PDF Not Converting to Word Correctly? 4 Effective Ways to Fix!

There are various reasons why a conversion from PDF to Word may is not correct, ranging from a PDF containing complex layouts, through scanned PDFs to software limitations. Are you experiencing these issues when trying to convert your PDF to a Word file? If yes, don't worry. In this article, we will go over various ways of how you can fix PDF not converting to Word correctly and convert your PDF successfully. Our UPDF team has researched this topic thoroughly, thus, we will go through every scenario and provide you with solutions.

Part 1. Why a PDF is Not Converting to Word Correctly?

In this section, we will go through all possible reasons why your PDF is not converting to Word.

Complex Layouts

One of the reasons can be that your PDFs have complex layouts and include multiple images, columns and tables. As Word handles such elements differently, this could cause issues when converting.

Outdated PDF Converter

Outdated PDF Converter can also cause issues with converting. Is your PDF Converter updated to the newest version? This is worth checking as software limitations can be the reason why the application is not able to handle complex conversions.

Scanned PDF

If your PDF is scanned or image-only, which means that its contents are not editable and cannot be copied, Word will convert them as images and not editable text.

Editing Issues

Another reason could be broken elements included in your PDF as well as your file not edited properly. This can include invisible or visible elements such as broken links, fonts, images, and so on.

Part 2. How to Fix a PDF Not Converting to Word Correctly?

In this section, we will show you how you can fix the issue of PDF not converting to Word correctly. We will focus on different issues that could prevent your PDF from converting.

Fix 1. Try a Different and More Powerful PDF Converter

If your software is not able to convert a PDF to Word, it may be worth using another PDF converter that is more advanced, for example, UPDF. UPDF is a PDF editor and converter that includes many conversion tools. It will help you convert your PDF to Word without losing its quality and format. Moreover, if you would like to convert many PDFs at once, you will be able to achieve it with the software. Scanned or image-only PDFs can also be converted to Word. Additionally, UPDF allows for free conversions when performing up to 2 small tasks. Moreover, UPDF has many other features, you can watch the below video to learn more.

You can download and try UPDF for free by clicking the button displayed below.

Now, we will move onto different ways of fixing the issue with UPDF.

Way 1. Convert One PDF to One Word File Correctly

This method is ideal if you want to convert only one PDF to Word format and preserve its original layout and quality.

Step 1. Open your PDF document in UPDF by dragging it onto the interface. Navigate to the top menu, select "File" > "Export to" > "Word", or click "Export PDF" > "Word" in the menu on the right.

Step 2. Now adjust your settings, for example, select if you want to convert all of your pages or only specific ones. Then, click on the setting icon after the Output Format to select "Retain Flowing Text". Once you edited your settings, select "Export" and pick your destination, for example, "Desktop". Now your PDF will be converted and saved as a new Word file.

Way 2. Convert Multiple PDFs to Word Correctly

This method is ideal if you want to convert a few PDFs to Word files at once.

Step 1. Open your UPDF. Navigate to the home interface, select Batch.

Step 2. Now you will see a few different tools that can do batch processing. In this case, you want to convert files so choose the "Convert" option.

Step 3. Add PDFs that you want to convert by dragging and dropping them onto the interface or clicking the "Add Files" button. Then select "Word" as an output format and choose your preferred layout settings.

There are three options of layout settings such as "Retain Flowing Text", "Retain Page Layout" and "Exact Reconstruction". For example, if you want to preserve page layout, columns, formatting, graphics and text flow, you should choose "Retain Flowing Text".

After you choose all your preferred settings, click "Apply" and wait for your files to be converted to Word.     

Want to try this way now? Click the below button to download UPDF for a free trial now.

Way 3. Convert a Scanned PDF to Word Correctly

Use this method if you would like to convert a scanned PDF or image-only PDF to Word.

Step 1. Open your scanned PDF in UPDF by dragging it onto the interface. Now, click on the "OCR" icon, select the document language, click on the "Perform OCR" and select the place to save the OCRed PDF. Now, the OCR will start to scan the scanned PDF and make it editable.

Step 2. When the process is done, the editable PDF file will open automatically in the UPDF. Now, click on the "Export PDF" > "Word" to convert scanned PDF to editable Word correctly.

Fix 2. Flatten PDF Before Converting PDF to Word

If your PDF has too many layers such as comments, form fields, images and annotations, you may have a problem of not converting them into Word correctly. In this case, it is recommended to flatten the PDF before converting it. You can easily do this with UPDF.

Step 1. Open your PDF document in UPDF by dragging it onto the interface. Navigate to the top menu, select "File" > "Save as Other" > "Save as Flatten", or navigate to the menu on the right side and click the last icon "Save as Other" and then select "Save as Flatten".

Step 2. You will be presented with 3 different options such as "Flatten Annotations and Forms", "Flatten Watermarks" and "Flatten Cropped Pages". Select the option you would like and then click "Save As". Now your file will be saved as flatten PDF and will be ready for conversion to Word.

Fix 3. Edit PDF Before Converting to Word

Broken invisible or visible elements in your PDF can also result in PDF not converting to Word correctly. To fix this issue, you need to check and edit your PDF file before converting.

You can use UPDF's editing tools to adjust different elements in your PDF. We will show you how to use some of the editing features below. Just click the below button to download UPDF and follow the below guides.

Changing a Font Size

Changing a font size in UPDF is pretty straightforward. Firstly, navigate to the menu on the left and click the "Edit PDF" icon. Then click on the text you want to edit and highlight it in the box. Now you will see a box with different editing options. First option that showcases numbers is used for changing font sizes. Click it to see the dropdown and pick your preferred size or just type it in the box. Now your new font size will be applied.

Deleting Images & Links

Pick the "Edit PDF" option from the menu on the left side. Then click the image you want to remove and select the bin icon. This will delete your image. If you want to remove links, just click the link you want to remove and hit the backspace key on your keyboard. This will remove the link.

Changing Page Margins   

In order to change parge margins, select "Crop Pages" from the left-side menu. Now you will be able to change the top, bottom, left or right margin as well as width and height of your pages. Just type your preferred sizes in the boxes, alternatively, you can drag the purple lines. Now, click "Apply Changes" to select pages that you want to apply the effect. and then click "Crop".

Fix 4. Update the PDF Converter

Sometimes conversion from a PDF file to Word is not correct because your software is not up to date. Thus, before trying out other solutions, it's better to check if your PDF converter is updated. We will show you how to update one of the most popular software such as Adobe Acrobat.

In order to check if Adobe Acrobat has any new updates available, go to the top menu then select "Help" and "Check for updates". If there's an update available, you will see the dialog box asking you to install the new version. To begin the installation, simply click "Yes". Once the update is finished, the successful dial box will appear and you can close it by clicking "OK". Now your new version will be ready to use.

Final Words

We are sure that our comprehensive guide will help you fix your issues with PDF not converting to Word correctly. We went over every popular scenario; thus, you should be able to convert your files without any problems. You can practice each step yourself as we included helpful screenshots. Remember to download UPDF to be able to follow this guide. You can do it by clicking the button displayed below. And if you feel UPDF is your PDF editor, you can upgrade to pro version at a low price here.