How to Copy and Paste from PDF to Word without Losing Formatting on Windows/Mac/Online

Last Updated on December 3, 2021 by Tina Clark


- “I have a public PDF with no copying restriction. And I can’t copy text from PDF…”

- “What is the correct procedure to copy and paste a PDF to a word document?”

- “How to copy an image from a PDF file?”

- “I wanna copy and paste from PDF to word without line breaks…”

You can find hundreds of similar questions in Quora, Reddit, and other forums. Many people have no idea how to convert a PDF to Word Doc. If you have the same question as above copy and paste from PDF to word problems mentioned, then you are lucky to find this article.

Here are step-by-step solutions to copy and paste a PDF to word and other Microsoft formats on Windows 10/8/7, Mac and Online. You can just read and do as the following paragraphs tell.

Copy and Paste from PDF to Word

Part 1. How Copy Text File from a PDF File to Word Document

Copy and Paste PDF to Word is not as simple as you think. Sometimes you may have the problem that copy and paste text from PDF not working. So is there a reliable program that allows users to copy text from PDF without strange characters or link breaks? WidsMob PDFEdit can help you copy content from PDFs and paste them to Word Documents. Moreover, you can copy the whole PDF or some parts of the PDF according to your need.

Win Download Mac Download

How to copy PDF to Word on Windows 10/8/7 and Mac with WidsMob PDFEdit

Step 1. Launch this program and open your PDF file by using the Open Files… button on the main window.

Open Image File PDFEdit

Step 2. Click the Edit button on the top menu to enable the editing mode. Then you can select the text or image you want to copy to Word by right-clicking and choose the Copy button.

Copy PDF Text with WidsMob PDFEdit

Step 3. Open a Word and use the short key of Ctrl+V to paste the copied PDF text to the blank document.

Win Download Mac Download

Part 2. How to Convert a PDF to without Losing Format

If the PDF file you want to copy has many pages and you need the whole content, you can choose to convert the PDF to Word. WidsMob ConvertPDF is a user-friendly program that has simplified powerful features into easy-to-use filters. Thus, you can convert protected PDF to editable word without losing formatting. As for copying text from PDF to word document, it is just a piece of cake for ConvertPDF.

What Can You Get from This Powerful PDF to Word Converter

  • Convert PDF to multiple formats including Word, Image, Excel, TXT, HTML, XML, and Epub.
  • Offer the advanced OCR algorithm to convert image-based PDF to text-based word documents.
  • Keep your converted PDF file with the original presentation layout.
  • Batch convert PDF files without losing formatting on Windows PC.
  • Convert the selected PDF pages up to 5 pages.
Win Download Mac Download

How to Copy and Paste from PDF to Word without Losing Formatting with ConvertPDF

Step 1: Add PDF file

Free download and install WidsMob ConvertPDF software on your Windows computer. Launch this program after you have completed its installation. Then click Add Files to import your PDF file. Moreover, you can drag and drop the PDF file to its main interface directly as well.

Add PDF File to ConvertPDF

Step 2: Set your output word format

Choose Settings on the toolbar. Later, you access two options of Convert PDF Files to Word(*.docx) and Convert PDF Files to Word2003-2007(*.doc). Mark before one option, and then click OK to save your change.

Manage PDF Output Settings

Step 3: Adjust the PDF pages you want to convert (optional)

Right-click on your PDF file, then you can see a new dialog with the name of PageRange. Choose whether to convert the entire PDF file or not. Well, you can choose between All Pages and Specified Page Range.

If you choose the latter option, you need to set the start page and the end page manually. Be aware that its maximum page range ups to 5 pages. Then choose “OK” to continue your process.

Adjust PDF Page Range

Step 4: Copy and paste from PDF to word without losing formatting

Click Same as Resources to make sure that you can convert PDF to word with the original layout. Select Browse to change your destination folder. At last, click the Convert button to copy text from secured PDF to word document in a short time. When the process finishes, you can see a popping-up notification, click OK to confirm.

Convert PDF to Word Win Download Mac Download

Part 3. How to Copy and Paste PDF Content into Word Document Online with Google Drive

If you have a PDF file with text encoded as an image, then you can run Google Drive to convert the PDF image to selectable text. Well, Google Drive offers a free OCR service. So you can deal with basic PDF to word conversion for free. In addition, Google Drive also allows users to copy and paste from copy-protected PDF to word as well.

Step 1: Add a PDF file to Google Drive

Search and open Google Drive site on your web browser. Sign into your Google account with your Google email address and related password. Later, find and click NEW option in blue on the top left corner. Select File upload from its drop-down menu. As a result, you can see a new popping-up window. Choose the PDF file you want to import, and then click Open to confirm.

Access Google Drive

Step 2: Convert PDF to editable word

Choose the imported PDF file once the process finishes. Then click the three-dots Menu option on the top menu bar. Select Open with from this drop-down list. Then click Google Docs from the pop-out menu. Thus, Google Drive will be prompted to scan your import PDF file. Wait for a while to complete the PDF to word converting process.

Well, it is common to find some errors in your converted PDF to word document, so you need to check whether the text has been converted or not by yourself.

Open PDF with Google Docs

Step 3: Copy and paste from PDF to word doc

Highlight the text and choose Edit on the menu bar under your PDF file name. Click Select All to highlight all your word documents. Then choose Copy from the drop-down Edit menu.

Navigate to Microsoft Word, Pages, or other programs to open a new blank document. Later, click the Paste button on the top left corner to see your copied PDF to text. Moreover, you can press Ctrl and V (for Windows) or Command and V (for Mac) to paste the word from PDF as well.

Copy and Paste PDF to Word with Google Drive Win Download Mac Download

Part 4. How to Copy and Paste a PDF into Word on Mac with Preview

If you are using a Mac, you can also use the Preview app to copy and paste from PDF into Word for free.

Step 1. Use the Preview app to open the PDF file you want to copy from.

Step 2. Choose Tools > Text Selection. Drag over the text and choose Edit > Copy to copy the text you want to paste to Word.

Text Selection Tool in Preview

Copy PDF File with Preview on Mac

Step 3. Open a new document in Word and press Cmd + V or go to the editing menu and click Edit > Paste to paste the copied text from PDF to the document.


That’s all you need to copy and paste from PDF to word on Windows PC, macOS and Online. And if you want to get the high-quality output, then definitely WidsMob PDFEdit should be your best choices. You can overcome all problems to copy a PDF file into word safely and easily. Just free download this program to have a try.

Win Download Mac Download