Desktop
by dc_guy
PDF files are graphic images. If there is any text embedded in them it is encoded as an image. The software that creates and processes PDF files cannot tell the difference between text and other images. The individual characters in the text are not identifiable.
Word files are character strings with embedded graphic images. Word processors recognize the individual characters and preserve them. The graphics illustrations can only be manipulated in rudimentary ways.
You could translate a .pdf file into another graphic format (perhaps .jpg) that is recognizable to Word, and Word could import the graphic file as an illustration. But it will never be able to identify and process the text in the illustration because the characters are coded as graphics, not text. The individual characters are not identifiable.
by oz_media
You can try scanning with a decent OCR (Optical character recognition) program. Many fail miserably but I have a copy that came with my Okidata all-in-one and it rocks!
I hear that Print House Deluxe has a fairly decent OCR program although I haven't used it myself.
by azw
by dc_guy
A scanner converts what it scans into a graphic format and OCR software can analyze it and pick out the text.
Obviously taking a file that's already in graphic format and picking out the text is exactly the same thing, just skipping the first step.
My apologies.
by kristensen
by petremure
There is a multitude of apps that do just that, convert pdf to rtf, word, html, txt.
In my opinion, the best results give Solidconverter, Scansoft Omnipage and Pdf Grabber, though the list is far longer. P.
by jdewers
I recently fielded this request from a customer of mine and located a handy tool from called PDF2Word. It is amazingly simple to operate and hassle-free.
You can download a trial copy from the hyperlink above and purchase it later if you like the app.
This discussion is closed to new replies.
Sort by Trending