In our daily work, PDF file can be assumed as the most used file format, not matter for business contracts or some other confidential files. However, some time we need to edit the PDF file but this is not possible if the file format is PDF. Here is the question: how can I edit my PDF file? Let’s say converting pdf to word is a good choice. In this article, I will introduce 4 methods to convert pdf to word on Mac. All of these methods are totally free and worth to try! Method 1: Mac-pre installed software—Mac Automator App automator This method does not need you to install any software on your computer but to use the pre-installed app–Automator to build a custom workflow to convert the PDF to plain text or RTF documents which can be open with Word.
Here is the step by step guide to help you convert PDF to Word with Automator.
Step 1: Run Automator, which can be found in your Application folder or Launchpad, select “application” and click on “choose”.
Step 2: Go to “PDFs” under “Action” tab at the left column and then click “Extract PDF Text” at the central column. Then drag and drop “Extract PDF Text” to the right column to build your workflow and a new window will pop up as below picture.
Choose “Rich Text” as the output, select where you want to store your output file and choose the name option for your output file.
Step 3: Once this has done, please go to the file option and save it as below picture.
Please ensure the File format is Application, not Workflow. Then fill in “PDF to Word Apps” and choose where to store this application and mine is Desktop. When above has been done, click on “Save” button to generate the application.
Step 4: Now you have your own “PDF to Word Apps”. To convert the PDF to Word, you just need to drag and drop the PDF file on the top of the “PDF to Word Apps” and a new file with the.rtf will be created. You can use the Word to open this RTF file.
Once this “PDF to Word Apps” has been generated, you can convert any of your PDF to Word within seconds. The drawback of this method is it does not support batch conversion and can not handle scanned PDF files. What’s more, text format is the only output format you can choose.
Method 2: Online PDF to Word Converter There are a variety of online PDF to Word Converters out there. They are totally free and very easy to use. However, you should really do some research before using their services because some of them don’t have any privacy policies or disclaimers. You never know what will they are going to handle your uploaded documents.If your PDF file contains business confidential, you should not use the online service.
Here I have selected some real popular online PDF to Word Converters for your options.
PDFOnline Zamzar Smallpdf OnlineOCR (for converting scanned PDFs)
Although the online PDF to Word conversion service is very convenient for users and money -saving. If you take the security concerns into consideration, you should really give this service up. Also, online conversion service will not give you well-quality converted file.
Method 3: Google Docs Google Drive offers online storage service but it can do more than that. You may miss its function of converting PDF to Words before. Today, I will show you how to convert PDF to word with Google Docs. It is safe, convenient and easy to use but you need have your own google account.
Step 1: log in your Google Drive and upload the PDF file. When you log in your Google Drive, click on ‘NEW’ tab at the top left corner and then click on “file upload” button to choose the file from your Mac.
When the file uploaded successfully, a message will pop up at the buttom to remind you.
Step 2: find the uploaded file at the file list and right click the file title to select open with this file with Google Docs as the below picture.
The PDF file will be open and can be edited now.
Step 3: Click “File” menu and Download this file as Microsoft Word(.docx). Now you will get this PDF file converted to Word.
Google Docs can convert your PDF to Word and preserve the formatting of your converted Docs, but it requires the internet connection during this whole process. If you have your own Google account, you should try this method out. However, it does not support batch conversion and is a little bit time-consuming if you want to convert many files at once.
Method 4: Calibre Calibre combines eBook converter with eBook management. As a freeware, Calibre enables you to convert eBooks from one format to another in the batch. So you can convert PDF to Word with Calibre.
Step 1: Download Calibre and install it. Please download the Calibre for Mac here. and install it as its instruction.
Step 2: Add your PDF file to Calibre and then right click the PDF file title. Select “Convert Books” at the dropdown list and then you can choose “convert individually” or “Bulk convert” according to your requirements.
Step 3: It will pop up a new windows so that you can edit the metadata of the PDF file. Please choose “DOCX” as the output format and then click on “OK” button. Calibre will start to convert the PDF file to Word.
Different from other three methods, this one needs to install the software to your Mac at first, but it is also totally free and easy to use. Especially if you have many PDF files to convert, you can try this method because it supports the batch conversion.
These are the four methods to convert PDF to word on Mac that I want to share with you today. I know there are other methods, such as Acrobat Pro DC which is a profession PDF tool. With it, you can edit, convert and sign PDFS but its subscription fee is 14.99usd per month. It is over expensive in my opinion. However, the converted Docx will never let you down!