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Convert Apple Pages to PDF

No converter on this site opens a .pages file. Pages exports its own PDF: on a Mac choose File, Export To, PDF; on an iPhone tap the More button, then Export, then PDF; on iCloud.com use Download a Copy. The PDF keeps the fonts and the layout. If it is too large to send, drop it on Compress PDF and give it a size target.

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How to convert Pages to PDF on a Mac

  1. Open the document in Pages

    Fix the page breaks first. The PDF freezes the layout exactly as Pages shows it, including a heading stranded at the bottom of a page.

  2. Choose File, Export To, PDF

    The export sheet opens with an Image Quality menu. Better is enough for a screen; Best is for print. Good is the smallest file.

  3. Set a password only if you need one

    The Require password to open box encrypts the PDF. Leave it clear for a file a form portal or a recruiter has to open.

  4. Save, then check the size

    Look at the file size in Finder. If the limit is 1 MB or 2 MB and the file is over it, the next section shows how to get under it.

Why this site does not convert a Pages file

The .pages format is a package of XML and images that only Apple software reads. The converters here take .docx, .xlsx and .pptx, so a Pages file dropped on Word to PDF is refused, not converted. That is a limit, and it is why the answer to "convert Pages to PDF" is an export inside Pages, followed by one browser step if the PDF is too big.

The good news is that Pages makes a better PDF than any converter could. It has the fonts installed, it knows the exact page geometry, and it writes real text, so the words stay selectable and searchable. A Pages file to PDF export keeps hyperlinks clickable and turns the table of contents into PDF bookmarks when the document uses Pages headings.

How to save a Pages doc as a PDF on an iPhone or iPad

The steps are the same on both devices. Open the document, tap the More button (three dots) at the top right, tap Export, then tap PDF. Pages asks for the image quality and whether to include comments, then opens the share sheet. Save to Files puts the PDF where the Files app and any browser can find it.

On iCloud.com, open Pages, open the document, click the More button in the toolbar and choose Download a Copy, then PDF. The file lands in the browser's download folder. This route works on a Windows PC or a Chromebook as long as the document is in iCloud Drive, so it is the answer to "how to save Pages as PDF" on a machine that has no Pages app.

If you only have the .pages file and no Apple device

Ask the sender for a Word export, or open the file on iCloud.com after copying it into iCloud Drive. A .docx export from Pages converts here: drop it on Word to PDF, which converts one file at a time in the browser tab and proves the text reached the PDF before it lets you download. Pages-only features such as linked text boxes may move in the Word export, so check that version first.

Getting the exported PDF under a size limit

A Pages export with photos is often several megabytes, because Pages keeps the images at their stored size unless you chose Good quality. Drop the file on Compress PDF, type the limit as a target, and the tool tries more than one method and keeps the smallest result that still opens. It reads the compressed file back before the download appears, so the page count and the text are checked, not assumed.

Compress after the export, not before. Reducing the images inside Pages changes the document itself, and you may want the full-quality version later. The compressed PDF is a separate file that leaves the Pages document as it was.

Going the other way: from PDF to Pages

Pages opens a .docx file directly, so the route back is a Word conversion. Convert a PDF to Pages walks through it: the PDF to Word tool rebuilds the paragraphs, and Pages imports the result with File, Open. It only works when the PDF has real text, which every Pages export has.

The same rule applies to Apple's other apps. A Numbers sheet exports its own PDF, and Convert Numbers to PDF covers the page layout controls that decide whether a wide table fits. For Word itself, the Mac route is in Word to PDF on a Mac, and the full set of Office and Apple guides is under PDF, Word and Excel help.

Questions people ask

Can I convert Pages to PDF without a Mac?
Yes, through iCloud.com. Put the .pages file in iCloud Drive, open it in Pages for iCloud, click the More button and choose Download a Copy, then PDF. That works in any browser on Windows, Linux or a Chromebook.
Does the Pages export keep the text selectable?
Yes. Pages writes real text, not an image of the page, so every word can be selected, searched and read aloud. The only exception is text you placed as an image before the export.
Which image quality should I choose in the Pages export?
Better for a file that will be read on a screen, Best for a print shop, Good when the size matters more than the photos. Good often halves the file compared with Best.
Why is my Pages PDF so large?
Photos. Pages stores the original image data and the Best and Better settings keep most of it. Export with Good, or export with Better and shrink the PDF afterwards with Compress PDF and a byte target.
Can I export only some pages from Pages?
Not from the Export sheet. Use File, Print, set the page range in the print dialog, and choose Save as PDF from the PDF menu at the bottom left.
Do the hyperlinks in a Pages document work in the PDF?
Yes, both web links and links between sections stay clickable. A table of contents built with Pages headings also becomes PDF bookmarks in most readers.

Do it now

The tool runs in this browser. Your file never leaves the machine, and the result is checked before you download it.

Compress PDF

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