Sample attached.

Files were exported using acrobat x pro > save as > word document

It does a terrible job, however it is a lot better than old versions of acrobat pro. Tables, pictures and text don't quite get thrown all around the place as much as they used to!



It's a problem we've had for nearly 10 years now, as an education provider every couple of years we have to update our course textbooks which are pdf's. In the past I just exported small parts and worked on them. This year I've resigned myself to the task of getting everything into a good word format and then pdf as needed for printing.

Attached Files

sample.docx (420.7 KB, 11 views)

As I've probably cited before, the adage is "being given a .pdf and having to produce a source file is like being given a bowl of chicken soup and being asked to produce the chicken".

If you're a provider with the right to edit the content of these .pdf documents, you ought to be able to request source files instead of having to make them yourself: much more efficient for you, and less worry (that things are being accidentally changed by a complicated conversion process) for the original author. This is how we prepare and deliver user manuals for our products, which vendors can then customise as required.

The original release of certain parts were only passed on in .pdf by the authors. Then the accumulated total document has been maintained and added to ad hoc. So nothing except the .pdf is correct these days.

That's why I'm setting about glueing the chicken back together!

OK, if you are willing to bite the bullet on this, my recommendation would be to copy it all into Word as plain text. Use the pdfs as references on how you want it to look.

Keep in mind that the pdf text may be the result of an OCR process. If it is, there will be errors in the typing as well as the other problems that come from converted documents.

Start with a Word template with numbering based on Styles following the directions on Shauna Kelly's page: How to create numbered headings or outline numbering in Word 2007 and Word 2010. This may take some time to set up the first time but it will be time well spent.

Use Styles for all of your formatting. That way, when you want to change how [an indented quotation] looks, you can change the look in one place and have it apply to everything.

Read Tips for Understanding Styles in Word
How styles in Microsoft Word cascade
How to create a table of contents in Microsoft Word
Understanding Styles in Microsoft Word

Skimming these is OK, you want to be familiar with the ideas and concepts, though. A couple of hours skimming these up front may save you weeks of work later.

I'd agree with Charles there – bite the bullet, go the extra mile and produce a clean updated copy of the source. While you're at it, consider using the "insert and link" option for graphics; that way, if a diagram that's used several times changes, all you need to do is update the original diagram and refresh your .doc files. Your children – be they offpsring or pupils – and your children's children will thank you, and perhaps even your future colleagues might remember to :-} Good luck with that chicken!

If you have access to full Acrobat, try the "save as text" options; the benefit is, you end up with paragraphs rather than lines. If not, there are postings elsewhere in this forum about converting blocks of lines to single paragraphs.

My approach to this type of conversion, once the paragraphs are sorted, is to use tagging in the plain-text file to mark the different styles I'll want to apply; then I open the tagged file in Word and use search/replace. This may make more sense when you've checked the references Charles supplied.

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related question to contributors, incldued here since answer may help OP: because Word is not my primary tool, I've not had to trust any valuable content to linked graphics. What's your opinion/experience with it – stable and reliable? and why is the belt-and-braces "insert and link" option there?