PDF to Word conversion
Thread poster: Debora Villa
Debora Villa
Debora Villa
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:33
English to Italian
+ ...
Feb 12, 2006

Hi there,

I would be very grateful if someone could help me please. I need to either edit the text on a PDF file or convert it into a word doc. I have downloaded several programs offering free trials but for one reason or another it doesn't seem to work. I do have Adobe Acrobate Professional but I am not very familiar with it and I don't seem to be able to edit the text. Not sure if there is a problem with the program or if I am particularly "SLOW" today.

[Subject edited
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Hi there,

I would be very grateful if someone could help me please. I need to either edit the text on a PDF file or convert it into a word doc. I have downloaded several programs offering free trials but for one reason or another it doesn't seem to work. I do have Adobe Acrobate Professional but I am not very familiar with it and I don't seem to be able to edit the text. Not sure if there is a problem with the program or if I am particularly "SLOW" today.

[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2006-02-13 03:17]
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Evert DELOOF-SYS
Evert DELOOF-SYS  Identity Verified
Belgium
Local time: 12:33
Member
English to Dutch
+ ...
If I can be of help Feb 12, 2006

DV1 wrote:

Hi there,

I would be very grateful if someone could help me please. I need to either edit the text on a PDF file or convert it into a word doc. I have downloaded several programs offering free trials but for one reason or another it doesn't seem to work. I do have Adobe Acrobate Professional but I am not very familiar with it and I don't seem to be able to edit the text. Not sure if there is a problem with the program or if I am particularly "SLOW" today.


If need be, you may send your PDF to me and I'll return the same doc in Word.


 
Sarah Downing
Sarah Downing  Identity Verified
Local time: 07:33
German to English
+ ...
Is the pdf file "read only" or a graphic? Feb 12, 2006

If this is the case, you won't really be able to edit it very easily unless you convert the graphics to text using Abby Fine Reader or similar software.

Another alternative is to to use Acrobat Professional and either try to save the file as an rtf or use the tool that looks like a T with a square in the bottom right hand corner to select the text and then copy it out. The latest version of Acrobat Reader also enables you to save the file as a .txt file which you could then copy int
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If this is the case, you won't really be able to edit it very easily unless you convert the graphics to text using Abby Fine Reader or similar software.

Another alternative is to to use Acrobat Professional and either try to save the file as an rtf or use the tool that looks like a T with a square in the bottom right hand corner to select the text and then copy it out. The latest version of Acrobat Reader also enables you to save the file as a .txt file which you could then copy into Word.

Alternatively, if you like, you can send me the file and I can take a look at it. I'm not an expert, but I am used to dealing with pdfs. If you want to do that, just send me a note via my profile.

Good luck!

Sarah
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Luis Zepeda
Luis Zepeda
United States
Local time: 04:33
Spanish to English
+ ...
PDF to Word conversion Feb 12, 2006

Try PDF2WORD. The program has a free download with 100 free trials. You must purchase after 100 trials but the cost is reasonable. Best of all, it works easily.

 
Ivana UK
Ivana UK  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:33
Member (2005)
Italian to English
+ ...
Abbyy Fine Reader Feb 12, 2006

I use Abbyy PDF Transformer - it costs around $29 (US) and is well worth the investment.

This is from the Abbyy site:

ABBYY PDF Transformer is the most complete solution for PDF conversion. With a click of a button, you can convert any PDF file into Microsoft® Word, Excel, HTML, or TXT format.

ABBYY PDF Transformer is a great tool for business and home users who need to extract and repurpose information from a wide variety of PDF files.

Key Fe
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I use Abbyy PDF Transformer - it costs around $29 (US) and is well worth the investment.

This is from the Abbyy site:

ABBYY PDF Transformer is the most complete solution for PDF conversion. With a click of a button, you can convert any PDF file into Microsoft® Word, Excel, HTML, or TXT format.

ABBYY PDF Transformer is a great tool for business and home users who need to extract and repurpose information from a wide variety of PDF files.

Key Features
ABBYY PDF Transformer is a powerful but easy-to-use PDF conversion utility that converts any types of PDF files into editable formats without retyping and reformatting.


Processes PDF files from any source, including scanned PDFs and PDFs generated from within computer applications;
Opens PDF files directly in Word and Excel for immediate editing;
Exports to Microsoft Word, Excel, HTML, and TXT formats;
All formatting elements (tables, columns, lists, and graphics) are replicated and can be edited;
Processes an entire PDF file or selected pages;
Supports password-protected PDFs;
Runs either as a plug-in from your favorite Microsoft Office applications or as a stand-alone wizard which guides you through the entire conversion process.

http://www.abbyy.com/pdftransformer/?from=overture_uk&OVRAW=abbyy%20pdf%20transformer&OVKEY=convert%20pdf&OVMTC=advanced
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Serkan Doğan
Serkan Doğan  Identity Verified
Türkiye
Local time: 14:33
Turkish to English
+ ...
Copy+paste Feb 12, 2006

Copy+paste generally solves the problem, of course without graphics and diagrams. That is to say, it converts the written text into word document with no devotion on special configuration.

Copy+paste is better than a waste


 
Can Altinbay
Can Altinbay  Identity Verified
Local time: 07:33
Japanese to English
+ ...
In memoriam
Also OpenOffice Feb 12, 2006

Serkan Dogan wrote:

Copy+paste generally solves the problem, of course without graphics and diagrams. That is to say, it converts the written text into word document with no devotion on special configuration.

Copy+paste is better than a waste


For many cases, Serkan's suggestion works fine. The other comments about making sure the text is text, rather than a scanned image.

Another possibility is the free OpenOffice. A lot of download for the purpose, but its equivalent of Word will read PDFs and write Word files.


 
Astrid Elke Witte
Astrid Elke Witte  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 12:33
Member (2002)
German to English
+ ...
Abbyy Fine Reader does an excellent job Feb 12, 2006

Use the link below to get directly to the download page for Abbyy Fine Reader 8.0. If you need any help in using it, you can contact me via my profile.

http://download.abbyy.com/content/default.aspx

Astrid


 
Andrzej Lejman
Andrzej Lejman  Identity Verified
Poland
Local time: 12:33
Member (2004)
German to Polish
+ ...
Partially true... Feb 12, 2006

Astrid Elke Johnson wrote:

Abbyy Fine Reader does an excellent job

Use the link below to get directly to the download page for Abbyy Fine Reader 8.0. If you need any help in using it, you can contact me via my profile.

http://download.abbyy.com/content/default.aspx

Astrid


It produces editable/translatable Word documents from simple PDF docs, containing text mainly.

If you have a PDF with columns, graphics, tables etc. you will get a .doc file that is hardly to translate with a CAT tool - a mess rather.

Be aware that PDF is NOT for editing. Always ask your client to deliver the source document if possible, since there is no way to "write" in PDF in the way you create your .doc. They are always CONVERTED from a source file - mostly from a .doc, but not only.

Sometimes simple copy&paste gives better results at the end, though it's more time-consuming at the beginning.

Anyway, good luck.

Regards


Andrzej

P.S. This topic has been discussed some several hundred times before. Pls search the forum using "PDF to doc", "translating a PDF document" and similar key words.


 
Simona Darò
Simona Darò  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:33
English to Italian
Trados compatibility Feb 13, 2006

I observed some difficulties in using Trados after the conversion from pdf to word with PDF Converter 2. Do you know if these problems are usual with all other programs of pdf conversion to word? The problems seem to be due to the presence of TAGs that I don't visualize. Sometimes these problems are reduced by passing through a .txt file.
Thank you
Simona


 
Debora Villa
Debora Villa
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:33
English to Italian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks Feb 13, 2006

Thank you so much to you all for all the advice and suggestions provided.

Thanks

Debora


 


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PDF to Word conversion






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