How to Convert PDF to Word
To convert PDF to Word, open the file in a converter, pick editable text or an exact copy of each page, and download the .docx. PDFDEN's free PDF to Word converter does it in your browser, so the document stays on your computer and there is no account to create.
PDF to Word: Turn a PDF into an editable Word file. Free, and your file never leaves your device.
Open PDF to WordSteps
Open PDF to Word and drop in your PDF.
Choose Editable to get text you can change, or Exact look to get each page as a picture in Word.
Start the conversion and wait a few seconds while the pages are read.
Download the .docx file and open it in Word.
Editable or exact look: which one to pick
Editable rebuilds the text as Word paragraphs. Larger text becomes headings, and each PDF page ends with a page break. Pick it when you need to rewrite, correct or copy the content.
Exact look places every page into Word as an image. The document looks identical to the PDF, but you cannot edit the words. It suits files you only need to send or store as a Word document.
If you are not sure, run both. The conversion is quick and nothing is uploaded, so trying again costs nothing.
What converts well and what does not
Text documents convert best: letters, reports, essays, contracts. Headings and paragraphs come through in reading order.
Tables and multi-column layouts come out as plain paragraphs. The words are all there, but you will need to rebuild the table or the columns in Word. For a PDF that is mostly tables, convert the PDF to Excel instead and paste the result into Word.
If you only need the words and not a Word file, PDF to Text gives you a plain text file.
PDF to Word: Turn a PDF into an editable Word file. Free, and your file never leaves your device.
Open PDF to WordHow to convert a scanned PDF to Word
A scanned PDF is a stack of photos. It has no text to convert, so an editable Word file would come out empty.
Run the scan through OCR PDF first. It recognizes the words and adds a text layer to the file. Then open the new PDF in the PDF to Word tool and choose Editable. The guide on how to make a scanned PDF searchable covers the OCR step in detail.
Check names and numbers after conversion. OCR is good but not perfect, especially on faint or skewed scans.
How to save a PDF as Word in Word itself
Desktop Word can open a PDF directly. Go to File, then Open, and pick the PDF. Word warns that it will convert the file into an editable document, then does it. Save the result as a .docx.
This works well on simple documents and has the same weak spots as any converter: tables and layouts may shift. It also needs a copy of Word on the computer. A browser converter works on any machine, including a Mac or a Chromebook without Office installed.
How to convert a PDF to Word on a Mac
Mac Preview can open and annotate PDFs, but it cannot save them as Word files. The quickest route on a Mac is a browser tool. Open PDF to Word in Safari or Chrome, drop in the file and download the .docx. It opens in Word for Mac or Pages.
When you have finished editing, you can turn the document back into a PDF with Word to PDF, or read how to convert Word to PDF for the other ways to do it.