Need file conversion advice and/or help, plz.

Growler · 03-29-11, 01:56 PM

OK, I give up.

35 bucks later, I still haven't been able to find a conversion tool that will take a PDF file as input and yield an editable .docx file as output.

I've already JFGI'd it to death, and all I keep coming up with is trial programs that limit you to a few pages (I have 231 I need to convert) or that turn the PDF into images, then paste 'em into a Word document. I'm so POed at that little trick that I could spit nails - that's the one that just cost me 35 bucks.

So - any of youse guys have ANY ideas, short of cut 'n paste or save as... text that could convert a 231p PDF file into a user-editable MS Word .rtf or .docx format?

Schroeder · 03-29-11, 02:00 PM

If it's only text you can highlight it and copy/paste it into an empty word document.

Dowly · 03-29-11, 02:03 PM

My adobe reader has an option to save it all as a .txt file in File->Save as text... (or something like that, it's in finnish for me)

Growler · 03-29-11, 02:15 PM

Cheers, lads.

I think those options are going to be the only ones, much as it pains me to say it. It's a 213 page book that a friend of mine wants to go back in and edit/revise, and he no longer has the source Word file. Problem is, if we go back to straight text, all that formatting across all 213 pages - all the bold, italics, spacing, indents, chapter headings, table of contents layout, all of it - goes right out the window.

Kill me now.

vienna · 03-29-11, 02:53 PM

This has been a long time problem with pdf files. I have worked for people who wanted to do the same conversion you are seeking and, like you, I have spent an awful lot of time and expense trying to achieve the result of maintaining all the formats staying the same after conversion. One product called "Omnipage" claimed to produce formatted .doc conversions, but I was unable to get it to fully convert a document. It has been some time since I last tried with "Omnipage", so maybe it has improved in the intervening time. It is a bit pricey program though, as I recall. The copy and paste option was the one I ultimately ended up using. If you format one set of headings, paragraphs, etc., you can use the Format Painter feature to format the remainder of the corresponding elements of thedocument. If you double-click the Format Painter icon, you can apply the fromat to sections of text (i.e., headings, paragraphs) that you want to have the same format.

Growler · 03-29-11, 02:57 PM

Thanks, Vienna, I appreciate the advice. -

Been awhile since I trotted around with Omnipage, but I've used Word for many, many moons, so reformatting, while a tedious, onerous, odious chore, will be doable - I just have LOTS of other things to do rather than spend a few hours on that.

I'm ALSO discovering that this is a PDF taken from a scan. Meaning I need to OCR the "pages" out of the PDF before I can do ANYTHING else with them.

So yeah, I'll stand by my earlier statement - kill me now.

vienna · 03-29-11, 03:11 PM

IIRC, "Omnipage" will do OCR from a scanned pdf page; just be prepared to do some proofreading; the OCR can be a little iffy, depending on the qaulity of the original scan. Also, if the book has been published, perhaps there is a better quality scan somewhere on the 'net. I once found a public domain book on the Project Guttenberg site (www.guttenberg.org) that was scanned into a formatted Word doc...

MaddogK · 03-29-11, 03:52 PM

Have you tried acrobat professional ? We routinely create word docs and convert to PDF, and will convert back to *.doc format and many others. May be worth a look for ya.

Growler · 03-29-11, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaddogK

Have you tried acrobat professional ? We routinely create word docs and convert to PDF, and will convert back to *.doc format and many others. May be worth a look for ya.

Yeah, I was scoping that out as well, Maddog. I may have to bite yet another cash bullet and buy it; not sure it would have helped in this case, as the source of the file was a scan rather than a text-to-PDF save as operation.

As it turns out, I shelled out another 40 quid for a different program that is, at least so far, handling the OCR conversion and PDF to Word conversion, and doing a fair job of it.

If I didn't think I was going to use this program again, I'd be on a bell tower with a high powered Nerf gun.

And how's that for a 1000th post?

the_tyrant · 03-29-11, 03:57 PM

happy 1000 posts day!

03-29-11, 01:56 PM	#1
Growler A long way from the sea Join Date: May 2005 Location: Iowa Posts: 1,913 Downloads: 21 Uploads: 0	Need file conversion advice and/or help, plz. OK, I give up. 35 bucks later, I still haven't been able to find a conversion tool that will take a PDF file as input and yield an editable .docx file as output. I've already JFGI'd it to death, and all I keep coming up with is trial programs that limit you to a few pages (I have 231 I need to convert) or that turn the PDF into images, then paste 'em into a Word document. I'm so POed at that little trick that I could spit nails - that's the one that just cost me 35 bucks. So - any of youse guys have ANY ideas, short of cut 'n paste or save as... text that could convert a 231p PDF file into a user-editable MS Word .rtf or .docx format? __________________ At Fiddler’s Green, where seamen true When here they’ve done their duty The bowl of grog shall still renew And pledge to love and beauty.

03-29-11, 02:00 PM	#2
Schroeder Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Banana Republic of Germany Posts: 6,170 Downloads: 62 Uploads: 0	If it's only text you can highlight it and copy/paste it into an empty word document. __________________ Putting Germ back into Germany.

03-29-11, 02:15 PM	#4
Growler A long way from the sea Join Date: May 2005 Location: Iowa Posts: 1,913 Downloads: 21 Uploads: 0	Cheers, lads. I think those options are going to be the only ones, much as it pains me to say it. It's a 213 page book that a friend of mine wants to go back in and edit/revise, and he no longer has the source Word file. Problem is, if we go back to straight text, all that formatting across all 213 pages - all the bold, italics, spacing, indents, chapter headings, table of contents layout, all of it - goes right out the window. Kill me now. __________________ At Fiddler’s Green, where seamen true When here they’ve done their duty The bowl of grog shall still renew And pledge to love and beauty.

03-29-11, 02:57 PM	#6
Growler A long way from the sea Join Date: May 2005 Location: Iowa Posts: 1,913 Downloads: 21 Uploads: 0	Thanks, Vienna, I appreciate the advice. - Been awhile since I trotted around with Omnipage, but I've used Word for many, many moons, so reformatting, while a tedious, onerous, odious chore, will be doable - I just have LOTS of other things to do rather than spend a few hours on that. I'm ALSO discovering that this is a PDF taken from a scan. Meaning I need to OCR the "pages" out of the PDF before I can do ANYTHING else with them. So yeah, I'll stand by my earlier statement - kill me now. __________________ At Fiddler’s Green, where seamen true When here they’ve done their duty The bowl of grog shall still renew And pledge to love and beauty.

03-29-11, 03:52 PM	#8
MaddogK XO Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Chicago, Ill. Posts: 409 Downloads: 15 Uploads: 0	Have you tried acrobat professional ? We routinely create word docs and convert to PDF, and will convert back to *.doc format and many others. May be worth a look for ya. __________________ May fortune favor the foolish

03-29-11, 02:03 PM	#3
Dowly Lucky Jack Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 25,052 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	My adobe reader has an option to save it all as a .txt file in File->Save as text... (or something like that, it's in finnish for me)

03-29-11, 02:53 PM	#5
vienna Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Anywhere but the here & now... Posts: 7,711 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	This has been a long time problem with pdf files. I have worked for people who wanted to do the same conversion you are seeking and, like you, I have spent an awful lot of time and expense trying to achieve the result of maintaining all the formats staying the same after conversion. One product called "Omnipage" claimed to produce formatted .doc conversions, but I was unable to get it to fully convert a document. It has been some time since I last tried with "Omnipage", so maybe it has improved in the intervening time. It is a bit pricey program though, as I recall. The copy and paste option was the one I ultimately ended up using. If you format one set of headings, paragraphs, etc., you can use the Format Painter feature to format the remainder of the corresponding elements of thedocument. If you double-click the Format Painter icon, you can apply the fromat to sections of text (i.e., headings, paragraphs) that you want to have the same format.

03-29-11, 03:11 PM	#7
vienna Navy Seal Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Anywhere but the here & now... Posts: 7,711 Downloads: 85 Uploads: 0	IIRC, "Omnipage" will do OCR from a scanned pdf page; just be prepared to do some proofreading; the OCR can be a little iffy, depending on the qaulity of the original scan. Also, if the book has been published, perhaps there is a better quality scan somewhere on the 'net. I once found a public domain book on the Project Guttenberg site (www.guttenberg.org) that was scanned into a formatted Word doc...

03-29-11, 03:57 PM	#10
the_tyrant Admiral Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 2,272 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 0	happy 1000 posts day!