Word – EMF files damaged during PDF export in Microsoft Word

emfmicrosoft wordpdf

I often use EMF images to illustrate technical documents I write in Microsoft Word (since Word doesn't support SVG). But there has always been one major issue: often a single (vector) line in an EMF file is damaged during PDF export (using the built-in PDF export feature of Word 2007+). Here are some examples:

Screenshot PDF->
Screenshot

Screenshot PDF->
Screenshot

Screenshot PDF->
Screenshot

Screenshot PDF->
Screenshot

Screenshot PDF->
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Screenshot PDF->
Screenshot

As you can see, in every EMF image, a single line is severely displaced in the PDF version.

Is there some way to resolve this issue? Why does it happen? You can examine the problem yourself using this original EMF file.

(I am using Microsoft Word 2010.)

Best Answer

I believe I have found a solution:

  1. Open the EMF file in Microsoft PowerPoint.
  2. Right click the image, and select "Save as image...".
  3. Save the image as a Windows Metafile (*.wmf) -- not an Enhanced Windows Metafile (*.emf).
  4. The obtained file can be used without problems in Word -- it will not cause any problems when the document is exported to a PDF file.
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