How to convert a PDF to Word
- Choose your PDF with the box above, or drop the file onto it. A password box appears if the PDF is locked.
- Set Page breaks. Keep PDF page breaks starts every PDF page on a new Word page, and One continuous flow runs the text together.
- Select Convert to Word. The .docx downloads at once, and the preview shows the extracted text.
How the conversion works
PDF.js reads every piece of text with its position and font size. The tool groups the pieces into lines by baseline, then lines into paragraphs. A new paragraph starts when the gap to the previous line is over 1.3 times the page's usual line spacing, the font size changes, the line is indented or begins like a list item, or the line above stops well short of the right edge. Lines in a paragraph are joined with a space. A wide gap inside a line becomes a tab, so simple tables keep their columns, and any line that holds a tab starts its own paragraph, so table rows are never merged into one. Text much larger than the body text becomes Heading 1, 2 or 3. The file is written as an Office Open XML package (ECMA-376), with characters XML forbids removed so Word does not report damage.
Worked example
Select Try a sample PDF and keep the default page breaks. The tool reports "Converted 2 pages: 10 paragraphs, 81 words." and saves sample.docx. Page 1 becomes the Heading 1 "Project update", one paragraph that joins three printed lines ("Dr. Lee" and "a good result? Yes!" stay intact), "Next steps, in order of priority:" and three bullet paragraphs. Page 2 starts on a new Word page with the Heading 1 "Budget", a paragraph, and two tab-separated rows, "Item, Cost, Owner" and "Hosting, 1,200, Ops".
Limits and edge cases
- Text only. Images, bordered tables, colors, exact fonts and headers are not carried over. To keep how a page looks, use PDF to PNG.
- Scanned PDFs hold pictures, not text, so the tool stops with a message. Pages without selectable text in a mixed PDF are listed after conversion.
- Columns are read in the order the PDF stores them, usually column by column.
Only need plain text? PDF to Text skips the Word file. Going the other way, Word to PDF turns a .docx into a PDF.
Frequently asked questions
Does this PDF to Word converter keep images, tables and fonts?
No. It extracts text only. You get paragraphs, headings chosen by font size, tab-separated columns and optional page breaks. Images, exact fonts, colors, table borders and page layout are not carried over, so expect to reformat in Word.
Why is my Word file empty or missing pages?
A scanned PDF holds pictures of pages, not text, so there is nothing to extract. The tool says so and lists pages without selectable text. Run the file through an OCR program first, then convert the searchable result.
Is the result a real .docx file?
Yes. It is a standard Office Open XML package with Normal and Heading 1 to 3 styles, and it opens in Word, Google Docs, LibreOffice Writer and Pages.
Can I convert a password protected PDF to Word?
Yes, if you know the password. Enter it when asked and conversion continues. To remove the password for good, use PDF Password Remover.
Sources: PDF.js documentation, ECMA-376 Office Open XML File Formats.