Hyphen and Soft Hyphen Handling Issue During PDF to Word Conversion

[shan-95605309]

Hello Team,

I’m facing a consistent issue while converting PDF files to Word (DOCX) using Adobe Acrobat.

Issue description:

• Many PDFs contain line-end hyphenated words (for example: techni- cal, inter- national).

• During PDF to Word conversion, all hyphens are merged, and the words are merged incorrectly. (for example: techni-cal, inter-national)

• This includes both visible hyphens and soft hyphens.

• Expected output should preserve the hyphen with a space (e.g., techni- cal).
  
  

Environment details:

• OS: Windows 10

• Adobe Acrobat version: 25.001.20997

• Conversion method: Export PDF → Microsoft Word (.docx)

What I’ve already tried:

• Multiple PDF files (scanned and digitally generated)

• Different export and OCR settings

• Opening the PDF directly in Microsoft Word and saving as DOCX

• Batch conversions

The issue occurs consistently, especially with scientific and academic PDFs, where preserving original hyphenation is critical for text accuracy.

Request for guidance:
Is there any Acrobat preference or advanced setting to preserve line-end hyphens during PDF to Word conversion?
Is this a known issue in version 25.001.20997, or is there a planned fix?
Are there recommended workflows, patches, or plugins to address this behavior?

This issue significantly impacts professional publishing and conversion workflows.

Thank you for your time and support.

I look forward to your guidance.

Best regards,
Shan

[creative explorer]

@shan-95605309 instead of xporting your PDF to Word, have you tried to 'Print to PDF' or use the 'Best for Printing' setting? This should convert "soft" hyphens into "hard" characters that the Word exporter can no longer distinguish from standard hyphens.

[shan-95605309]

Hi @creative explorer,

Please find the short reproduction steps below. The result remains the same.

Steps to reproduce:
1. Open the attached PDF in Adobe Acrobat.
2. Try Export PDF → Microsoft Word.
3. Alternatively, use Print to PDF and also test with Best for Printing settings.
4. Open the generated Word file.

Result:
Unwanted hyphenation persists in the Word output. Soft hyphens are still being interpreted differently and converted incorrectly.

Expected result:
The expected output should preserve the hyphen with a space (e.g., techni- cal).

Version observation:

• Version 2021.007.20091 converts correctly.

• In version 25.001.20997, the issue is consistently reproducible.

Reference:
The attached PDF and the PDF-to-Word converted document have the affected hyphenated words highlighted for your reference.

Please review the attached files and let us know if any additional settings or fixes are available.

Thanks & regards,
Shan

[Meenakshi Negi]

Hi shan-95605309 ,

Thank you for reaching out and reporting the issue.

We will try to replicate the behaviour on our end and, if necessary, have it checked.

We will let you know once we have more information on this.

Thanks,

Meenakshi

[shan-95605309]

Hi @Meenakshi Negi,

Thank you for your response.

We appreciate your efforts in replicating and reviewing the reported behavior.

We look forward to your update once additional information is available.

Thanks

Shan

[Meenakshi Negi]

Hi shan-95605309,

I appreciate your patience, and sorry for the delay in response due to the holidays.

We've shared the information with the team for further investigation and will let you know if we need more information.

Thanks,

Meenakshi

[shan-95605309]

Hi @Meenakshi Negi,

Thank you for your update.

We appreciate you sharing the information with your team for further investigation. Please let us know if any additional details, logs, or sample files are required from our end.

We look forward to your update once more information is available.

Thanks
Shan