Easily Edit A Scanned Document In Word With These 3 Formatting-Friendly Tips

You must have come across a situation in which you have scanned a document, but now you are wondering how to edit a scanned document because you are required to make some important changes in the scanned document. Re-typing all of the content on a new basis is a time-consuming and energy-draining process and is not practical at all.

This article will take you through some simple methods by which you can easily edit a scanned document in MS Word.

Part 1. How to Edit a Scanned PDF Document without Losing Formatting

UPDF is the foremost powerful PDF editor that allows you to manage and organize your PDF files effortlessly. It enables direct editing of scanned PDFs and also offers a scanned PDF-to-Word conversion feature if you prefer editing in Word.

With its intuitive interface, UPDF makes PDF editing easy and efficient. Want to give it a try? Click the download button below to get started!

Pros of UPDF

Following are some of the premium and robust pros of UPDF offers its user a quick solution to manage, organize and edit PDF files:

• Convert Scanned PDF to Editable Word: UPDF offers powerful OCR and conversion features, enabling users to convert scanned PDFs into editable Word documents while preserving formatting. This ensures seamless editing in Word.
• Edit Scanned PDF Directly without Word: Moreover, it supports editing a scanned PDF without converting it to Word.
• One-Stop PDF Solution: Except for the OCR and conversion features, UPDF also offers its user a one-stop PDF solution as users can annotate, organize, manage, and AI chat with their PDF files.

As mentioned, UPDF can convert a scanned PDF into an editable Word document for easy editing in Word. Additionally, it allows direct editing of scanned PDFs. Users can choose the method that best suits their needs. In the following section, we will outline the detailed steps for both methods.

Method 1. Steps to Convert a Scanned PDF to Word with OCR

Mentioned below is a five-step process following which you can convert a scanned PDF document into a Word file with the OCR function:

Step 1: Open the Scanned PDF in UPDF

Download UPDF by clicking the download button below. Now launch the UPDF and tap on the "Open File" button to select the scanned PDF file.

Step 2: Using OCR to Scan PDF

Following this, access the "Recognize Text Using OCR" feature and proceed with the "Searchable PDF" option. Next, select the document layout, image resolution, language, and page range on which you want to apply the OCR. Once done with all the OCR settings, press the "Perform OCR" button and wait for the process to complete.

Step 3: Choose the Output Format

After the OCR PDF is re-open in UPDF, click on the "Export PDF" button on the right side. A menu with various options will open up on your screen. From there, select "Word" format.

Step 4: Click on the Export Button

Click on the "Export" button and choose the location of the converted PDF file. This process will take seconds, and the scanned document will be converted into Word format.

Step 5: Edit the Scanned Document in Word

Now open the converted Word file for easy editing because the OCR conversion intact the file's original format and allows the on-hand editing. You can now edit all of the elements, both interactive and non-interactive elements, in the Word file.

Method 2. Edit a Scanned PDF Directly Without Word

• Download UPDF on your Windows or Mac computer and open the scanned PDF in it

• Follow the step 2 introduced in Method 1 to convert the scanned PDF to an editable format.
• After the conversion, UPDF will automatically open the editable PDF. Now, go to the Edit mode.
• Select existing text, an image, or a link to edit.

• You can also edit the background, organize the page (rotate, insert, delete, re-order, more), header & footer, and more.

Part 2. How to Scan and Edit a Scanned Document in Word

A scanned document relatively means that it is an image file, and the text on the document can not be edited. However, you can edit the text on the scanned document once you convert it into an MS Word file. Mentioned below is a simple three-step process you need to follow to edit a scanned document in MS Word.

Step 1: Open MS Word and click on "File" from the toolbar. Follow it up by clicking the "Open" option to open the scanned document. A pop-up notification will appear on your screen saying that Word is converting the document into an editable Word file. Next, tap on "OK" to open the document in Word.

Step 2: Edit the converted Word document from the options available on the tools ribbon of MS Word. You can edit the size of the text, bold specific text, and you can also italicize your text. Also, from the styles option, you can apply different headings to your text accordingly.

Step 3: After making the desired changes in the scanned document in a matter of a few minutes, rename the file and choose a location to save your modified Word document.

Part 3. Disadvantages of Editing Scanned Documents in Word

Opening a scanned document with Word is a feasible option if you are looking out for a way to edit the document. However, there is one drawback to opening a scanned document in MS Word. It changes the format and setting of the original document making it difficult to edit as the perfect page-to-page layout gets disturbed during conversion.

How Does Scanned Document Conversion Work?

A scanned document comes in a fixed file format, which refers to the fact that only the location of elements, such as text or image location, is stored on the document, unrelated to the link between those elements on a page. Furthermore, the structural elements, such as tables and columns on the scanned document, are not linked with the text or content inside the structure, saving the structure as a prominent element.

Hence, opening a scanned document in Word uses a complex mode system to present the matchable elements as best as it can detect in the converted Word file.

Elements in the Scanned Document that Shows Error During Conversion

Elements include page color and its border, the frame of a page, footnotes and endnotes, which take more than a page, interactive elements such as audio and videos, structures such as tables with space between the cells, comments, and bookmarks on pages. It also includes special effects on text, such as a glow or shadow in a scanned document that shows flaws and errors in the converted Word file.

Conclusion

With the popularity and wide usage of PDF files, a convenient and legit solution to manage and edit these files is also necessary. Such as the need to convert scanned documents into Word to edit the file is also a requirement, but the unavailability of efficient tools makes this task more difficult and time-consuming.

In this regard, UPDF is the most reliable and premium PDF editor available for everyday use, which eases the task of editing and managing digital files, especially for students and business departments. If you want to try, click the download button to use UPDF.