so, this is what i think happened.

i think that when i uploaded the files to the server last week, they were initially interpreted as coming from an unsafe source and sort of quarantined as read-only, and opened in 'protected mode'. this allowed me to convert the files to pdf without having to deal with the conversion in between to docx.

now, the server is no longer interpreting the files as dangerous, and automatically converting them to docx for editing, which is actually the default behaviour.

but, the conversion to docx is breaking the formatting and needs to be avoided altogether. so, i actually want it to default to the quarantine.

there is a work around, which involves opening up the file's "version history". this converts it directly from doc to pdf.

i'm actually going to send them an email requesting default protected mode as a feature. and, it might exist in the paid version. but, like, i'm not paying for it...