PDF is the most common file type that can be easily shared and opened in any operating system. Still, editing the PDF files is quite tricky. That is when Microsoft Word comes in handy. All you have to do is to convert your PDF file into DOC or DOCX, make necessary changes, and turn it back to the original format.
But how to turn PDF into Word? Today, we'll show how to do that with Preview, Google Drive, Automator, and some dedicated PDF converters.
As the inventor of the PDF file format, Adobe makes sure our Acrobat PDF to Word conversion tool preserves your document formatting. When you use our online PDF converter, your fonts, images and alignments will look as expected on Mac and Windows. The converted file is an editable Word document that you can start using straightaway in Microsoft. Jun 03, 2020 Follow these steps to try it out: Right-click your PDF file, go to Open With, and choose Preview. Select the text you want to copy and hit Command‐C. Navigate to Pages or Microsoft Word on Mac and paste the text into the document with Command‐V. Save the file as DOC or DOCX (go to File Export To Word, if you use Pages).
Method 1. How to convert PDF to Word on Mac using Preview
Consider copying and pasting as a low-tech approach? Sometimes it works surprisingly well, especially when the PDF is primarily text-based. Sometimes it's a real hassle — it all depends on the type of PDF file you have.
In any case, with such minimal effort involved, this method is worth a shot. Follow these steps to try it out:
- Right-click your PDF file, go to Open With, and choose Preview.
- Select the text you want to copy and hit Command‐C.
- Navigate to Pages or Microsoft Word on Mac and paste the text into the document with Command‐V.
- Save the file as DOC or DOCX (go to File > Export To > Word, if you use Pages). That's all!
Use Command‐A for Select All is you want to copy the entire document content, all at once.
Method 2. Turn PDF Files into DOCX using Google Docs
Google Docs is a popular web-based editing tool, pretty good at transforming PDF files into Word. Here’s how to use it:
- Go to Google Drive and log in to your Google account.
- Click the gear icon and choose Settings.
- Check the box next to “Convert uploaded files to Google Docs editor format” in the General tab.
- Upload the PDF file to Google Drive (press “+ New” button and select “File upload”)
- Hit Open. Your file now will be opened with Google Docs.
- Head over to the File menu, select Download, and opt for Microsoft Word (DOCX). The file will appear in your Downloads folder as a Word document.
If a PDF file includes images, Google Docs might remove them from the final DOCX document. This method is preferable only for a text-based PDF file.
Google Docs can also be the answer to how to convert Word to PDF on Mac. The main downside to this method is that it requires an internet connection.
Method 3. Transform PDF to Word with Automator
Automator is a built-in macOS utility developed for simple repetitive tasks like renaming files or resizing images. It helps make the same changes to multiple files at a time by creating a custom workflow.
Just like Preview, Automator can’t convert PDF to Word. But it is powerful enough to extract the text from your PDF and turn it into a plain or rich text format (RTF). Then you can edit it in any text editor. To use Automator:
- Launch Automator from the Application folder.
- Choose Workflow as a type for your document.
- Drag and drop your PDF file.
- In the left-side Actions section, go to Library > PDFs > Extract PDF Text.
- Drag this action to the right pane underneath your PDF document.
- Opt for Rich Text instead of Plain text to keep the formatting.
- Define where to save the extracted text file.
- Hit the Run button located in the upper-right corner of the window, and get your PDF file converted to a text document.
Now, you can go to the folder you chose and find your converted file.
Method 4. Convert PDF to Word with third-party converters
Using a dedicated converter is the way to go if you have tons of PDFs with lots of graphics and different types of text blocks to convert. But what’s the best one to choose?
By far, the highest quality solution is Adobe Acrobat by Adobe. No surprises the company has a tool to solve all your PDF editing needs, as they created this format. This tool can convert PDFs into almost all sorts of file types: from DOCX to RTF and beyond. Even if your document contains any scanned text, Acrobat will recognize it automatically.
The alternatives are PDFelement and Smallpdf. Both these services have free trials, so you can find out whether the tool works for you before purchasing.
Need extra help with your Mac performance?
If Microsoft Word glitches or runs sluggishly, deep Mac cleaning may help you fix the issue. Every computer needs it from time to time. System junk, temporary files, and old cache — all these can decrease performance a lot. Luckily, there are tools to help you out.
To keep my Mac safe from months-old clutter, I use CleanMyMac X. This powerful junk-cleaner offers a bunch of features to solve Mac-specific issues. ProductHunt even called CleanMyMac X “Marie Kondo for your Mac.”. That fact alone says a lot!
Here’s how to speed up the system with its help:
- Grab your copy of CleanMyMac X (get a free one here).
- Launch the app and go to the System Junk tab.
- Press Scan and wait for a few seconds.
- Hit the Clean button to get rid of items that slow down your Mac.
If Microsoft Word still malfunctions, I recommend using the Uninstaller feature of CleanMyMac X to reset the app.
Turning PDF to Word is a piece of cake if you have the right tool at hand. If you need to convert text-based PDF, using Preview, Automator, or Google Docs would be enough. But if you regularly deal with image-heavy files, consider using dedicated PDF converters like Adobe Acrobat Exporter.
Let’s easily convert PDF to Word on Mac.
PDF files are commonly used for sharing documents online and creating a professional impression. But editing them isn’t easy. Hence, the need to convert PDF to Word occurs. To do this job, you can find hundreds of PDF to Word converter options. But which ones are the best?
Fortunately, we’ve got the answer, and here we will enlist the best PDF to Word converter for Mac, both free and paid, including PDFelement Pro, Adobe Acrobat, and more.
Best PDF to Word Converter For Mac 2021
Part 1. How we picked the top PDF to Word converter for Mac
Finding the best tool to convert PDF to Word wasn’t easy. But we did the job by keeping certain points in mind, and they are:
- They should be accurate in converting PDF to word
- Should offer advanced functions like OCR (to read text from images)
- Can handle PDF workflow
- Most importantly, it should be compatible with Mac.
These points helped narrow down the list and outlined the best Mac PDF converter tools, both offline and online.
Part 2: Top 5 PDF to Word Converter for Mac
1. PDFelement Pro for Mac – Complete PDF to Word Converter
PDFelement Pro is just about everything a PDF converter tool should be. It gives complete control over PDF files. Moreover, like other photo or video editing tools, it is neither expensive nor complex. PDFelement is just the best pdf to word converter for Mac users. Using it, you can convert several file types like PPT, Excel, Text, etc., to PDF format on Mac.
Convert Mac Document To Word
You can also edit the PDF document, add watermark, split it, and do a lot more. This best PDF to word converter also helps directly editing unprotected PDFs and editing OCR documents. But to use the OCR feature, you need to do an extra download. This is a bit of a hassle, but otherwise, everything PDFelement Pro has to offer is amazing.
What we like
- Office-style interface
- One tool to create, convert, and edit PDFs.
- OCR feature
What we didn’t like
Huge Toolbar buttons
2. Adobe Acrobat DC – Best PDF file Converter for Mac
PDF (Portable Document Format) was created by Adobe in the 1990s, and Word was created by Microsoft. Both the formats are different yet; AdobeMicrosoft created word Acrobat DC is a powerful tool for converting PDF to Word on any platform.
This PDF converter offers a slew of advanced PDF editing features and is very easy to use. The icons are clear, Adobe created PDF (Portable Document Format), and Adobe even provided tutorials to make the tool easy. Using the excellent PDF to Word converter, you can edit PDF, change text, add text, save PDFs to different file formats.
What we like
- Convert photos clicked by phone into PDF with the desktop app
- Cloud-based sharing and commenting
- Helps convert PDF files into different editable formats.
What we didn’t like
- Premium service is expensive
3. ABBY FineReader – Best PDF and OCR Converter for Mac
Convert PDFs and scanned documents with accuracy using ABBYY FineReader Pro. The interface of this Mac PDF to Word converter is minimalist and straightforward. The main menu is divided into three separate panes, one for converting existing files, another for creating new files from the scanner, and the third for comparing documents. Each section offers great features, and this makes editing using FineReader simple. But there’s PDF to word converter lacks, and that is the full-text multi-file indexing features. If you are okay with it, then ABBY is a superb OCR and PDF editing tool.
What we like
- Highest quality and accurate OCR editor
- Allows exporting the file to different formats
- Intuitive interface and unique document comparison feature
What we didn’t like
- No full-text indexing feature
4. PDFpen Pro – Easy to use PDF Editor for Mac
Markup PDFs with highlights, comments, and drawings using PDFpenPro powerful PDF editor for Mac. This tool gives you all the power to edit and convert PDF documents normally considered read-only. Using this safe to use the tool, you can highlight, draw, and make notes. Moreover, you can scan and OCR your paper documents; this will make the text searchable in an image too. PDFpen also allows redacting a text with a block or by erasing it. To do so, you just need to select the text, choose the right redaction option, and move ahead.
What we like
- Included PDF markup and editing options
- Securely redact personal information
- Useful for scanning and OCR documents
What we didn’t like
- The correct font is not used when we edit text.
5. Foxit PhantomPDF Mac – Advanced PDF to Word Converter
When we are required to create new documents from existing pages, things get complicated. But with Foxit PhantomPDF, you can manipulate PDF files and pages. This amazing PDF editing and converter tool makes organizing workflow easy. Using it, you can merge PDF documents, split PDFs, drag and drop pages within a document, crop, delete, swap, add and rotate PDF pages. Moreover, you can annotate, share, and collaborate with PDF. With an excellent layout using Foxit PhantomPDF becomes easy. But the tabbed options for edit modes are a deal-breaker.
What we like
- Offers advanced features
- Create and edit PDF documents and fillable forms
- Convert paper into editable and searchable PDF
What we didn’t like
- Cannot access various options easily.
Part 3. Best Free Online PDF to Word Converter for Mac
All the PDF to Word Converter tools we discussed above are the best, but they are offline. This means to use them; you need to download them. But, when you are using the public system or a friend’s Mac, then things get weird, true?
Worry not, we have a solution for this too. Use the best free online PDF to word converter. They can be used on any platform, be it Mac, Windows, or any. To use them, all you need is a browser.
Note: Since all the below-mentioned PDF converters are online, you don’t need to download them. To use them, you just need a browser and an active internet connection. These free PDF converters will also not offer as many features as the PDFelement Pro, Adobe Acrobat DC and other paid PDF editing tools have to offer.
1. Adobe Acrobat – Free Online PDF to Word Converter
Word Document To Pdf Converter Free Download For Mac
Seeing Adobe Acrobat listed as a free online PDF converter, you must be shocked. But it’s true Adobe allows you to convert PDF to Word documents online. Using this quick and easy-to-use free PDF to Word converter for Mac, you can easily convert PDFs into Doc. Not only this but Adobe, the best PDF to Word converter, also allows converting PDFS to DOCX, the latest word format. To use it, visit here and then drag and drop the PDF you want to convert. Now just watch Acrobat converting the file to Word. Download it, and it’s all done.
Most importantly, you will not lose formatting when you use Adobe Acrobat’s free online PDF converter.
2. SodaPDF – Well-Known PDF Converter
Creating and reading PDF files on Mac or Windows isn’t difficult but editing them is tedious. For this, if you want, you can pay for any PDF conversion tool and use it on your Mac or can use this online best PDF to Word converter. To use this free PDF to Word converter for Mac, simply copy-paste this url in your browser. Next, open the PDF you want to convert, click Convert > select the format to which you want to convert > start the process and that’s it.
Note: To use Sods PDF fully, you will need to Create an Account.
To know more about the tool, you can read here
3. Smallpdf – Fastest PDF to Word Converter
Quickly convert PDF files into editable Word documents with Smallpdf. This online PDF converter is OCR enabled, and it allows saving files to PPT, Excel, and other formats. Moreover, if you want to use its offline tool, it is available, but you need to download it to use it. Which tool you use offline or online completely depends on the requirement. But trust me, both PDF converters work as created editors too.
To use this online tool, you Mac, you don’t need to signup. What you need to do is visit here, drag the PDF, and convert it into the format you want. Not only this, but you can also choose from Dropbox and Google Drive.
4. Freepdfconverter – Quickest & secure online PDF Converter
With a suite of easy-to-use tools, Freepdfconverter free pdf to word converter for Mac helps merge, split, compress, and rotate PDFs. Using this online PDF converter to get Word doc, you can encrypt files also. Freepdfconverter works on 256-bit encryption. This means the data you upload will not be shared with third parties. The files you upload for conversion are also deleted after the process is completed without retaining any reference. Since it is an online PDF to Word converter, you can use it anytime, anywhere.
To use it, drag and drop the PDF you want to convert, or can click the Choose PDF file button. Once the file is added, you can convert the PDF file to Word and begin extracting the text from images, scanned documents.
5. ZamZar
ZamZar is another best online PDF to Word converter that you can use on Mac or any other system. With an experience of 10+ years, ZamZar has been converting thousands of files daily in 1200+ file formats. Converting a file is always done in under 10 minutes, and if you face any problem, you can simply mail the support team. At a time, you can upload up to 50MB of a file. Using it is simple. Visit here. Add the file > select the format and click the Convert Now button.
That’s it. Using these simple and best paid & free PDF to Word converters, you can easily change Mac’s file format. All these tools are great and offer amazing features. These free online PDF converters are excellent to convert PDF into Word, Excel, or any other format. We hope you will give them a try. Do let us know which one you picked and why in the comments section.
FAQs: Best PDF to Word Converter For Mac
1. What is the best free PDF to Word converter?
Adobe Acrobat Online tool is the best PDF to Word converter. Using it, you can easily convert PDF without losing formatting.
2. How do I turn a PDF into a Word document on Mac?
To convert a PDF into Word, you can use PDFelement Pro, Adobe Acrobat DC offline tools, or SmallPDF, SodaPDF, and other free online PDF editing and converter tools.
3. How do I convert PDF to Word on Mac for free?
To convert PDF to Word for free on Mac, you can either use a trial version of the premium products or go with online PDF converters.
4. Can you convert PDF to Word for free?
Yes, you can convert PDF to Word for free. Read our post on Best Free and Paid PDF to Word converter for Mac to know more about them.
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