Chapter 15 · 15.31
Converting a PDF into an editable Word file
You only have a PDF of a letter or report left, and the original Word file is gone. You want to reuse the text or make major changes to it. Euro-Office can convert a PDF into a docx.
Step by step
- Open the PDF in your WebOké Nextcloud.
- Click File and choose Save Copy As to keep the result in your Nextcloud, or Download as for your computer.
- Choose DOCX.
- Open the new docx and check the formatting.
What can you expect?
- With a PDF that comes from a word processor (with real text), the text transfers well. The formatting usually looks very similar to the original, but is rarely 100 percent identical: watch out for line spacing, columns and tables.
- With a scanned PDF (a photo of paper), there is no text. You'll get a docx with images. Euro-Office doesn't have text recognition (OCR). For that, you need separate software, such as the scanner app on your phone or the software that came with your scanner.
Alternative: edit the PDF directly
Is it just a typo or a few words? Then you don't need to convert anything. Open the PDF, choose Edit and adjust the text directly in the PDF. See Editing a PDF.
Pitfalls
- A font used in the PDF but not available on the server will be replaced. This can change where lines break.
- Form fields from a PDF become plain text in a docx.