Forum Discussion
Possible to convert scanned pdf to word without losing formatting on Windows 11?
Hello, New to Windows 11 and need some assistance here. I have a couple of PDF ebooks and found out the content are scanned as the text is blurred and not able to be edited. I used to work with onli...
You are correct. To convert scanned PDF files to Word documents while retaining formatting, you need to use an Optical Character Recognition (OCR) tool. Fortunately, there are several free tools and methods available on Windows 11 that can help you convert scanned PDFs to editable Word documents. Here are a few options:
1. Microsoft OneNote
Microsoft OneNote has built-in OCR capabilities:
- Open OneNote and create a new page.
- Drag and drop the scanned PDF file into OneNote.
- Right-click on the inserted PDF and choose “Copy Text from This Page of the Printout.”
- Paste the text into a new Word document. Adjust formatting as needed.
2. Google Drive
Google Drive has a useful OCR feature:
- Open Google Drive and upload the scanned PDF file.
- Right-click on the PDF and choose “Open with” > “Google Docs.”
- Google Docs will convert scanned PDF to Word using OCR and open it as an editable document.
- From there, you can edit and then download it as a Word document by going to “File” > “Download” > “Microsoft Word (.docx).”