The short answer: write in Word or Google Docs, send as a PDF. Word and Google Docs are for a document that is still changing. They reflow text as you type, track edits and let other people work on it. A PDF is for a document that is finished and must look the same for everyone who opens it, on any device.

So the question is not which format is better. It is which stage the document is at. Use Word if you are writing alone, Google Docs if several people are writing together, and PDF when it is done. The rest of this guide covers the cases where that rule needs a second thought.

How the three actually differ

  • Layout. Word and Google Docs reflow: change the font, page size or printer and the lines move. A PDF fixes every word to a spot on the page, so page 3 is page 3 everywhere.
  • Fonts. A Word file uses the fonts installed on the computer opening it. If a font is missing, another one is swapped in and the layout can shift. A PDF usually carries its fonts inside the file.
  • Editing. Word and Google Docs are built for editing. A PDF can be edited, but it is awkward, because it stores positioned text rather than flowing paragraphs.
  • Collaboration. Google Docs lets several people edit the same live copy at once. Word does this too through OneDrive or SharePoint, but many people still email .docx files back and forth. A PDF is usually one person's finished copy.
  • Where it lives. A .docx or .pdf is a file on your device. A Google Doc lives in a Google account and is shared by link and permissions.

When Word is the right choice

Use Word when you are the main author and you want full control: styles, headings, tables, footnotes, a table of contents, templates from your office. It works offline, and .docx is the format most other tools read and write reliably.

Word is also the right format when the other side needs to change the text. A landlord drafting a tenancy agreement, for example, can send a .docx so you can propose edits with Track Changes. Once both sides agree, it becomes a PDF for signing.

When Google Docs is the right choice

Use Google Docs when the document is a group effort: a team report, meeting notes, a committee proposal. Everyone edits one live copy, comments sit next to the text, and the version history shows who changed what. Suggesting mode works like Track Changes.

The trade-offs are that it lives in someone's Google account, it needs a connection unless offline mode was set up in advance, and complex layouts are harder than in Word. When it is finished, use File, then Download, then PDF Document (.pdf) to send the final copy.

When to send a PDF

Send a PDF the moment the document is final and should not change: an invoice, a quotation, a signed agreement, a payslip, a report going to a printer, a form you have filled in. The recipient sees exactly what you see, whether they open it on a phone, a Mac or an old office PC.

  • Invoices, receipts and payslips: PDF, so the numbers and layout cannot shift.
  • Contracts and tenancy agreements: draft in Word, sign and share the final version as PDF.
  • A CV or résumé: PDF keeps your layout. If a job portal or recruiter asks for .docx, send what they ask for, because some screening systems read Word files more easily.
  • Anything for printing: PDF, so the printer gets the same page breaks you checked.
  • Something the reader must edit: not a PDF. Send the Word file or share the Google Doc instead.
A PDF is not a lock. People often send a PDF thinking nobody can change it. Anyone with a PDF editor can add or cover text. A PDF fixes the layout, not the content. If you need to show that a document has not changed since you sent it, that is the job of a digital signature, not the file format.

Converting between them, step by step

You are never locked in. The best conversion is usually done by the app that made the file, because it knows the original layout.

  1. Word to PDF: in Word, use File, then Save As (or Export), and choose PDF. This keeps your layout, tables and images exactly.
  2. Google Docs to PDF: File, then Download, then PDF Document (.pdf).
  3. Word to PDF without Word: open Kopitiam's Convert to PDF, drop in the .docx and press Convert & download PDF. It keeps the text, headings and bold or italic on clean A4 pages. Tables, columns and images are simplified, so use Word's own export when the layout matters.
  4. Images to PDF: in the same Convert to PDF tool, add one or more JPG or PNG files, pick a page size (Fit to image, A4 page or Letter page) and download one PDF.
  5. PDF back to Word: open Kopitiam's PDF to Word & text, choose Word (.docx) under Export as, and press Extract & download. You get an editable document with the words in reading order. Layout, tables and images are not rebuilt.

Google Drive can also open a PDF with Google Docs, and recent desktop versions of Word can open a PDF and convert it. Results vary with complex layouts, so check the converted file before you rely on it.

When it goes wrong

  • The PDF to Word file is empty or the tool says no selectable text was found. The PDF is a scan, which is just pictures of pages. There is no text to pull out. You need OCR (text recognition) first, or you can retype the parts you need.
  • The converted Word file looks plain. That is expected from a text export. If you only need to fix a date or a figure, editing the PDF is faster than rebuilding it in Word.
  • The PDF will not open because it has a password. Kopitiam cannot open locked PDFs yet. Open it with its password in your PDF reader, use Print, then Save as PDF to make an unlocked copy, and use that copy.
  • The layout jumps when someone else opens your Word file. They are missing a font or have different page settings. Send a PDF for anything where the layout matters.
  • Some characters show as boxes or question marks after converting a .docx. Kopitiam's converter tells you which characters had no font it could use. Check those lines, or export from Word instead.

Small changes to a finished PDF

Sometimes you only have the PDF: a form from a government office, a quotation from a supplier, an agreement someone already exported. Going back to Word for one change is often more work than it is worth.

Kopitiam's Edit PDF tool handles the common cases. Text adds new text anywhere on the page. Cover & replace lays a matching-colour box over a word and puts an editable text box on top, which suits fixing a typo or a date. Sign lets you draw a signature, and Auto-fill finds the fillable fields on a form. Be aware that Cover & replace hides the old text rather than deleting it, so the original words are still in the file underneath. For removing sensitive text, use Redact instead, which really removes it.

If you are rewriting whole paragraphs, go back to the source. Ask the sender for the Word file, or convert the PDF to Word and rebuild the layout. A PDF editor is for small, final touches.

Is converting and editing private?

Every Kopitiam PDF tool, including Convert to PDF and PDF to Word & text, runs in your browser. Your file is not uploaded to a server, and the tools keep working if your connection drops after the page has loaded. The one exception is text in some non-Latin scripts, which may need a font downloaded from Kopitiam the first time it is used. There is no account and no watermark. Very large files are limited only by your device's memory, so an older phone may struggle with a big scan that a laptop handles easily.