How Do I Convert PDF to Word for Free?

❎ PDFs were never meant to be edited or converted to Word. There are some workarounds, though. I'll show you one that's free.
❎ Converting PDF to Word
PDFs are designed for viewing, not editing. However, you can modify them by converting them back to Word using Google Drive and Docs. This free method isn’t perfect and may require cleanup, but it’s useful for recovering document content when no original file is available.
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Chapters
0:00 Convert PDF to Word for Free
1:40 Start PDF conversion
2:30 Use Google docs
6:00 Download to Microsoft Word
6:55 Download as Rich Text Format
8:15 Other options
9:12 My suggestion...
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#askleo #pdf #convert

[@askleonotenboom]

Possible, but often not pretty.

[@bite-sizedshorts9635]

Yet I can do it with WordPerfect. And I can make it look exactly like the original. WP can import the PDF, I can edit the document to fix what I want and remove a few peculiarities, and then save it in any format I wish. WP, unlike Word, can save in almost every format that has ever existed. Even Word can't really save a document as an older version of Word. It says it does, but it's really RTF, not the same thing at all if you're sending a file to someone who happens to have a 10 or 20 year old copy of Word that they prefer. My method is free to me, because I will always have WordPerfect on my computer, even if it has to be in a virtual machine. A second method I use for actual paper is to scan and OCR. Again, the text goes into WP for exact formatting. BTW, Word cannot format as well as WP. That's an objective fact. I know, as I am an expert on both programs and had to use both at a large law firm.

[@devanathanm806]

That is what i do. I keep the original word document. make changes whenever I need do , make a new PDF and delete the old PDF . thanks for the nice video reinforcing the right way to do things.

[@paulreader1777]

Hi Leo - just opened your InternetSafety-v6-Free pdf in LibreOffice Draw - if you ensure font compatibility between LibreOffice and MS Office (which is quite possible for most common fonts) then virtually everything is preserved including graphics and the text fields/boxes in the pdf are individually editable. This is not quite the same as editing directly in LibreOffice Writer (or Word) but generally manageable. Recently had someone trying to open an Apple .paper document in Word without success: LibreOffice was able to handle it and convert to .docx format happily. There's more to Open Source than meets the eye these days.

[@myidisinhim559]

Leo, nice explanation. I always believed the intent of the pdf format was to create a non-editable document. So it still doesn't make sense to me why Adobe (the presumed "king" of pdf software) created ways to defeat that purpose. An example is their Acrobat product.

[@chipcurry]

Thanks!

[@joeblissett3862]

If you have MS Word installed, while trying to open a pdf file, it will convert to a Word document and usually the result is better than using Google Docs.

[@askleonotenboom]

Perhaps, but the focus here was on Free solutions. Word, installed on your PC, isn't free. And the online free version doesn't open PDFs. (I was hopeful, and tried, but nope.)

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

I believe that LibreOffice will also do this, and it's free.

[@verdedoodleduck]

The fonts can get substituted as well in the document conversion. And doesn't the pdf contain only necessary portions of the fonts used (for portability and size respectively) causing other editing issues?

[@Soupie62]

If you already have Word, there has been a built-in PDF import since at least version 2016 (the version I use).

[@askleonotenboom]

Yup, but this is a free alternative for people that don't pay for Office.

[@MarkJT1000]

This is why I still keep an old PC running Vista. It is the only PC I have that will still run my copy of Acrobat Professional, which makes editing PDFs a doddle.

[@davidmartin8211]

Calibre ebook reader will cvt Pdf to Text or Docx. Same issue with bad formatting.

[@askleonotenboom]

Good point. I suspect it might make some more assumptions, though, thinking that what you're converting is a book or book-like.

[@acreguy3156]

Great video, Leo. For a document that was never meant to be edited, it's amazing how many companies use this pain in the drain format when they want you to physically sign and date their PDF!

[@Dienes]

PDF has good support for things like filling out forms and adding signatures. Those are additive changes that don't change the overall layout.

[@acreguy3156]

@@Dienes Agreed but there are still thousands of companies that send out forms expecting us to alter them and send them back. Our Canadian passport online application is as you describe them. They're very good. Sadly, not all PDFs are like that. By design, they are self-limiting. All the same - great observation. Thanks 👍.

[@bite-sizedshorts9635]

You sign a hard copy, then scan that signed copy to send back. I suppose younger people can't figure all that out.

[@acreguy3156]

One company I deal with always sent me PDFs. I asked them to send me their document as a Word .doc or .docx file. Virtually everyone has access to a basic version of Word or an open source word processing program so they can edit the document in its raw form. The only reason for using PDFs is to keep Adobe rolling in the cash. One other person in this section wrote that you can edit PDFs in LibreOffice. This is true but why do we need two large programs when one will do? PDFs are archaic and need to be scrapped.

[@bite-sizedshorts9635]

I wouldn't have Word. WP is a much more powerful program. PDF is not archaic, as you need exact formatting in the final document for a number of purposes. PDF guarantees that the pagination won't change, the fonts won't change, etc. This is absolutely necessary in legal documents and in flyers and ads where placement of elements and type is important. BTW, I have never spent a dime on anything Adobe, so my use of PDFs doesn't contribute to them.

[@kersi-sandiego6036]

I convert PDF to LibreOffice Writer. No problem. Easy peasy.

[@wimhey]

LibreOffice Draw and Inkscape is a better option.

[@wimhey]

LibreOffice Draw and Inkscape are a better option.

[@dennisd5776]

I thought the new Edge has a PDF editor built in, so that you can edit PDF's without having to convert.

[@askleonotenboom]

It's a PDF viewer, and a fairly annoying one at that.

[@ThomasThornhill]

As has been alluded to, the purpose of PDF documents often includes the desire that others do not have the right to edit the document (especially paid for material). If you're dealing with your own document, or one that you are free to edit, do what you want. But it could be that you are pirating someone's material. That is not ok.

[@NoEgg4u]

There are other (than Google) on-line services that convert documents from one format to another -- and they include the pdf option. I have never used them, so I cannot vouch for their quality.

[@askleonotenboom]

Most are ultimately not free, and I trust Google more. :-)

[@matc3888]

Foxit PDF Editor. The only true PDF editor. It is not free, but there are no free tools.

[@quakerorts]

Ctrl+A, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V

[@askleonotenboom]

Yes, but that loses even more formatting than the approach suggested in the video.