--- title: "Convert MS Office files to PDF with Document Engine" canonical_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine/conversion/office-to-pdf/" md_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine/conversion/office-to-pdf.md" last_updated: "2026-05-19T08:53:03.384Z" description: "Learn how to convert Microsoft Office files to PDF using Document Engine’s API. Includes examples for disk and URL sources with markup mode options." --- # Convert Office files to PDF This guide explains how to convert Office files to PDF using Document Engine. ## Requirements Ensure Document Engine is up and running. If you haven’t set it up yet, refer to our [getting started](https://www.nutrient.io/sdk/document-engine/getting-started.md) guides, select the deployment option you prefer, and follow the instructions. ## Converting an Office file from disk To convert an Office file from disk, send a request to the [`/api/build` endpoint](https://www.nutrient.io/api/reference/document-engine/upstream/#tag/Document-Editing/operation/build-document), including both the Office file as input and the [`instructions` JSON](https://www.nutrient.io/api/reference/document-engine/upstream/#tag/Build-API/Instructions-Schema). > The default output from the `/api/build` endpoint is a PDF file. You can also specify other file types. Learn more about the output options in our [API reference](https://www.nutrient.io/api/reference/document-engine/upstream/#tag/Document-Editing/operation/build-document). ### SHELL ```shell curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/build \ -H "Authorization: Token token=" \ -F 'document=@/path/to/example-document.docx' \ -F instructions='{ "parts": [ { "file": "document" } ] }' \ -o result.pdf ``` ### HTTP ```http POST /api/build HTTP/1.1 Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=customboundary Authorization: Token token= --customboundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="document"; filename="example-document.docx" Content-Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document --customboundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="instructions" Content-Type: application/json { "parts": [ { "file": "document" } ] } --customboundary-- ``` ## Converting an Office file from URL To convert an Office file from a URL, send a multipart request to the [`/api/build` endpoint](https://www.nutrient.io/api/reference/document-engine/upstream/#tag/Document-Editing/operation/build-document), attaching a URL pointing to the Office file: ### SHELL ```shell curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/build \ -H "Authorization: Token token=" \ -F instructions='{ "parts": [ { "file": { "url": "https://www.nutrient.io/downloads/examples/paper.docx" } } ] }' \ -o result.pdf ``` ### HTTP ```http POST /api/build HTTP/1.1 Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=customboundary Authorization: Token token= --customboundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="instructions" Content-Type: application/json { "parts": [ { "file": { "url": "https://www.nutrient.io/downloads/examples/paper.docx" } } ] } --customboundary-- ``` ## Conversion parameters You can customize Office file conversion by adding parameters to the `parts` object. These parameters work with both disk-based and URL-based conversions. ### Available parameters #### markup_mode Controls how markup (comments, tracked changes) is preserved during Word document conversion. - **Applicable to**: Word documents (`.docx`) - **Supported values**: - `noMarkup` (default) — Render the document as if all changes were accepted - `original` — Render the document as if all changes were rejected - `simpleMarkup` — Render with changes accepted and comments as annotations - `allMarkup` — Render with all markups visible, including redlines and comments - **Default**: `noMarkup` - **Global configuration**: Set the `DOCX_MARKUP_MODE` environment variable to change the default value #### half_transparent_header_footer Renders headers and footers as half-transparent in the converted PDF. - **Applicable to**: Word documents (`.doc`, `.docx`, `.odt`, `.rtf`) - **Supported values**: `true`, `false` - **Default**: `false` - **Global configuration**: Set the `HALF_TRANSPARENT_HEADER_FOOTER` environment variable to change the default value ### Example with conversion parameters The following example demonstrates using conversion parameters. You can combine multiple parameters in a single request: ### SHELL ```shell curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/build \ -H "Authorization: Token token=" \ -F 'document=@/path/to/example-document.docx' \ -F instructions='{ "parts": [ { "file": "document", "markup_mode": "allMarkup", "half_transparent_header_footer": true } ] }' \ -o result.pdf ``` ### HTTP ```http POST /api/build HTTP/1.1 Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=customboundary Authorization: Token token= --customboundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="document"; filename="example-document.docx" Content-Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document --customboundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="instructions" Content-Type: application/json { "parts": [ { "file": "document", "markup_mode": "allMarkup", "half_transparent_header_footer": true } ] } --customboundary-- ``` ## Converting spreadsheets When converting spreadsheet files (such as XLSX or XLS), you can control whether to render the entire spreadsheet content or only the defined print area using the `render_only_print_area` parameter. This Boolean parameter accepts the following values: - `false` — Render the entire spreadsheet content (default). - `true` — Render only the defined print area. If no print area is defined, the entire sheet will be rendered. ### SHELL ```shell curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/build \ -H "Authorization: Token token=" \ -F 'document=@/path/to/spreadsheet.xlsx' \ -F instructions='{ "parts": [ { "file": "document", "render_only_print_area": true } ] }' \ -o result.pdf ``` ### HTTP ```http POST /api/build HTTP/1.1 Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=customboundary Authorization: Token token= --customboundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="document"; filename="spreadsheet.xlsx" Content-Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet --customboundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="instructions" Content-Type: application/json { "parts": [ { "file": "document", "render_only_print_area": true } ] } --customboundary-- ``` --- ## Related pages - [Convert CAD files to PDF](/guides/document-engine/conversion/cad-to-pdf.md) - [PDF and document conversion server](/guides/document-engine/conversion.md) - [Convert HTML to PDF](/guides/document-engine/conversion/html-to-pdf.md) - [Convert image files to PDF](/guides/document-engine/conversion/image-to-pdf.md) - [Convert PDF to Office](/guides/document-engine/conversion/pdf-to-office.md) - [Convert text files to PDF](/guides/document-engine/conversion/text-to-pdf.md) - [PDF to Excel](/guides/document-engine/conversion/pdf-to-excel.md) - [Convert PDFs to PDF/UA-1](/guides/document-engine/conversion/to-pdfua.md) - [Convert MS Office documents to image files](/guides/document-engine/conversion/office-to-image.md) - [Easily convert documents to PDF/A formats](/guides/document-engine/conversion/to-pdfa.md) - [Convert PDF to image](/guides/document-engine/conversion/pdf-to-image.md)