Converting pdf to Word

A

aalaan

Hi all. I am trying to select parts of a pdf document and pasting into a
Word document. No success in selecting and so I'm trying to convert the
whole document or import it to Word in some way, so that I can do the
selection then. Any ideas?
 
J

JoAnn Paules [MVP]

There's software available to convert .pdfs into Word docs. I have one that
sells for about $50. Haven't heard of anything that's free.

You also need to keep in mind that it's entirely possible that the .pdf doc
you have was created to prevent people from doing exactly what you are
trying to do. Perhaps you'd be better off contacting the .pdf file owner and
ask them for help.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

~~~~~
How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375
 
M

macropod

Hi aalaan,

If Adobe Acrobat won't let you select the text, it's probably because the
person who created the PDF protected it to prevent exactly this sort of
thing being done. In that case, you're not likely to have much luck with a
PDF converter. But, just in case you want to pursue that course, you could
try Solid Converter PDF, available from: http://www.solidpdf.com/

It's also possible that the pdf doesn't actually have any text - it may
simply be acting as the container for graphics that represent text. If
that's the case and the PDF isn't protected, you could try copying the area
you want as a graphic. If this works but you really want text, you'll need
to run OCR software against the PDF.

As JoAnn Paules said, it may be easier to contact the person who
owns/created the PDF.

Cheers
 
T

tcebob

Unless you need to edit the text it is unnecessary to convert it. Just print it to a TIFF
file and import the graphic to Word. Scan Soft makes a converter and general pdf editor
with a damn good OCR engine for $99.

rs


: Hi all. I am trying to select parts of a pdf document and pasting into a
: Word document. No success in selecting and so I'm trying to convert the
: whole document or import it to Word in some way, so that I can do the
: selection then. Any ideas?
:
:
 
A

aalaan

Thanks. Two questions arise. Does the utility you have work and what is its
name? (And third of my two questions(!) how can I tell if the document I
have is protected in the way you describe. I don't want to buy the utility
if it isn't going to work on this particular document.

JoAnn Paules said:
There's software available to convert .pdfs into Word docs. I have one
that sells for about $50. Haven't heard of anything that's free.

You also need to keep in mind that it's entirely possible that the .pdf
doc you have was created to prevent people from doing exactly what you are
trying to do. Perhaps you'd be better off contacting the .pdf file owner
and ask them for help.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

~~~~~
How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375




aalaan said:
Hi all. I am trying to select parts of a pdf document and pasting into a
Word document. No success in selecting and so I'm trying to convert the
whole document or import it to Word in some way, so that I can do the
selection then. Any ideas?
 
J

JoAnn Paules [MVP]

It works well enough for the basics. You'll have to proofread the document
of course. It's ScanSoft's PDF Converter.
http://www.amazon.com/s/002-7234421...usicsource4141-20&index=software&link_code=qs

I have an older version so I don't know what improvements have been made in
recent ones.

As for how you can tell, sometimes the best you can do is to ask the owner.
Generally speaking if you've tried doing a copy and paste and that doesn't
work, it's locked down. My husband has one that we use to request refills on
his mail-order meds. Even tho I have Acrobat Pro and ScanSoft and other
programs, that form is locked down tight.

Is there a reason you aren't asking the originator for the file's native
format?

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

~~~~~
How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375




aalaan said:
Thanks. Two questions arise. Does the utility you have work and what is
its name? (And third of my two questions(!) how can I tell if the document
I have is protected in the way you describe. I don't want to buy the
utility if it isn't going to work on this particular document.

JoAnn Paules said:
There's software available to convert .pdfs into Word docs. I have one
that sells for about $50. Haven't heard of anything that's free.

You also need to keep in mind that it's entirely possible that the .pdf
doc you have was created to prevent people from doing exactly what you
are trying to do. Perhaps you'd be better off contacting the .pdf file
owner and ask them for help.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

~~~~~
How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375




aalaan said:
Hi all. I am trying to select parts of a pdf document and pasting into a
Word document. No success in selecting and so I'm trying to convert the
whole document or import it to Word in some way, so that I can do the
selection then. Any ideas?
 
A

aalaan

Thanks. The only reason is that the originator (compiler) of the document is
unavailable at the mo. I'll see if I can reach them on Mon.

JoAnn Paules said:
It works well enough for the basics. You'll have to proofread the document
of course. It's ScanSoft's PDF Converter.
http://www.amazon.com/s/002-7234421...usicsource4141-20&index=software&link_code=qs

I have an older version so I don't know what improvements have been made
in recent ones.

As for how you can tell, sometimes the best you can do is to ask the
owner. Generally speaking if you've tried doing a copy and paste and that
doesn't work, it's locked down. My husband has one that we use to request
refills on his mail-order meds. Even tho I have Acrobat Pro and ScanSoft
and other programs, that form is locked down tight.

Is there a reason you aren't asking the originator for the file's native
format?

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

~~~~~
How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375




aalaan said:
Thanks. Two questions arise. Does the utility you have work and what is
its name? (And third of my two questions(!) how can I tell if the
document I have is protected in the way you describe. I don't want to buy
the utility if it isn't going to work on this particular document.

JoAnn Paules said:
There's software available to convert .pdfs into Word docs. I have one
that sells for about $50. Haven't heard of anything that's free.

You also need to keep in mind that it's entirely possible that the .pdf
doc you have was created to prevent people from doing exactly what you
are trying to do. Perhaps you'd be better off contacting the .pdf file
owner and ask them for help.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]

~~~~~
How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375




Hi all. I am trying to select parts of a pdf document and pasting into
a Word document. No success in selecting and so I'm trying to convert
the whole document or import it to Word in some way, so that I can do
the selection then. Any ideas?
 
J

Jawm37

aalaan said:
Hi all. I am trying to select parts of a pdf document and pasting into a
Word document. No success in selecting and so I'm trying to convert the
whole document or import it to Word in some way, so that I can do the
selection then. Any ideas?

If you only want part of the document you could use alt+print screen
then past into word.
 
O

odonata

aalaan said:
Hi all. I am trying to select parts of a pdf document and pasting into a
Word document. No success in selecting and so I'm trying to convert the
whole document or import it to Word in some way, so that I can do the
selection then. Any ideas?

hm... ABBYY PDF Transformer http://www.pdftransformer.com
the conversion is very simple and accurate
 

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