Pdf "printing" from Word document with numbered paragraphs skewing the numbering in the pdf

Question

Pdf "printing" from Word document with numbered paragraphs skewing the numbering in the pdf

Has anyone any experience dealing with derangement of numbering when making a pdf of a Word file using Preview? I used a legal template with numbered paragraphs, and the template seems to have some errors therein, but it prints fine to a printer. But, when making a pdf using Preview the numbering goes screwy. I wonder if there is a way to clean up the code or whatever doesn't meet the eye that I suspect is a bit deranged. I am using current version of Word and Mac OS Tahoe 26.5.2

Mac mini, macOS 26.5

Posted on Aug 21, 2026 7:42 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

VikingOSX

Level 10

129,050 points

Aug 23, 2026 7:17 AM in response to RobertBurnsOB

Although many years ago, Preview used to open Word documents for display purposes, the Preview application in macOS Tahoe does not recognize Word documents to even select for opening in its File Chooser. Do not use the Finder's Quick Look to preview Word documents as it may display them incorrectly despite having MS Word installed.

If you want that Word document, which may contain form fields, generated as a PDF, then use Microsoft Word, or the current LibreOffice Writer for that purpose. Yes, Pages can open a Word created legal document, but Pages not being a Word clone, does not guarantee in the document translation process that it will not remove unsupported features (e.g. form fields) from that Word document. Those removals will wreck original formatting.

In fact, using a legal template (e.g. Attorney Names) saved from Word 2024 for Mac v16.112.1, Pages opened it and threw a warning about removing unsupported form fields. That wrecked the resulting document layout after the translation into a Pages document.

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Answer 2

MrHoffman

Level 10

161,219 points

Aug 21, 2026 7:50 PM in response to RobertBurnsOB

Does Pages make a workable PDF from the Microsoft 365 file?

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Answer 3

Aug 21, 2026 11:10 PM in response to MrHoffman

There is no skewering in Pages (which I've never used before). But there is a new problem illustrated by this wee screen shot, i.e., number/ruled margins end on the second page; this probably is due to the reality that there is a problem in that the number/ruled formatting disappears in the Word file when I delete the first page and, thus, I'm leaving it blank.

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