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Participant
August 16, 2026
Pergunta

PDF to Word creates duplicate lines

  • August 16, 2026
  • 10 respostas
  • 42 Visualizações

Hi,

I'm hoping someone can help with an issue I'm having when converting PDFs to Word using Adobe Acrobat.

I generate PDF’s, then I drop them into Word.

The problem is that the resulting Word document sometimes contains random duplicated words or sections of sentences that were not duplicated in the original InDesign document or PDF.

I then have to go through the entire document manually and remove the duplicated text, which is extremely time-consuming and ultimately unnecessary. Is there a issue that can be fixed? 

    10 Respostas

    Mike Witherell
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 17, 2026

    Don’t do this:

    “I generate PDF’s, then I drop them into Word.”

    Do this instead;

    Open the PDF in Acrobat; then click Menu > Export a PDF > Microsoft Word > Word Document ?

    Mike Witherell
    Participant
    August 16, 2026

    Since the original is an InDesign file, the best option is to export directly from InDesign to Word if your workflow allows it, rather than going through PDF.
    If PDF is required, try a simple test PDF with the same fonts and text styles to see whether the duplication follows a particular element.
    Also make sure Acrobat is fully updated and try exporting a sample PDF using Acrobat's Word export rather than opening the PDF directly in Word.
    If you can share one problematic PDF and the resulting Word file, others may be able to identify exactly which PDF objects are being interpreted twice.

    Dave Creamer of IDEAS
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 16, 2026

    If I understand it correctly, InDesign is the last step, not where the PDF is coming from. 

    I believe it goes like this:

    • External program creates the PDF;
    • “Drops” the PDF into Word. (Not sure what “drop” means.);
    • Cleans up in Word;
    • “Drops” Word text into InDesign. 
    David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
    creative explorer
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 17, 2026

    I agree wth ​@Dave Creamer of IDEAS it’s a little confusing with ‘drop’ too because ​@jackt80025615  InDesign can be either placed or imported into the document. 

    m
    Dave Creamer of IDEAS
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 16, 2026

    What do you mean “drop into Word”?

    If you open (or drop?) a PDF in Word, Word is doing the conversion. 

    Or are you exporting to Word from Acrobat Pro?

    David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)
    creative explorer
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 16, 2026

    @jackt80025615 What external are your creating from for bettr contect?

    m
    Participant
    August 16, 2026

    nope, its a text generator BUT I have found out in the PDF where there is a new page for example and the text breaks, the break causes a duplicate sentence when opened in word from PDF

    creative explorer
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 16, 2026

    @jackt80025615 Sorry, can I clarify something? Or maybe, I am misunderstanding this. 

    You use InDesign - Create a PDF - Drop into PDF into Word
    Are you importing or placing the PDF inside Word to edit or using the text? Then do you export as PDF again or save as a Word document

    My first thought would be just easier to work in Word entirely versus creating all thes steps to edit the text later?

    Are you placing the PDF as a new document or somewhere specifically on the page? 

     

    m
    Participant
    August 16, 2026

    Hi! Thank you for your reply.

    I am using a external programme to create PDFs, which have text/copy in them. In which I then drop into word to then drop into Indesign to style up.

    The issue I get is when the PDF drops into word it duplicates lines/copy.

    Dave Creamer of IDEAS
    Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 16, 2026

    Can the external program create anything else besides a PDF, such as an RTF?

    And, again, what do you mean by “drop”?

    David Creamer: Community Expert (ACI and ACE 1995-2023)