if i'm going to download a large package and install it in a virtual machine just to get the functionality to convert from .doc to .pdf, i should be going with openoffice.

again: the way i've been doing this for years is to print it, and it worked just fine, except that the links lose their functionality (it's just like you're printing it to a piece of paper, but virtually, and you can't click the links on your paper, not until we get specific types of three-dimensional printing, so you can't click the links in the virtually printed pdf), and that is absolutely fundamental to what i'm doing - the end product needs to be interactive.

maybe i can get a very minimal version of openoffice..

this should be easier than this.

in fact, i remember seeing react os style freeware word 2003 clones, and you'd think they'd do it, so maybe i should look that up first. abi something..?