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24 January 2024  Amanda J. Brook  Senior Product Manager
 

Summary
Learn how to convert PDF to Word effortlessly and efficiently with our expert-recommended software and online tools. Master PDF conversion and editing operations in a snap.



I. PDF and Word format

pdf to word converter software
PDF, short for Portable Document Format, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1993 for exchanging files. It can contain electronic information like text, formatting, hypertext links, sounds, and dynamic images. PDF files are independent of equipment and resolution, ensuring that the layout remains consistent across different operating systems and devices. PDF files can be easily opened and viewed on Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS systems.
PDF files have become the preferred document format for electronic distribution and information dissemination on the Internet. This versatile format is widely used for e-books, product descriptions, company announcements, network materials, and e-mails. PDF has now become the industry standard for digitized information.
When to use PDF format?

- Print files: PDFs are ideal for high-quality print work due to their precise page layouts and high-resolution images.
- Online transmission and sharing: PDF format ensures better protection for file content, allowing it to be read but not modified. Additionally, PDFs consistently display the original layout and content.
- Business and Legal Documents: PDF format preserves accurate document layouts, making it essential for business and legal documents.
- Need to combine multiple document formats: PDFs allow you to import text from Word documents, images in various formats, Excel tables, vector graphics, etc., into a single PDF document.
- Guarantee universal accessibility: PDFs can be opened directly on Windows, Mac systems, and mobile phones without the need for additional software.
- Interactive documents: PDFs can be used for data entry in electronic forms and data storage in databases.

PDF and Word file formats
Adobe PDF and Microsoft Word are two common document formats. Word is a word processing software in the Microsoft Office series, mainly used for editing and processing documents. It is suitable for creating text and graphics. On the other hand, PDF is ideal for viewing and sharing documents. For daily document work, it is recommended to edit and save the source document in Word and then convert it to PDF for sharing.
When should I convert PDF to Word document?

  • PDF files require extensive revision and editing. In Word, you can easily edit a large range of text content using a variety of editing tools.
  • Images in Word documents are easy to extract and reuse. But in PDF files, you can’t extract pictures because they are embedded.
  • Microsoft Word is arguably the best word processor out there, offering spell checking, grammar checking, and many other useful writing tools. PDF is more suitable for accurate document delivery and browsing.
If you need to convert PDF files to Word documents, the best way is to use professional PDF conversion software.

II. Professional PDF conversion software

With the proliferation of PDF documents, a plethora of PDF conversion software options has emerged. In this comparison, we will evaluate three leading PDF conversion software tools to assist you in finding the most suitable one.

1. Renee PDF Aide

Renee PDF Aide is a full-featured PDF conversion and editing software with a simple interface. It offers high conversion efficiency, supporting formats like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, ePub, Text, HTML, and Image. The software’s OCR text recognition function quickly identifies scanned PDF files or image content for conversion into editable formats. Additionally, Renee PDF Aide can be used for splitting, merging, optimizing, repairing, encrypting, and decrypting PDF files. It is a free trial alternative to Adobe Acrobat software, ideal for personal use.
Supported Operating Systems: Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP/2000 (32-bit and 64-bit versions).
open renee pdf aide
Renee PDF Aide - Powerful PDF Editing Tool

Easy to use Friendly to computer beginners

Multifunctional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/add watermark

Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms

Quick Edit/convert dozens of PDF files in batch

Compatible Convert PDF to Excel/PowerPoint/Text, etc.

Easy Use with simple steps

Functional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/watermark

Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms

Free TrialFree TrialNow 800 people have obtained the free version!

IV. How to Convert PDF to Word

In Renee PDF Aide, the operation to convert PDF files to Word format is very simple.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After installing Renee PDF Aide, open it. Select “Convert PDF“.
Renee PDF Aide - Powerful PDF Editing Tool

Easy to use Friendly to computer beginners

Multifunctional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/add watermark

Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms

Quick Edit/convert dozens of PDF files in batch

Compatible Convert PDF to Excel/PowerPoint/Text, etc.

Easy Use with simple steps

Functional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/watermark

Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms

Free TrialFree TrialNow 800 people have obtained the free version!
select to convert pdf with renee pdf converter
② Click “Word” in the top menu bar, and then select the save location of the target document.
how to edit a scanned pdf set before converting with renee pdf converter
③ Click the “Add File” button to add the PDF file to be converted. After the file is successfully added, the information of the file to be converted will be displayed in the conversion list. Click “Select Page” to set the page for file conversion.
add pdf files to renee pdf aide
tips

The software provides three OCR text recognition modes:

A: Recognize text in pictures or PDF scans: This option uses the OCR function to directly recognize the text on the file.

B: Identify built-in fonts (to avoid garbled characters): This option converts embedded fonts into pictures and then uses OCR to recognize the text.

A+B (slower): The program automatically recognizes whether the font in the file is a picture or a PDF embedded font and then converts and outputs it. However, this mode is time-consuming and has longer conversion time.

④ Finally, click the “Convert” button to convert. When the prompt conversion is over, the software will display the total number of converted files and the number of successfully converted files. At this time, the PDF has been successfully converted into a Word document.

2. Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat is a powerful software developed by Adobe for efficiently reading, editing, managing, and sharing PDF documents. It can seamlessly convert PDFs into editable Word documents while perfectly preserving fonts, layout, bullets, and tables. It also supports converting even scanned PDFs. Adobe Acrobat is compatible with a wide range of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Android phones, and Windows Phone, allowing you to easily view and manage PDF files on multiple devices. However, its purchase price is comparatively higher than other software options.
Supported Operating Systems: Windows, Mac, Linux.
Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

3. Foxit Advanced PDF Editor

Foxit PhantomPDF (also known as Foxit PhantomPDF) has an intuitive interface and friendly user experience, as well as a series of advanced editing, security applications and tools. It allows users to view, convert, edit and create PDF documents with many basic and advanced features including OCR (Optical Character Recognition), cloud storage integration and PDF signing. In terms of PDF format conversion, it not only supports conversion into Word, but also supports conversion into Excel, PowerPoint, RTF, HTML, text and image formats, allowing easy sharing of PDF document content. In addition, it also supports converting the entire PDF document, or select a partial area for conversion. Foxit PhantomPDF is one of the world’s most popular professional PDF products comparable to Adobe Acrobat, and it can provide customers with a complete set of PDF solutions.
Supported Operating Systems: Windows 10/8.1/8/7 (32-bit and 64-bit versions), macOS 10.12 and above.
foxit PDF to Word software
Comparison between the three software:
Renee PDF AideAdobe Acrobat DCFoxit PhantomPDF
compatibilityWindowsWindows, MacWindows, Mac
pricefree trialAcrobat Standard DC: $155.88/year
Acrobat Pro DC: $179.88/year		Standard Edition ¥20.00/monthly subscription;
¥1350.00/permanent authorization
Supported Conversion FormatsWord, Excel, PowerPoint,
ePub, Text, HTML, Image		Word, Excel, PowerPoint, JPG, TIFF, PNGWord, Excel, PowerPoint, RTF, HTML, text and image formats
OCR text recognition√√√
PDF editing√√√
Encryption to protect PDF√√√
Compress PDF√√√
repair PDF√xx

III. Online PDF conversion tool

In addition to the professional PDF conversion software introduced above, several online PDF conversion tools will be introduced next, which can be used without installation. Most online PDF conversion tools do not support batch conversion, and users can only convert one PDF file at a time, which is time-consuming. In addition, since they are free PDF conversion tools, they are not as powerful as professional PDF conversion software in terms of functions.

1. LightPDF

If you want a simple free online PDF converter, try LightPDF. This PDF file converter can be opened in multiple browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, etc. With LightPDF, you can convert their PDFs to Word, PNG, JPG, PowerPoint, TXT or Excel formats, as well as easily create PDFs from various file types. Its conversion process is fast and does not leave watermarks on the converted files.
Conversion link: https://lightpdf.com/pdf-to-word
PDF conversion tool

2. Smallpdf

Using Smallpdf online PDF converter works flawlessly on all devices and popular browsers such as IE, Firefox, Chrome and Opera. With this tool you can convert PDF files to Excel, Word, PPT, JPG, PNG, BMP, TIFF and GIF formats. However, there is a risk of data leakage when using an online conversion tool, and the speed of uploading and downloading files will be affected by the speed of the network connection. Also, Smallpdf only offers a 14-day free trial.
Conversion link: https://smallpdf.com/pdf-converter
PDF online conversion tool

3. Zamzar

The operation of Zamzar online conversion tool is relatively simple, and you only need four steps to complete the PDF format conversion. In addition to converting PDF files, you can use it to convert other documents, such as EPUB, DOC, JPG, JPEG, CR2, CRW, HTML, ODP, TXT, PDF, CSV, DWG, GIF, etc. When converting files, you can choose to have them sent to your email, but it may take a long time to receive the converted files.
Conversion link: https://www.zamzar.com/
PDF to Word tool

4. Convertio

Convertio online conversion tool helps you convert PDF to Word, PowerPoint, EPUB, HTML, JPG, RTFD, PNG and other formats, and even supports conversion between more than 300 different file formats. The operation of this online converter is simple and the conversion speed is fast. Convertio supports simultaneous conversion of a single PDF file or multiple PDF files.
Conversion link: https://convertio.co/
Convert PDF online

V. How to edit PDF files

In addition to converting PDF to Word document format, you may sometimes need to cut and merge PDF content. The following will take Renee PDF Aide as an example to introduce some commonly used PDF editing operations.
Renee PDF Aide - Powerful PDF Editing Tool

Easy to use Friendly to computer beginners

Multifunctional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/add watermark

Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms

Quick Edit/convert dozens of PDF files in batch

Compatible Convert PDF to Excel/PowerPoint/Text, etc.

Easy Use with simple steps

Functional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/watermark

Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms

Free TrialFree TrialNow 800 people have obtained the free version!

1. Split PDF files

Splitting a PDF file is to split a multi-page PDF into multiple small PDF files according to requirements; or to remove redundant pages and only split out specified pages. If your PDF file is too large or has unwanted content, you can split it. With Renee PDF Aide Converter software, you don’t need to convert it to other editable file formats and then split it.
Split mode:
● Split into multiple smaller files.
● Keep specified pages (remove unnecessary).
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After opening the software, click “PDF Toolset”.
select pdf tools in renee pdf converter
② Click “Split” > “Add File” to import the PDF file.
how to combine files into one pdf with renee pdf aide
③ Then, select one of the split modes. You can choose to “Split into multiple smaller files” or “Keep specified pages”.
④ Finally, click “Convert” to export the file and save it to the specified location.

2. Merge PDF files

Merge PDF files, as the name suggests, is to merge multiple PDF files into one PDF. Before merging, you can choose to specify pages to be merged or to merge all pages directly.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After opening the software, click “PDF Toolset” > “Merge” > “Add File” to import the PDF file.
merge pdf files with renee pdf aide
② In the drop-down box on the right of “Pages to Merge”, select “All” or “Use Generator”. After clicking “Use Generator”, you can manually select the pages to merge, or use the various automatic merge options provided by the software.
use generator
③ Finally, click “Convert” to export the file.

3. Rotate PDF files

If you find that the angle is incorrect after opening the PDF file, you can also adjust it through this software. Adjust the display angle of the PDF file. Commonly used rotation angles are 90, 180, and 270.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open Renee PDF Aide, click “PDF Toolset” > “Add Files” to import PDF files.
② Click “Rotate” and select the angle to convert, such as 90, 180 or 270 degrees. Also, you need to choose which pages to rotate, all pages or some pages.
rotate pdf page with PDF Aide
③ Finally, click “Convert” to save it to the specified location.

4. Add watermark to PDF

In order to protect the PDF file from being stolen and used by others, and to protect the ownership of the file, you can add a personal watermark to the PDF. In Renee PDF Aide, you can add foreground/background watermarks to PDF files, and you can choose images or PDF files for watermarks.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open Renee PDF Aide, click “PDF Toolset” > “Add Files” to import PDF files.
② Click “Watermark”, please select “Add Watermark (cover surface)” or “Add Background”. This means whether the watermark floats above the text, or is added to the bottom of the text.
select to add watermark or background in renee pdf aide
③ Select the watermark file to add, click “…” in the “Watermark File” column to open the watermark file.
④ Select the page to be modified, all or part of it. Finally, click “Convert” to save it to a specified location.

5. Image to PDF

The “Image to PDF” function in the software refers to converting multiple or single images into one or more PDF files.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open Renee PDF Aide, click “PDF Toolset” > “Add File”, and add the image to be converted. The image formats supported by the software are: BMP, PNG, JPG, GIF and TIFF.
② Click “Image to PDF”, please choose “Merge into one file” or “One image per PDF file”.
combine images into a pdf with renee pdf aide
tipsDescription of image conversion settings:

  • Merge into one file: Generate all added pictures into one PDF file, and one page of PDF will be generated for one picture.
  • One image and one PDF file: generate a PDF file for all the added images and one image.

③ After completing the output settings, click “Convert” to export.
Download Renee PDF Aide for free and try to convert and edit PDF files!
Hot Topic - ADsRenee PDF Aide - Powerful PDF Editing Tool

Easy to use Friendly to computer beginners

Multifunctional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/add watermark

Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms

Quick Edit/convert dozens of PDF files in batch

Compatible Convert PDF to Excel/PowerPoint/Text, etc.

Easy Use with simple steps

Functional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/watermark

Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms

Free TrialFree TrialNow 800 people have obtained the free version!