Converting PDF to Word: The Best Options for PC & Mac

This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido and by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

There are 7 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.

This article has been viewed 5,297,768 times.

If you convert a PDF to a DOCX file, you can open and edit it in Microsoft Word. Free tools like Adobe's online PDF converter and Google Drive make it easy to convert PDFs to Word, but some PDF formatting won't be preserved. If you have Word, you can use it to open and convert a PDF in seconds. Adobe Acrobat Pro does the best job at preserving the PDF's original formatting and images, though you'll need a subscription or free trial.

1. Go to Adobe's free PDF to Word converter.
2. Drag your PDF to the box to upload and convert.
3. Click Download to save the converted Word document to your computer.

Using Adobe's Free Online Converter

• This is the fastest way to convert PDF to Word, and the most convenient if you don't have Word or Adobe Acrobat.
• While you can convert your first PDF to a Word document without signing in, you may be prompted to log in with an Adobe, Facebook, or Apple account to convert more documents.

• Alternatively, you can click Select a file, choose your PDF, and then click OK or Open to start the upload.

• You may have to click Save or OK to start the download.

Using Microsoft Word

• As long as you have Word 2013 or later on your PC or Mac, you can open PDFs in Word to convert them to the DOCX format.
• You may lose some special formatting (like tables, images, and columns) from the PDF, but you'll be able to edit the text in Word as needed.

• If you're having trouble doing this on Windows, here's another way to open the PDF in Word:
  • Open Word. Or, if Word is already open, click the File menu and select Open.
  • Click Browse at the bottom.
  • Click the drop-down menu at the bottom-right (the one that says "All Word documents" and select All files.
  • Select your PDF file and click Open.

  

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  • If you're converting a larger file, it can take a few minutes to complete.

  

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  • If you downloaded the PDF from the internet, you'll see a bar at the top of the document asking if you want to enable editing. Click Enable Editing so you can make changes to the converted document.
  • Windows — Click File, click Save As, click This PC, enter a file name, select a save location on the left side of the window, and click Save.
  • Mac — Click File, click Save As, enter a name, select a file location, and click Save.
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  Using Adobe Acrobat

  

  • This method is the best option if you want to retain as much formatting from the original PDF as possible. It's also helpful if your PDF contains scanned text, as the conversion will read and convert text from images.
  • While Acrobat is not free, you can get a free 30-day trial at https://www.adobe.com/acrobat.html.

  

  Click Export PDF . This tool is in the right panel. A list of file types will expand. [6] X Research source

  

  Click Microsoft Word as the export format. Additional options will expand. [7] X Research source

  

  Click Word Document . It's the first option on the right panel. This tells Acrobat what type of document to create. [8] X Research source

  

  Click Export . Acrobat will now convert the file and prompt you to name it. [9] X Research source

  

  Name the file and click Save . Now that you've saved the PDF as a Word document, you can open and edit it in Microsoft Word. [10] X Research source

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  Using Google Drive

  

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  • While you can use Google Drive to upload a PDF, open it in Google Docs, and convert it to Word, special formatting like tables, columns, and images will not appear correctly (or not at all). So, this method works best if you just want to edit the text and not work with the current format.

  

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  \n"> Click the + New button. It'll be at the top-left corner of your Google Drive.

  

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  \n"> Select File upload . It's the second option on the menu. This opens your computer's file browser.

  

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  Select the PDF and click Open . Your PDF will now upload to your Google Drive. [11] X Research source

  

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  Double-click the name of the PDF you've uploaded. You'll see it under "1 upload complete" at the bottom-right corner of Google Drive and in your main Google Drive folder. This opens a preview of your PDF.

  

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  • If you don't see the Open with drop-down box, move your mouse to the top of the window.

  

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  • If you don't see Google Docs as an option in the drop-down menu, you can add it: click Connect more apps in the drop-down menu, search for google docs , and Install to get it.

  

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  • Click the File menu at the top-left corner of Google Docs and select Download.
  • Click Microsoft Word (.docx) as the format.
  • Select a save location and/or click Save if prompted.
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  Expert Q&A

  How do I open a PDF document in Word? Luigi Oppido
  Computer & Tech Specialist

  Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

  Computer & Tech Specialist Expert Answer

  You'll have to open the PDF document as a Word file. You can do this by converting the PDF into Word using Google Docs, or you can export it into Word by opening the document with the Word application.

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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  If I convert a PDF magazine to MS Word format, will I be able to edit or print? Community Answer

  Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
  Thank you for your feedback.
  If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

  Why did the document get messed up when I used Google Drive? Tables are different, margins won't adjust and I am trying to help a friend submit a paper that is due tomorrow.

  Nathan Roberts Community Answer

  This happens because Google Docs uses a different code (UI) to a PDF Document. Hence why it is a different file type. So when the document is getting converted, it tries to place everything in the right place, but looses a lot of the code. This is why you have to edit it to make everything look smart again.

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  Ask a Question 200 characters left Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Advertisement

  wikiHow Video: [Solved] How to convert PDF to Word document (2020) | Convert PDF to word online without Software

  If the text in your resulting file isn't editable, it's usually because the text was actually an image rather than plain text. Adobe Acrobat will convert scanned text to editable text, but other options will not.

  Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published Please provide your name and last initial Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

  

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  Converting a PDF file to a Word file will almost always result in some loss of formatting. [14] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

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  1. ↑https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/online/pdf-to-word.html
  2. ↑https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/online/pdf-to-word.html
  3. ↑https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/edit-a-pdf-b2d1d729-6b79-499a-bcdb-233379c2f63a
  4. ↑https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/edit-a-pdf-b2d1d729-6b79-499a-bcdb-233379c2f63a
  5. ↑https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/pdf-to-word.html
  6. ↑https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/how-to/pdf-to-word-doc-converter.html
  7. ↑https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/pdf-to-word.html
  8. ↑https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/pdf-to-word.html
  9. ↑https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/how-to/pdf-to-word-doc-converter.html
  1. ↑https://www.adobe.com/acrobat/how-to/pdf-to-word-doc-converter.html
  2. ↑https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2423485?hl=en
  3. ↑https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2423485?hl=en
  4. ↑https://howdoi.daemen.edu/knowledge-base/how-to-save-a-google-doc-as-a-word-file/
  5. ↑https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/opening-pdfs-in-word-1d1d2acc-afa0-46ef-891d-b76bcd83d9c8

  About This Article

  Co-authored by: Computer & Tech Specialist

  This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido and by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years. This article has been viewed 5,297,768 times.

  How helpful is this? Co-authors: 57 Updated: July 29, 2024 Views: 5,297,768 Categories: Converting PDF Documents

  You can use Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or Adobe Acrobat Pro to convert a PDF file into an editable document. If you have MS Word, right-click the file on your computer, select Open with, and then select Word on the menu. Click OK to allow Word to change the display format. If you downloaded the PDF from the internet, click Enable Editing at the top of the file and then click OK. Edit the file as needed, click the File menu, and select Save As. Choose a location to save the file, make sure the ""Word Document"" option is selected as the file format, and then click Save. If you don't have Word, you can use Google Docs to convert a PDF for free. But, if the PDF contains images, they may be lost during the conversion. In your web browser, navigate to docs.google.com and sign in with your Google account. Click the small folder icon at the top-right corner of the file list, click Upload, select the PDF, and then click Open to upload it. When the upload is complete, Google Docs will display a preview. Click the Open With menu at the top and select Google Docs. To download the PDF as a Word document, click the File menu, select Download, click Microsoft Word, and then click Save. If you have Adobe Acrobat Pro, you can use it to export any PDF as a Word document. First, open the PDF file with Acrobat. Then, click the File menu, select Export To, and choose Microsoft Word.” Finally, select Word Document. You can then save the file to the desired location.