Converting a text-based PDF document to Word can be a simple process. The same cannot be said however of a PDF document that has been saved in image format. This can be a PDF document that was scanned or created with numerous images that are part of the text.
But this doesn't mean that a scanned or image-rich PDF document cannot be converted to Word. You just need a converter - UPDF that has OCR (Optical Character Recognition) capabilities to extract the content and convert the PDF to an editable format like Word. Here, we show you how to do that in 2 ways.
Method 1. How to Convert PDF Image to Word
One of the best PDF converters to use if you have a scanned PDF image is UPDF. This is a complete PDF conversion tool that will easily and very accurately convert any PDF document to most of the popular document formats including Word, Excel, PPT, Text, and even image formats.
But the feature that can help you convert a PDF image to Word is the OCR module in UPDF. Unlike other similar tools, the OCR module you find on UPDF is highly sensitive, making it easier to detect the text within the image and convert the content to Word.
It has a high conversion accuracy and supports more than 20+ languages. Here's how to use the OCR function in UPDF to convert your PDF image to Word:
Step 1: Import the Image PDF Files
Start by installing UPDF onto your computer. Open the program after installation and then import the PDF files you want to convert.
Importing the PDF files can be done in one of two ways: you can click on the "Open File" button and browse your computer for the PDF file. Or you can drag and drop the PDF files into this window.

Click the "Export PDF" icon.

Step 2: Set the OCR Settings
Once you click the "Export PDF" icon and select "Word" as the output format.

Then click on the switch next to "Text Recognition Settings" to enable OCR. Select the language you would like to use.

You can also choose to convert some of the pages on the document as opposed to the entire document. To choose the pages to convert, use the "Page Range" section at the bottom.
Step 3: Convert PDF Image to Word
Click "Export" to begin the conversion.

The conversion process will begin as soon as you choose the output folder to save the document and shouldn't take more than a few seconds.
This is how you convert an image PDF to Word. Easy, right?
Method 2. How to Turn Image-Based PDF into Words
Being a student, you will have to manage your student resources and documents to study efficiently. With written documents converted into images, you can convert them into editable and searchable documents with UPDF. To understand how you can convert your image-based PDF document into words with the help of the OCR feature, look ahead in the steps below:
Note: This method will convert your image-based PDFs into searchable and editable PDFs, which you can edit in UPDF directly without converting to other formats.
Step 1: Click the OCR Icon on the Right
On opening the PDF document, lead to the "Recognize Text using OCR" button on the right panel to open a menu. Next, choose the "Document Type" as "Searchable PDF" from the available options.

Step 2: Provide Layout Settings
As you start with the OCR function, you have to define its parameters. In the "Layout" section, you will have to select the "Text and pictures only" option from the menu.

Step 3: Specify Advanced Layout Settings
For advanced layout settings, click the "Gear" icon to open a pop-up. You can set it if you want to "Keep page numbers, headers, and footers", "Keep text and background colors", or the quality of images, etc.

Step 4: Select the Document Language and Resolution of the Images
Next, you will have to specify the "Document Language" by selecting any of the 38 languages available in the list.
Define the "Image Resolution" by selecting any of the dpi values available in the list. If not, click on "Detect Optimal Language" for automatic detection of image resolution.

Step 5: Make Image-Based PDF Editable by Performing OCR
Provide the page range where you want to perform the OCR function. Once done, click on the "Perform OCR" button to lead to the next window, where you have to specify the location for saving the converted document. Once done, the OCR function executes and converts the image-based PDF to words.

Conclusion
This article has provided a comprehensive overview of the multiple methods you can try to convert your image to words. Along with converting images with offline tools, online solutions exist to convert PDF images to Word for you. However, when putting online and offline tools in comparison, offline tools provide a more diverse and stronger system of converting files with ease. With the help of tools like UPDF, you can ensure a high-quality conversion of the image to text or words with the aid of the OCR tool.
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