Why Does Text Disappear When You Convert Word, Excel, or Slides to PDF?

What’s Actually Happening When Text Goes Missing?

So, you hit save and convert your file to PDF, but chunks of text are suddenly missing. Not cool. It might look like your document’s been zapped by a glitch, but it’s usually a simple formatting or font issue behind the scenes.

This happens a lot when converting Word to PDF, with missing text especially common if you’re using custom fonts or text boxes. PowerPoint and Excel can act up too, dropping anything from full sentences to single-cell entries.

If you've found text missing after PDF conversions more than once, don't worry—it’s fixable.

Use Smallpdf To Reveal Hidden Text

The fastest way to check if your text is actually gone—or just hiding—is with Smallpdf’s Edit PDF tool. Sometimes the text is still there, but the font didn’t come through properly, making it appear invisible.

1. Upload the file to the Smallpdf Edit PDF tool.
2. Try to select the text in the text block where your words are missing.
3. If the text magically appears (just in a weird font or faded color), select it and change the font or color until it looks right.
4. Download your file and recheck the final version.

Edit PDF is a Pro feature, but you can try it free for 7 days—perfect if you're mid-project and need a quick fix now. Many users find this solves most cases of text missing after PDF conversions, especially when converting Word to PDF with missing text or dodgy formatting.

Missing Text After Converting From Word?

Word is usually the biggest culprit. You write your document, save it as a PDF, and then boom—half your bullet points or entire sections vanish. When you’re dealing with Word to PDF missing text, the most common cause is fonts. If the font isn’t embedded properly or isn’t supported by the PDF standard, it just won’t show up.

Another issue is text boxes or grouped content. These sometimes break during export, especially if you're saving from an older version of Word. If you find that text goes missing when saving a Word doc in PDF, try switching the font to something common like Arial, and avoid overly layered formatting.

You can also try using Smallpdf’s Word to PDF to do the conversion instead of saving it as a PDF in Microsoft Word.

Excel Playing Hide-and-Seek With Your Text?

Excel PDF missing text issues usually come down to clipped cells or overly narrow columns. Excel doesn’t always export what you see.

Before converting, make sure your cells are wide enough and that nothing’s overflowing. Also, avoid using wrapped text if your row heights are too small, as that content can get cut off.

Try using our Excel to PDF converter instead of saving it as a PDF directly from Excel.

Slides-to-PDF Conversions Gone Wonky?

PowerPoint can be sneaky. You’ve built a beautiful deck, saved it as a PDF, and then—surprise—text boxes, titles, or notes are missing. Converting PowerPoint to PDF with missing text usually happens because of animations, grouped elements, or layered content.

A quick fix is to go into your presentation and flatten everything: remove animations, ungroup elements, and make sure your fonts are standard and consistent across slides. Also, double-check your slide master. Sometimes content tucked in there doesn’t carry over well when converting.

Like with Word and Excel, Smallpdf’s PPT to PDF tool can come in handy here. You’ll get a fresh version of the file without losing that one perfect line of copy you spent ages writing.

Try These PDF Viewers

Sometimes the issue isn’t with the file at all—it’s the viewer you’re using. Some PDF readers can’t render certain fonts or formatting, making it look like text is missing when it’s actually just not displaying correctly.

If you suspect this is the case, try opening the file in a different viewer, like the built-in Preview on Mac or the Smallpdf PDF Reader online. If the text shows up there, your original file is fine, and you’re just dealing with a display hiccup. It’s a pretty common situation when users complain about text missing after PDF conversions, only to find it works perfectly elsewhere.

Try Converting Back & Changing Fonts

If nothing else works, you can always go back to the source. Use the PDF to Word tool to convert the file, then update the fonts in Word before exporting it again.

Once in Word, change all your fonts to something standard like Times New Roman or Calibri. If you know which font was missing, try installing it on your system before re-exporting the PDF. A lot of the time when you convert Word to PDF, missing text problems are simply caused by unavailable fonts.

Same goes for Excel or PowerPoint. If you notice Excel PDF missing text or text disappearing from slides, a font switch before conversion can be a sanity-saver.

FAQs on Text Missing After PDF Conversions

What’s the most common reason text disappears in PDFs?

Missing or unsupported fonts during export cause most cases of text missing after PDF conversions. The content is often still there—just invisible or misrendered.

Can Smallpdf fix PDFs from Word, Excel, or PowerPoint?

Yes! Smallpdf works with files from all three. Whether you’re dealing with Word to PDF missing text or converting PowerPoint to PDF with missing text, the tools can help.

Why does Excel chop off some cells during conversion?

If your columns are too narrow or rows are too tight, Excel will cut off any overflow during export. That’s a common cause of Excel to PDF missing text issues.

Can I use Smallpdf on my phone or tablet?

Definitely. All tools are browser-based and mobile-friendly, so you can edit, convert, and preview files on the go without any downloads.

Will changing fonts really fix the problem?

In most cases, yes. If your font isn’t supported or embedded correctly, switching to a more standard one before saving can prevent text from disappearing.