NEED TO CONVERT PDF or TIF or EFAX to WORD DOC

I need to find software that will allow me to convert PDF or TIF or EFAX documents to Word docs that are editable -- meaning the document will be coverted to a Word doc in which I can fully edit the text. I've tried several that convert the documents, but the resulting Word docs are not editable. One was an on-line converter called Zamzar that claimed to create editable Word docs --- but didn't, and the same for "PDF to Word 3" which was pretty disappointing. Any suggestions? -- And something that's free or inexpensive is preferable.

 

For PDF

open pdf
ctrl + A
ctrl + c

Open word

ctrl + v

Might work for efax.

OR, if you have a scanner.

download SimpleOCR

install

scan with simpleOCR

Edit.

 

Several months ago I was looking for a program to do the same thing you want to do. I was unsuccessful. Although there are programs which will convert PDF to Word (including Adobe's own Acrobat Pro) the resulting word documents were never consistantly the same as the PDF that it was converted from. All required considerable reformatting.

When you say 'NOT EDITABLE', in what way not editable? If the PDF is a copy of an image such as a JPG then of course it will not be editable. It would take an OCR program to extract whatever information it could. Other than a PDF that is an image I have never encountered a word conversion that could not be edited in some manner.

 

Thanks gerry. I was able to transfer the text to a Word doc following your instructions, HOWEVER once the text was on the new Word page, the PDF text essentially became like an "image" -- similar to the way a copied photo is set up on a Word page, and I could not edit any of the transferred text. The whole point of my doing this, is to be able to copy and edit the text. How can I do that?

I don't mind if the new Word document is not exactly the same or if I have to reformat --- I just want to be able to copy and/or change the text. Perhaps I'm just not doing it right. Using Picture Tools, I tried to highlight the text so that I could cut or copy and paste it, but it wouldn't even let me highlight it. I also tried using the Find/Replace command but Word didn't recognize the search words. What am I doing wrong?

And, in regard to OCR -- yes, that would be fine, if someone could recommend a free or inepensive OCR program that would do the job, that would be great!

 

If the ctrl-a, ctrl-c, ctrl-v did not work, it is likely the person who made the PDF made it from an image or some sort of "print to pdf" method.

I DID recommend a free OCR--simple OCR. Google it.

Also, most multifunction printers come with a basic OCR program built into their printing software. (though not always)

 

I don't know what version of Microsoft Office you have but both 2003 and 2007 have "Microsoft Office Document Imaging" in the Microsoft Office Tools folder within the Microsoft Office suite of applications i.e. Word, etc.

If you import the pdf or other porgram within the Imaging program it will automatically apply OCR built into MS Office. You can then highlight the results and copy and paste them into a Word document or other.

If for some reason the OCR doesn't kick in, in the Tools section of the MS Office Document Imaging program there is a line item "Recognize Text Using OCR". Give it a try and see what happens.

 

I tried it with Acrobat Pro 9, to export a PDF to a .doc file, and the output was quite good looking, however it's expensive
Depending on how much you plan to edit, you maybe don't even have to convert the PDF document to doc if you use Acrobat Pro, because there you're able to alter the content directly, too.

 

I have Office 2007 - Home Premium edition, and could not find Microsoft Office Document Imaging --- it may not be provided with the Home Premium version. In any event I have found a fairly good work-around, sort of, and thank you all for your suggestions. With a free program called "FreeOCR 3" I can copy the text to the Clipboard, edit it to my heart's content, and then transfer the edited text to a Word doc. And for any images, art work, letterhead, etc, from any PDF file (that isn't password protected or otherwise locked), I can cut and paste them to a Word doc. True, I can't edit those images, but my need was only to be able to edit the text. So this solution is good enough.

 

OpenOffice has a PDF import facility that works pretty well as long as the original PDF isn't overly complex. I have seen PDFs deliberately created with horribly complex structures to discourage unauthorized use. This is in addition to the usual PDF protection mechanisms.

Otherwise you're stuck with Acrobat Pro.

 

Thanks newsposter. I haven't tried OpenOffice yet, but this is a good reason to take a look at it.

I'm not that familiar with PDFs, but my understanding is that if they contain sensitive material or anything that the author does not wish copied, they can be password protected or locked in some way to avoid that unauthorized use. Otherwise, it's good that there are ways to copy the text --- even if those ways aren't perfect. Usually people are understandably just trying to copy the PDF to avoid having to waste their time retyping miles of text.