Converting PDF to Excel or Word displays image instead of text

[begleydr]

When I try to convert a PDF document to either word or excel, the resulting document contains an image within the document. For example, if converting to excel my converted document contains images pasted in the cells of the spreadsheet, rather than straight text. Same thing when converting to word, I get an image that I can re-size and move around, but it doesn't just display the text for me to manipulate. I have the adobe PDF pack with an active subscription to Export PDFs. I'm on a windows 10 machine, using internet explorer. I just wnt the plain text to be in my excel or word document, but it doesn't seem to be exporting properly?? Any ideas are appreciated.

[AkanchhaS · Accepted solution]

Hi Begleydr,

Sorry for the delay in response to your query and thanks for sharing the detailed information.

The quality of converted document depends on the type of pdf you start with. Which means the content of your pdf document will come up as result in exported file.

• The pdf file you are exporting, does it contain real text or it has image in it?
• Or what is the source of the pdf and how it was created? Is it a scanned document?
• Do you experience this problem with all the pdf files you are have exported or is it a specific file? Check with any other file and see the result.

If your pdf contain real text and its not a scanned file, then please share a sample copy of the document. We would like to test the same at our end.

"You can share the file with us via email. And you can send it to the email that is shared via private message. Please do mention your forum thread in the subject"

Regards,

Akanchha

[Deborah22983402il1p]

Has anyone found an answer to this? I would really like to break down the image it palces into excel into lines on the spreadsheet?

[MeenakshiNegi]

Hi Deborah,

Thank you for reaching out, and sorry for the delay in response.

Could you please let us know more details about the issue? Does this happen with all the PDFs you convert?

Are you converting PDFs using the Acrobat Online account or the Acrobat desktop application?

Would you mind sharing any sample PDF with us to replicate the behavior?

Thanks,

Meenakshi

[繁23712267wjng]

全てのPDFファイルが開けない。

[MeenakshiNegi]

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out.

Please elaborate on the issue you are experiencing.

Share the complete workflow you do and the issue that occurs.

Are you using the desktop application or the mobile application?

Let us know if the issue is resolved already.

Thanks,

Meenakshi

[ZATariq]

I am alos having the same issue. when i convert an adobe image based file conating a table into excel, it convert it into a lot of small images of that table data in excel. they are readable but not in  text. I can share those files for your review upon having your contact email. 

[Warren22653536pv9f]

Yes having same problem, it only started happening in the last few months.  I could previously copy and paste tables from PDF reports into Excel no problem but now the cell entries float above the cells as pictures.

[Ronald233720978q6n]

I am having the same problem.  Mine is a PDF that was scanned from a printed Excel file.  Quality was good enough for Kofax, but now that I switched to Adobe (for other reasons), I seem to have lost the ability to convert these kinds of files to Excel.

[Warren22653536pv9f]

Surely Adobe must be aware of this. There is at least one major bank in
Australia that issues loan statements in PDF format only and converting
statements to Excel used to be a breeze. Then in the last few months all
you get in Excel is the table formatting with the figures floating above it
as text box objects.

[MeenakshiNegi]

Hello,

Sorry for the delay in response.

It would be helpful in further investigation of this issue if you could share the following information with us:

- Share the sample PDF on which the issue occurs

- Share the excel file created on exporting PDF

- Acrobat and OS version on the machine

- Step used to export PDF or copy-pasting tables.

Thanks,

Meenakshi

[Ronald233720978q6n]

I just spent well over an hour with Acrobat support staff, with the end result being that they conceded that Adobe could not process my file (the scan from a printed Excel file).  They blamed it on the file format.  When I mentioned that Kofax was not hampered by the file format, they did not have an answer.  They are unable to escalate internally to development staff, because they are just not set up for that.

So, it appears Adobe's answer is "try not to need to convert those kinds of files."  I need to either switch back to Kofax or at least keep a copy available for times like these, it seems.

[Amalya24234139vn7t]

Hi, I have the same problem, and can share the report as it is public report. 

Please help me with this issue: I'm opening this PDF as an word file and try to copy excel tables to excel, but they appere as an image(

[Cristian28062361yqey]

Hi, not sure if this will help others, but for the last 2 days I'm struggling to convert a PDF which contains tables/sheets of working hours (so they have many horizontal and vertical lines) and I had the same issues, with some of the pdfs being converted perfectly, while others are displaying images instead of data in excel, and I am not able to compare to tables and work some functions on them if some have data and some have pictures.

I just found out now that my problem comes from when I'm saving the PDF file from my scheduling app. One simple selection/click and then all reports are converted correctly after.

Found a way to convert the schedule report from my app in excel format:

• Open the app
• CTRL+P to fake that I'm printing the schedule sheets
• at "Destination" of the printer, select "Save as"
• Unhide "More settings"
• if you want your report not to have too many repetitive tabs, select A0 Paper size (you can work with A4 as well)
• it is MANDATORY (that was the glitch due to witch my conversion kept having data AND pictures instead of just data) to click/select down at Option "Background graphics"
• Click Save
• Open it in Adobe and convert it there easily; it will work

If this is helping anyone by any chance, I've attached a picture of the click needed to be selected; for me, this has sorted my issues of no more images being displayed.