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- Pdf To Text Mac Free
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- Free Pdf Converter For Mac
- Mac Pdf Converter To Word
- Text To Pdf Converter
PDFs are everywhere. But are they easy to deal with? Absolutely not. Unlike Microsoft Word or Google Docs where you can easily edit text and images, PDFs feel like “words carved in stone.” You need additional tools to change text, sign, or redact information. No wonder many people want to know how to change PDF to Word to make it more editable.
Indeed, Word documents give you more editing tools, so it makes a lot of sense to convert PDF to Word, make edits, and then convert it back. How to convert PDF to Word on Mac? You can use copy and paste, but it’s too much work — you’ll end up spending more time on transferring text than actually editing it.
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The point is you absolutely need to know how to convert PDF to Word on Mac — whether to sign your lease agreement or correct a file at work. So why not learn the best ways to convert PDF to Word doc now to make your life much easier later on.
How To Convert PDF To Word On Mac
So how do you turn PDF into Word quickly and seamlessly? Truth is there are a few ways to convert PDF to Word to make simple edits in your files. For example, you could convert PDF to Word doc using Google Drive or Adobe Acrobat Pro. You could also capture PDF text with a built-in Mac utility called Automator. But the real secret is to know a few advanced apps that do all the work for you. Let’s dive into all.
How to change PDF to Word with Google Docs
Google Docs is a popular online editing tool and there’s a good chance that you already store some PDFs within its storage solution called Google Drive, which also allows you to convert PDFs to Word docs without the need to download a PDF to your computer first. Just note that if your PDF includes lots of images, Google Drive might remove them in the final document.
Here’s how to set your Google Drive to read PDF files in Google Docs and then convert them into Word documents:
- Click on the cog symbol at the top right in Google Drive and choose Settings
- In the General tab, check the box in 'Convert uploads' that states 'Convert uploaded files to Google Docs editor format'
- Find the desired PDF file within Google Docs and right-click on it.
- Choose 'Open with' and select Google Docs
- Once a new Google Doc window opens, click File in the top-bar menu and select Download as Microsoft Word
Google Drive works really well if you have a simple PDF text document that you need to edit in Word. However, if your PDF file is image-heavy, you’re going to need a more powerful PDF to Word converter for Mac.
How to convert PDF to Word using Adobe Acrobat Pro
Adobe Acrobat Pro is another complete solution to create and edit PDFs. The good thing about it is that your fonts and layout features, such as bullets and tables, will be left intact. Even when you’re out of the office, you can still export PDF to Word using a mobile version of Acrobat.
To convert from PDF to Word using Adobe Acrobat Pro:
- Open your desired PDF file
- Choose the Export PDF tool on the right sidebar
- Select Microsoft Word as the export format and then Word Document
- Click Export
- Save and name your Word file in your desired location
If the PDF file contains any scanned text, Acrobat will recognize it automatically.
How to convert from PDF to Word using Automator
Automator is a Mac utility, built right into your macOS. It generally helps with menial tasks, such as renaming files in batches or moving files in bulk. For our purposes, Automator also offers to help with extracting text from PDF without converting the file to Word. You can then edit the text in any text editor, such as the Ulysses app.
To use Automator for extracting text:
- Open Automator via the Applications folder
- Select Workflow and tap Enter
- Click on Files and Folders in the left column
- In the second column, select Ask for Finder Items and drag it into the right pane that says 'Drag actions or files here to build your workflow.'
- Choose the PDFs in the left column and select Extract PDF Text located in the second column
- Drag and drop Extract PDF Text to the right under Find Files and Folders
- Select Rich Text instead of Plain Text to retain formatting
- Choose where you want Automator to place your extracted text files
- Save as an application, open the new Automator application, and select the PDF you want to grab the text from
Open the new Rich Text document in a word processor like Ulysses, a focused writing app. Ulysses helps you write with a clean distraction-free user interface as well as structure and format your piece in its Markdown editor. Conveniently, you’re also able to keep your side notes, sketches, and manuscripts in the app’s library. When you’re done, just export your work into a well-designed ebook or a new PDF file.
Ulysses can also be the answer to how to convert Word to PDF on Mac, since it’s able to open Word files and export anything as PDF too.
On another note, Automator works great for working with text files, but what can you do if you want to extract words from images in your PDF?
How to extract text from images with Prizmo
When you want to grab text embedded in an image, you need Prizmo.
Prizmo is an essential app that uses optical character recognition (OCR) to create searchable PDF documents. It also lets you edit or correct small errors or formatting mistakes in scanned files, just as you would be able to in your favorite word processor. All in all, Prizmo is your best friend if you’re looking to work with text in any printed papers, business cards, or even receipts.
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How to extract text from anywhere with TextSniper
Whether you are struggling to turn your PDF scans to text or wondering how to quickly capture text from a banner, landing page, video still, or other non-textual format, try TextSniper.
This precise tool works just like a screenshot, only for text. Use app shortcut Command + Shift + 2 or manually find the feature in the app’s menu in your Mac’s menu bar to prompt the selection tool.
Select any part of your screen with the text you need copied and in mere seconds, your text is copied to your clipboard. Use Command + V to paste the text to Word or any other text editor of your choice.
How to edit PDFs without converting them to Word
If figuring out how to export PDF to Word sounds like too much work — there’s another way to edit them as well, using PDFpen.
PDFpen is a powerful editor you can use to add new images, text, and even signatures directly to your PDF files. You can also erase and edit existing content, resize or move graphics, and copy and paste from other sources while retaining formatting.
Use PDfpen when you need to review and add feedback to PDF files. You’d be able to simply highlight, underscore, or add corrections to any file. With a simple drag and drop feature, you can add new pages, reorder existing ones, or combine separate PDF files into one. If you’re going to be editing PDF files on a regular basis, PDFpen is a must-have.
Pdf Text Editor Mac Free
Now that you know how to export PDF to Word, extract text from PDF, and even edit your PDF file directly, you can take control of your important documents and make edits as needed.
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Best of all is that all four apps mentioned above: Ulysses, Prizmo, TextSniper and PDFpen, are available absolutely free for seven days as part of the trial for Setapp, a collection of more than 160 Mac apps, all of which promise to make your day on Mac as productive as it can be. Try and see for yourself today!
Free Pdf Converter For Mac
The Portable Document Format (PDF) is a great way to share documents while preserving formatting, layout, and even security. But sometimes you need to copy some text from a PDF, and leave all of the document’s images and formatting behind. This can be particularly challenging when the text you want is split and divided by images.
So how do you copy just the text from a PDF, while ignoring the images and formatting? Well, the Mac’s TextEdit app is here to help!
Step 1: Open the PDF File
The first step is to open your PDF file. The default application for viewing PDFs in macOS is the Preview app, and that’s what you’ll see in the following screenshots. If you have a third party PDF application, such as Adobe Acrobat, the steps are similar.
Step 2: Select Everything in the PDF
Mac Pdf Converter To Word
Normally when you need to select text from a PDF that has a lot of images and formatting, you’d probably use your mouse or trackpad cursor to select each block of text, copy it out to the clipboard, and then paste it into your desired application. And if you need just a little bit of text, this method is fine. But if you need multiple pages of text, this can take forever. The answer is to just select it all, and we’ll show you how to deal with the images and formatting next.
So, select all of the content in your PDF by heading to Edit > Select All or by using the keyboard shortcut Command-A.
Once you do so, you’ll see the entire contents of your document selected.
Step 3: Copy and Paste the PDF Contents
With the contents of your PDF selected, head to Edit > Copy in the menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut Command-C. Next, find and launch the TextEdit app, which is located by default in your Applications folder. You can also search for it via Spotlight.
Depending on your TextEdit settings, you may need to create a new document when launching the app. Click the New Document button in the lower-left corner of the window to do so.
By default, your new TextEdit document will open in Rich Text mode. You’ll need to change it to Plain Text Mode, as this is the secret that lets us paste the entire PDF but only see the text. To switch to Plain Text Mode, select Format > Make Plain Text, or use the keyboard shortcut Shift-Command-T.
If you see Make Rich Text in this window on your own Mac, then that means your TextEdit document is already in Plain Text Mode.
Finally, copy the contents of your PDF by selecting Edit > Paste from the menu bar or using the keyboard shortcut Command-V. Because we’re in Plain Text Mode, you’ll see just the text from your PDF, and not any of the images or formatting.
Your text may still need to be cleaned up a bit in terms of spacing, but it should be much easier to deal with in whatever application it’s destined for.
Bonus: Force All TextEdit Documents to Open in Plain Text Mode
Text To Pdf Converter
If you’ll be doing this PDF copy-paste routine often, you can set TextEdit to open in Plain Text Mode by default, which can save you a little bit of time. To do so, select TextEdit > Preferences from the menu bar.
From the Preferences window, select the New Document tab and choose Plain Text under the “Format” section.
As mentioned, this can save you some time, but you can always switch individual TextEdit documents back to Rich Text Mode by using the method described earlier. So you’re not stuck with one or the other, but just be aware that if you switch a Rich Text document to Plain Text and then switch back to Rich Text, you will have lost all formatting in the process.