You need to write a cover letter, a CV or a set of minutes, and hand it over as a PDF. There's no Word on the computer. Online suites want you to create an account, and the free installed alternative is heavy and opens the file with slightly different layout. The problem, in truth, is almost never writing: it's exporting to the format you were asked for, with no surprises when it's opened.
The real problem is the delivery format
A document lives in two distinct and often confused states. While writing, what matters is structure: headings, paragraphs, lists, bold. At delivery, what matters is the target format, which decides who can edit it, how it will look on someone else's computer and whether it will stay identical over time.
Getting this step wrong produces the classic mix-ups: you send a DOCX to someone who wanted a PDF and they open it with a substituted font; or you send a PDF to someone who was supposed to build on it, and they end up retyping everything by hand.
PDF, DOCX or HTML: which to choose
| Format | When to use it | What it implies |
|---|---|---|
| Final delivery: CVs, proposals, contracts, documents to print | Fixed layout, identical everywhere; not meant to be edited | |
| DOCX | The recipient has to add to it, comment on it or carry the work on | Editable, but the appearance can vary slightly between programs |
| HTML | Web publishing, sending as an email body, lightweight archiving | No notion of a page: the content adapts to the screen |
The practical rule is simple: PDF if the document is finished, DOCX if someone else has to work on it, HTML if it's to be read in a browser. When in doubt, for a formal submission PDF is almost always the right call — it's the only one that guarantees the recipient sees exactly the layout you produced.
Importing from Word: what survives and what doesn't
When a .docx file is opened in an editor other than the one that created it, conversion preserves logical structure well — headings, paragraphs, bulleted and numbered lists, bold and italic, simple tables — because these have a direct equivalent.
What tends to be lost is everything that depends on Word's layout engine: headers and footers, automatic page numbering, footnotes, freely positioned text boxes, multiple columns and custom styles. This isn't a flaw in the converter: these are features that live in Word's document model and have no unambiguous translation elsewhere.
The practical consequence: importing a document to revise its text works well; importing it to reproduce the exact layout of a complex template does not.
How to write and export a document
- Open the free online document editor — no sign-up needed.
- Write from scratch, or import an existing Word, HTML or Markdown file to start from.
- Give the text structure with headings and lists: that's what makes the document readable and what survives any export best.
- Keep an eye on the word count if you have a limit to respect — typical of motivation letters and abstracts.
- Export in the required format: PDF for delivery, DOCX if the text will be added to, HTML for the web.
If your starting point is a block of raw text — hurried notes, a transcript, an unformatted paste — it's worth running it through the automatic formatter first, which recognises headings, lists and paragraphs and hands back structured text ready to refine.
Autosave isn't a detail
Writing in a web page carries a legitimate fear: closing the tab by accident and losing everything. That's why a serious editor saves the draft locally while you type, not on every keystroke but at regular intervals, and offers it back when you return.
Two useful implications: the draft stays on your device, so you won't find it by opening the editor on another computer; and it's tied to the browser you're using, so private browsing doesn't keep it once the window closes. For an important document, exporting a copy midway through remains the prudent habit.
Frequently asked questions
Can I open a Word file without having Word?
Yes: a .docx file can be imported and converted into editable content directly in the browser. Structure and basic formatting are preserved; elements tied to Word's layout, such as headers and footnotes, may be lost.
Will the exported PDF look identical on other computers?
Yes, and that's precisely why documents are delivered as PDFs: the format fixes the layout, so the recipient sees the same arrangement of text and images you saw, regardless of which fonts are installed on their system.
What happens if I close the page by mistake?
The text is saved periodically as a local draft and offered back when you reopen the editor in the same browser. It isn't a backup, though: for an important document it's wise to export a copy before closing.
When is DOCX better than PDF?
When the recipient has to act on the text — add paragraphs, correct it, complete sections. If the document is final and only needs reading, signing or printing, PDF avoids accidental edits and rendering differences.
In summary
Writing a document in the browser solves the practical problem of not having a suite installed, but the choice that really matters is the delivery format: PDF for fixed layout, DOCX for whoever has to carry the work on, HTML for the web. The online document editor imports from Word and exports to all three; to convert files you already have there's the converter, to act on the pages of a finished PDF there's the page manager, and the full list is on the PDF and AI tools page.