How to convert .PDF to word

[niche_products]

i new here. could anybody tell me how to convert pdf to word and remain the format?

[CtDave · Accepted solution]

You would need to start with a well-formed, tagged PDF.

That is to say the PDF is compliant to ISO 32000-1 discussion of logical hierarchy and tagged PDF.
Such comes from an authoring application that has adequate tag management provided.
The content author must master content in a well-formed, logical hierarchy in conjunction with using built-in paragraph/character tags
or headings/styles.
Currently, three applications have adequate tag management.
Adobe FrameMaker, Adobe InDesign and MS Word (via Adobe PDFMaker or (for Office 2007) the Office save as to PDF or XPS.

From this, a well-formed Tagged output PDF may be provided.

Tagged PDF is a stylized use of PDF that builds on the logical structure framework.

It defines a set of standard structure types and attributes that allow page content (text, graphics, and images) to be extracted and reused for other purposes.

PDF’s logical structure facilities provide a mechanism for incorporating structural information about a document’s content into a PDF file.

--| Simple extraction of text and graphics for pasting into other applications
--| Automatic reflow of text and associated graphics to fit a page of a different size than was assumed for the original layout
--| Processing text for such purposes as searching, indexing, and spell-checking
--| Conversion to other common file formats (such as HTML, XML, and RTF) with document structure and basic styling information preserved
--| Making content accessible to users with visual impairments

If the PDF is not a well-formed, tagged PDF or is not tagged at all you can use Acrobat Professional to manually
develop the tagged PDF. Alternatively, you could let Acrobat make a "best-estimate" tagging
(after which you'd perform cleanup).

With that said, if the PDF content is a scanned image then you'd
use Acrobat's OCR mode Formatted Text & Graphics (Acrobat 8.x or earlier) or ClearScan (Acrobat 9.x).
You'd cleanup "suspects". Then you can manually develop the tagged PDF or use Acrobat to get a
"best-estimate" of the tag structure (after which you'd do manual cleanup).

Be well...

[Junocito]

CtDave,  You are a genius!  I had only a short time to convert a PDF image file into an MSWord file for a legal court document and you saved my butt by doing this post.  Thanks a milliion!

[CtDave]

"... convert pdf to word and remain the format?"

Retaining "format" upon export of PDF page content is often a 'no-start' if the PDF is not, at a minimum, a workable "Tagged PDF". After all, one of Tagged PDFs 'design criteria' is to support effective export.

With that said Acrobat, in particular Acrobat X,  or other products can provide a relatively 'ok' export to Word / RTF from an untagged PDF.

The determining variable is, as daisymina8912 stated:

"... the output quality depends on much about how it was created."

The "created" refering to how the PDF's source authoring file was mastered by its author.

Sometimes you get what you want but not what you expect. Why? Well, that's in the details, eh?

Be well..

[janitorial1]

i am new in Adobe. Converting a pdf to word is not so tough after your instuction.

Thank you.

[Guest]

I am using Adobe Acrobat X Pro. I just downloaded the free trial and then paid for the upgrade yesterday. I need to be able to edit PDF's and/or save them as Word files. I am able to Save the PDF as a Word docx but when I open the word docx file, I am not able to edit or change anything. It basicly seems to have saved the PDF as an image within a Word docx file. Can anyone help? I would like to be able to edit the document, hence why I bought the program.

Also when I open the Word docx file, I recieve the following pop up box message:

"This error usually occurs because of macro security settings. If you know that the macro comes from a source that you trust, you can change your macro security settings to allow you to enable the macro. The way that you change your macro security settings depends on the Microsoft Office System program that you are using.

• Microsoft Office Access, Microsoft Office Excel, Microsoft Office PowerPoint, or Microsoft Office Word --
  
  To check your macro security settings, click the Microsoft Office Button, click <program name> Options, click Trust Center, and then click Trust Center Settings.
  • If macro security is set to Disable all macros without notification, all macros are automatically disabled. Use the following procedure to enable the macro.
    1. In the Trust Center dialog box, click Macro Settings, and then click Disable all macros with notification.
    2. Click OK in the Trust Center dialog box to apply the new setting. Click OK to close the program options dialog box.
    3. Close the file and the Microsoft Office program that you are using.
    4. Open the file again. A Security Alert appears in the Document Information Bar just below the ribbon. Click Enable Content to allow the macro to run.
    5. When you have enabled the macro, it is recommended that you return the macro security setting to Disable all macros without notification.
  • If macro security is set to Disable all macros with notification, but you selected Disable when prompted by the macro warning dialog when you opened the file, use the following procedure to enable the macro.
    1. In the Trust Center dialog box, click Cancel. Click Cancel to close the program options dialog box.
    2. Close the file and the Microsoft Office program that you are using.
    3. Open the file again. A Security Alert appears in the Document Information Bar just below the ribbon. Click Enable Content to allow the macro to run.
  • If macro security is set to Disable all macros except digitally signed macros, the macro may not have been digitally signed. Verify that you can trust the macro before using the following procedure to allow it to run.
    1. In the Trust Center dialog box, click Cancel. Click Cancel to close the program options dialog box.
    2. Close the file and the Microsoft Office program that you are using.
    3. Open the file again. A Security Alert appears in the Document Information Bar just below the ribbon. Click Enable Content to allow the macro to run.
• Microsoft Office Outlook, Microsoft Office Visio, or Microsoft Office Publisher --
  
  To check your macro security settings, on the Tools menu, click Trust Center, and then click Macro Security.
  • If macro security is set to No warnings and disable all macros, all macros are automatically disabled. Use the following procedure to enable the macro.
    1. In the Trust Center dialog box, click Warnings for signed macros; all unsigned macros are disabled, and then click OK.
    2. Close the file and the Microsoft Office program that you are using.
    3. Open the file again. When prompted, click Enable Content to allow the macro to run. If you are using Visio, the Enable Content button appears as part of a Security Alert in the Document Information Bar. If you are not prompted to enable the macro, or if you receive this error again, the macro may not be digitally signed. Verify that you can trust the macro. If you are certain that you can trust the macro, use the next procedure below to enable the macro.
    4. When you have enabled the macro, it is recommended that you return the macro security setting to No warnings and disable all macros.
  • If macro security is set to Warnings for signed macros; all unsigned macros are disabled, the macro may not be digitally signed. If you are certain that you can trust the macro, use the following procedure to enable the macro.
    1. In the Trust Center dialog box, click Warnings for all macros, and then click OK.
    2. Close the file and the Microsoft Office program that you are using.
    3. Open the file again. When prompted, click Enable Content to allow the macro to run. If you are using Visio, the Enable Content button appears as part of a Security Alert in the Document Information Bar.
    4. When you have enabled the macro, it is recommended that you return the macro security setting to Warnings for signed macros; all unsigned macros are disabled.
• Microsoft Office Project --
  
  To check your macro security settings, on the Tools menu, click Macro, and then click Security.
  • If macro security is set to Very High, use the following procedure to enable the macro.
    1. In the Security dialog box, click High, and then click OK.
    2. Close the file and Microsoft Office Project.
    3. Open the file again. When prompted, click Enable Content to allow the macro to run. If you are not prompted to enable the macro, or if you receive this error message again, the macro may not be digitally signed. Verify that you can trust the macro. If you are certain that you can trust the macro, use the next procedure below to enable the macro.
    4. When you have enabled the macro, it is recommended that you return the macro security setting to Very High.
  • If the macro security setting is set to High, the macro may not be digitally signed. If you are certain that you can trust the macro, use the following procedure to enable the macro.
    1. In the Security dialog box, click Medium, and then click OK.
    2. Close the file and Microsoft Office Project.
    3. Open the file again. When prompted, click Enable Content to allow the macro to run.
    4. When you have enabled the macro, it is recommended that you return the macro security setting to High.

This error may also occur for the following reasons:

• The certificate of trust that is attached to the macro is invalid. Unless you are certain that the macro is safe, it is recommended that you not trust or run the macro.
• The certificate is no longer trusted, was revoked by the issuing authority, or is damaged. Unless you are certain that the macro is safe, it is recommended that you not trust or run the macro.
• Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is not installed on your computer. In this case, no VBA macro can be run, regardless of whether the macro has a valid certificate of trust. You or your administrator may have chosen not to install VBA, or the version of Microsoft Office that you are using may not install VBA by default. If your version of Microsoft Office does not provide VBA as an installable feature, you can upgrade to a version that provides VBA support.
• If you are unable to change the security settings, it is possible that another program has locked the security settings. Close all Microsoft Office System programs, then restart your program and change the security settings."

This box opens up multiple times, 2-15 times, when I try and open a Word file and even shows up every time I open a new blank Word document. Can anyone help me with this annoying issue also?

Thank you

[HUNBORA]

hi

i want to ask u how to convert file pdf to word or Excel

[Dave Merchant]

In Adobe Acrobat simply choose File > Save As, and select Word or Spreadsheet.

If you only have Adobe Reader then you cannot convert PDF files to other formats, but the cloud-based Adobe ExportPDF service provides unlimited conversions for a small annual subscription fee.

[Bill12]

There are 3rd party products out there that do the job supposedly, but they are dedicated and cost as much as Acrobat. How good the conversion is depends on how well-formed the PDF is (is properly tagged and such). A workflow that includes regular conversion back to WORD is not proper. You can do minor editing in Acrobat and depending on how you created the PDF you may be able to get back to WORD reasonably well. In general you should always keep your original file and edit it in your application, then create a new PDF, not expecting to convert it back for editing.

[pwillener]

This 5+ year old topic is just attracting spam and is hereby locked.