

Go to File, then Save As. Pick PDF as the file type. Before you save, click the Options button. In the dialogue, under Publish what, select Document. Not Document showing markup. That single choice tells Word to output only the final text. Click OK, then save.

Print to PDF

Go to File, then Print. In the print settings, find the checkbox labelled Print Markup. Untick it. Then choose a PDF printer, such as Microsoft Print to PDF, and print. The result is the same: a clean file, no comments, no tracked changes.

Using the Word to PDF Converter Tool

Once the file is stripped clean, upload the .docx to word2pdfconverter.com. The tool accepts .docx files and produces a text-layout PDF that preserves headings, paragraphs, bold and italic, and lists. Because you removed the edit trail before uploading, the PDF shows exactly what you intended. Nothing more.

Quick Checklist for a Clean PDF

Work through this list before you convert.

Review tab: Accept All Changes.
Review tab: Delete All Comments in Document.
File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document. Remove anything it finds.
Save As > PDF > Options: choose Document under Publish what.
Or File > Print: untick Print Markup.
Upload the .docx to word2pdfconverter.com.