Printing a document to a file instead of to your printer saves the document in a format that a different printer can use.
For example, if you want to have your document printed by a commercial printing service that uses higher-resolution printers, you can print the document to a file, and then take that file to the commercial printer.
Note When you print to a file, you must first determine which printer— for example, a PostScript printer— will ultimately print the file.
- On the File menu, click Print.
- In the Name box, click the printer you'll use to print the file.
- Select the Print to file check box, and then click OK.
- In the File name box in the Print to file dialog box, type a file name.
When you print to a file, Microsoft Word preserves information such as line and page breaks (page break: The point at which one page ends and another begins. Microsoft Word inserts an "automatic" (or soft) page break for you, or you can force a page break at a specific location by inserting a "manual" (or hard) page break.) and font spacing.