How To Convert PDF to Word on Mac

Using PDF documents has become one of the preferred ways for sharing or sending information on the net.  After all, it is a common file type that can be opened on any operating system easily. Editing PDF files on the other hand can be quite troublesome. Instead of dealing with the PDF natively, many users convert the file into a Word format (doc or docx). Then, proceed to implement the desired changes and revert it to the original PDF format when everything is ready. Mac users who wish to convert PDFs into Word files have several different options at their disposal. 

Using Preview

While this is a rather basic technique and the results could vary in quality, depending on the original PDF, it is still worth a shot to just copy the desired text and then paste it into a Word file. 

1. Right-click the PDF file.
2. Select 'Open With' and then pick 'Preview.'
3. Navigate to the section of text you wish to transfer, select it, and press Command+C on the keyboard to copy it. If you wish to copy the entire document, press Command+A to select all of its contents, and then Command+C. 
4. Open 'Pages' or Microsoft Word on Mac and paste the copied text into the document by pressing Command+V.
5. All that is left is to save the new file in the desired format. For Pages, this includes going to 'File,' followed by 'Export To,' and choosing 'Word.'

Using Google Docs

Google Docs is a surprisingly good tool when it comes to converting PDFs into Word files. There is some prep work involved, though. Users will have to log into their Google accounts. Then open Google Drive, click on Settings (the gear icon), and choose 'Settings.' Now, locate the 'Convert uploaded files to Google Docs editor format' option in the General tab and check the related box to enable it. We can now move on to converting the chosen PDF file.

1. Upload the PDF to Google Drive.
2. Click 'Open.'
3. Inside the PDF, go to the 'File' menu, select 'Download,' and pick the desired format such as Microsoft Word (.docx). 
4. The file will be placed in the Downloads folder in the selected format.

Keep in mind that if the original PDF was filled with images, then the final result could be less than satisfactory. 

Using Automator

A more roundabout method involves using the built-in macOS utility Automator. Although the core functionality of Automator is to handle simple repetitive tasks, it also can help in extracting the text from a PDF file and converting it into a plain text file or rich text format (RTF). Users can then easily make the necessary changes to the text.

1. Open the Applications folder, locate Automator, and execute it.
2. When asked, choose 'Workflow' as the document type.
3. Select the PDF file. Drag and drop it to Automator.
4. Now, select 'Library,' then 'PDFs,' and finally 'Extract PDF Text' from the left-side 'Actions' section.
5. Drag the created action and drop it underneath the PDF document.
6. To keep the original formatting, select Rich Text.
7. Select the location where the extracted file will be saved.
8. All that is left is to click the 'Run' button and your new text document will be created.