How to convert PDF to WORD?

If you have any supported version of Word on the desktop, you can simply open the PDF file in Word and it will automatically be converted to Word format in memory. Whether this succeeds in producing an editable document depends on how the PDF was created. If it was originally typed text and was converted to PDF, then Word can make it editable. If it was only a graphic file such as the result of a scan, it will remain a graphic; you would have to use an optical character recognition (OCR) program to convert it to text first.

The free Word Online in the browser cannot convert PDF to Word format.

Hi ALewis85,

Don’t worry, this is easy to convert.

WORD has a built-in PDF converter. Just right-click the PDF file, select "Open with Word," and you'll get a popup message asking whether to convert it to Word. Click Yes and you can get the Word file.

If the PDF has a complex layout, the conversion might not be perfect, so you may need to tweak it a bit.

Hi Robert,

I tried it, but the text ended up being recognized as an image, and there’s also some weird garbled text. It’s just not unavailable to edit.

Is there any other method to do this?

Hi Jay,

I’m using the desktop version of Word, but the text got treated as an image. I think it’s because it’s a scanned document.

Using OCR to extract the text and make a new PDF could work, but that seems like a lot of work. Any other ideas?

Try to use a PDF converter that supports OCR.

The conversion quality depends on the file’s layout, so results may vary.

I've tried some but all of them are behind a paywall and it's expensive for just one file. I am willing to pay if it's not too expensive for just one file conversion. Are there any cheaper or even free tools available?

Hi, you could try the free 14 day trial Convert PDF to Word Online for Free | PDF to DOC | FOXIT (I have no idea if they ask for cash upfront! OR if the online converter is just free and not a trial!)

I personally use Adobe Acrobat but it might be expensive in this situation.

I just searched for some free options and found one called PDFgear. You can check if it works.

It's a third-party application as Acrobat so I can't guarantee the quality. But if it's free, I think it is worth trying.

Hi, you could try the free 14 day trial Convert PDF to Word Online for Free | PDF to DOC | FOXIT (I have no idea if they ask for cash upfront! OR if the online converter is just free and not a trial!)

PS: I have just tried it and it worked perfectly with no problem. PPS: I converted a scanned document.

Thanks a lot, I’ll give it a try.