Why Can I Not Print a Pdf

November 30, 2021

How to Convert a Document from PDF Format

The iconic PDF: a digital document file format developed by Adobe in the early 1990s. PDFs are very useful on their own, but sometimes it's desirable to convert them into another type of document file. This is easy to do with the right software, so let's take a look.

The PDF Defined

First — what is a PDF? The acronym stands for Portable Document Format and it was initially created to be a standard file format for creating, viewing, sharing and printing digital documents (today, you can even digitally sign PDF files). Reading a PDF on a modern computer is simple, either by using a dedicated PDF viewer like Adobe's own (and free) Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, or by simply viewing the file in a modern web browser. However, editing a PDF is a bit more complicated than just viewing it on screen, and requires specific PDF software, and therefore it's sometimes handy to be able to convert a PDF into another file format that can be edited in more common software.

Open Adobe Acrobat and the PDF

If you own a copy Adobe Acrobat DC, then converting a PDF into a multitude of document formats is easy indeed. To get started, simply launch Adobe Acrobat DC, and then click File and then select Open. Navigate to the PDF file which you intend to convert into another document type, select it, and click Open.

Another way of doing this would be to simple navigate to the candidate PDF file using Windows Explorer, and double-clicking it to launch Adobe Acrobat DC and opening the file.

Choose an Export Setting

Now, you can actually convert the PDF into another document format. To do this, click File, and select Export To. There are several options here to choose from.

If you'd like to convert the PDF into a Microsoft Word format, select Microsoft Word and then choose either Word Document (to create a modern ".docx" file) or Word 97-2003 Document (to create an older ".doc" file).

If you'd like to convert the PDF into a spreadsheet format, select Spreadsheet choose Microsoft Excel Workbook or XML Spreadsheet 2003.

You can even convert a PDF into a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation by choosing this option form the Export As menu."

Use Rich Text Format if you'd like to convert the PDF into an ".rtf" document format, while choosing Text will create a text file.

There are other options on the Export As menu as well.

Choose a Save as Other Setting

If you'd like to simply convert the current PDF file into another PDF file with different settings and attributes, then use the File > Save as Other menu. Options here include things like Reduced Size PDF, Certified PDF, Optimized PDF and many other settings.

Or Use Microsoft Word

An alternative to using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC for converting PDFs into the Microsoft Word format is to use Microsoft Word 2013 or later. Open Microsoft Word, and then open the PDF file you intend to convert; Word will automatically convert a copy of the PDF into an editable Microsoft Word format. One possible downside to this technique is that minor formatting errors may occur in the copied PDF; it may work better with PDFs that are mostly text.

Halcomb Peftere