Why PDF to Word gives an empty document (and the fix)
You convert a PDF to Word, open the result, and it is empty, or it holds nothing but pictures you cannot edit. The converter did not fail. The PDF has no text in it to convert: it is a scan or a photo of the pages, and a picture of words is not words. The fix takes one extra step.
Open PDF to WordGet an editable DOCX with the document text, headings and paragraphs.
Why it happens
A PDF made from Word, a website or an accounting system contains real text, with its letters, fonts and positions. A PDF made by a scanner, a phone camera or a "print to image" setting contains only images of the pages. Converters rebuild a Word document from the text they find, so with a scan there is nothing to rebuild.
Papermint checks for this before converting. If a PDF has no selectable text, PDF to Word stops and tells you it looks like a scan, rather than handing you an empty file.
Fix it in two steps
- Run the scan through OCR PDF, choosing the document's language. This reads the page images and adds the text to the PDF. OCR is part of Papermint Premium.
- Convert the searchable PDF that OCR gives you with PDF to Word. You now get an editable .docx with the recognised text, headings and paragraphs.
The same applies to PDF to Excel: run OCR first, then convert. Our guide to making a scanned PDF searchable has tips for getting accurate recognition.
What to expect in the Word file
- Text, headings and paragraphs carry over, rebuilt into normal Word paragraphs you can edit.
- Complex layouts are simplified. Columns, text boxes and positioned images may need tidying. If the look of the page matters more than editing it, PDF to JPG keeps it exactly.
- Recognition is only as good as the scan. Check names, numbers and anything important against the original. Handwriting is generally not recognised.
Avoid the problem next time
If you can, ask for the original document, or for a PDF exported from the program that made it rather than a scan. If you are scanning it yourself, good, even light and a straight page make OCR much more accurate: see how to scan with your phone.