How to Copy and Paste Content from a PDF File into a New Document

This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to copy content from a PDF file and paste it into a Microsoft Word document (or similar). If the PDF file is created from a digital document, you can use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to copy the content. However, if the PDF is scanned from a physical document or has copy restrictions, you will need to use Google Drive to recognize and convert the text. Alternatively, online conversion tools can directly convert the PDF into a Word document if the previous methods fail.

Open Acrobat Reader. Adobe Acrobat Reader DC is a free PDF reader from Adobe. Depending on the type of PDF file you have, you can select and copy the text from the document using this program.

• If you don’t have Adobe Reader, you can download and install it for free.

Open the PDF file. Click on File, select Open from the dropdown menu, choose the PDF file, and click Open at the bottom-right corner of the window.

• If Adobe Reader is not set as the default PDF program, simply double-click the PDF file you want to view to open it in Acrobat Reader.

Click on Edit at the top-left corner of the Acrobat Reader window (on Windows) or at the top-left of the screen (on Mac). A list of options will appear.

Click on Select All from the Edit menu. This will select all text on the page, excluding images.

• If all the text is highlighted in blue, you won't be able to copy and paste it as text. In that case, you will need to use Google Drive.

Click on Edit again, then click Copy to copy the selected text.

• If the PDF contains multiple pages, you will need to return and copy each page separately after pasting the current page's content.

Open a new document. Typically, you will need to open a program like Microsoft Word, Pages, or Google Docs.

• You can use a text editor like Notepad or TextEdit, but the formatting of the PDF will be lost if you choose this option.

Paste the copied content by pressing Ctrl+V (on Windows) or ⌘ Command+V (on Mac). You will see the copied content from the PDF displayed in the text.

• If the shortcut keys don't work, try clicking on the blank page of the document and attempt again.
• You can also right-click on the page and select Paste from the context menu.

Use this method when the PDF file contains text that has been converted into an image. Scanned PDF files usually appear as image files rather than text files. You will need to use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software to convert the image into selectable text. Google Drive provides free OCR service when uploading PDF files and it is effective in most cases.

• If the PDF is protected against copying, Google Drive cannot bypass the protection when performing the OCR process.

Access Google Drive by visiting https://drive.google.com/ from your preferred browser. This action will open Google Drive if you're already logged in.

• If you're not logged in to your Google account, enter your email and password before proceeding.

Click on the NEW blue button in the upper-left corner of the Drive page. A menu with options will appear.

Click on the File upload button in the menu to open a new window.

Select the PDF file by clicking on the file you need.

• You may first need to click the folder on the left side of the window where the PDF file is located.

Click the Open button at the bottom-right corner of the window to upload the PDF file to Google Drive.

Select the uploaded PDF file. Once the PDF file is uploaded to Google Drive, click on the file to select it.

Click the ⋮ at the top of the page to open the options menu.

Select the Open with option near the top of the menu. A secondary menu will appear next to this selection.

Click on Google Docs from the menu. This will prompt Drive to scan the PDF file's text into a Google Doc. This process might take some time depending on the length of the file's content.

Check which portions of the text have been converted. Google Drive's OCR tool is not flawless and may generate errors or fail to convert all the text. You'll likely notice large gaps between sections, so be sure to check that the entire text has been converted.

• If you encounter errors, you can correct them in Google Docs before copying the text.

Select the text. Click Edit at the top-left corner of the page, then choose Select all from the menu.

Copy the text by clicking Edit once more and selecting Copy.

Open a new document. Typically, you will need to launch a program like Microsoft Word, Pages, or Google Docs.

• Text editors like Notepad or TextEdit can also be used, but keep in mind that using these options will alter the original PDF formatting.

Paste the copied text by pressing Ctrl+V (on Windows) or ⌘ Command+V (on Mac). The PDF content will appear in the document.

• If the keyboard shortcut does not work, try clicking on the blank page and attempt again.
• You can also right-click on the page and select Paste from the menu that pops up.

Open the PDF to Word conversion page by visiting http://pdf2doc.com/ in your preferred browser.

• This website only converts PDF files to Word format and does not support copying and pasting the text.

Click on the UPLOAD FILES button in the center of the page to open a new window.

Select a PDF file by clicking on the file you wish to use.

• First, you might need to click on the folder containing the PDF file on the left side of the window.

Click on Open in the bottom-right corner of the window to upload the PDF file to the conversion page.

Click on the DOWNLOAD button, highlighted in yellow, below the PDF file's name after the upload and conversion process is completed. This will download the PDF file as a Word document.

• You can open the Word document by double-clicking on it and editing the content that was copied from the PDF.
• Note that scanned PDFs uploaded to the computer will have an image format upon download. You may need to use Google Drive to process these files.

• When converting text via Google Drive, the font of the PDF file may affect the accuracy of character recognition. You will successfully convert the text if the PDF has a clear, legible font.

• Not all PDF files allow you to copy text, as some are secured (meaning you need a password to access them).