How to convert a PDF to Pages: 3 effective methods
Jackson Kustec
jackson@macro.com
One of the best ways to make comprehensive edits to a PDF is by converting a PDF to DOCX and opening it on Pages. Pages is an app that runs on Mac and is responsible for opening and editing all .docx files.
In this article, I walk you through three easy ways to convert any PDF to Pages.
How to convert a PDF to Pages
Imagine this – You’re the product manager of a marketing agency with a tight deadline for a client proposal.
You get an email from your freelance writer with details needed for the content proposal. But guess what? It’s a PDF.
After going through the file, you realize it needs significant changes.
You can edit the PDF with a PDF editor, but you know it won’t be as comprehensive as editing a Word document.
What do you do? 🤔
With the clock ticking, you realize you can convert the PDF document into DOCX, open it on Mac’s Pages app, and do the edits.
Let me show you how 👇
Method 1. Macro
Macro is an all-in-one PDF solution that converts PDF to Pages in seconds. All you need to do is change the file format.
Here’s a quick video on how to do it:
Keep reading if you want to look at a step-by-step guide for the same process.
Step 1. Open PDF in Macro
Once you have downloaded and installed Macro on your Mac, click on ‘Open a PDF or DOCX file’ from the top section on Macro’s home screen. Alternatively, drag and drop files directly within the dotted area.
Select the PDF you want to convert into Pages and click ‘Open.’
Macro will open the PDF file, where you can edit, organize, annotate, and more.
On the top left, you’ll see a ribbon-style toolbar with options to:
- Search
- Bookmark
- Comment
- Edit
- Detect errors
Step 2. Save PDF as a Word document
Unlike other tools, Macro makes it a one-click process to convert any PDF into Word documents (DOCX).
To do so, click the ‘Save icon’ from the top right menu.
Alternatively, you can press Command + S.
Select ‘Save As’ from the options Macro gives you.
As you click ‘Save As’ , a pop-up appears. Save details like the file’s name, location, and format.
To convert your PDF to Pages, you have to change the file format.
Macro sets the file format as PDF by default. We want to change that.
Click ‘Format’ from the dropdown menu, choose ‘Word Document,’ and click ‘Save.’
And you’re done ✅
Step 3. Open DOCX with Mac’s Pages app
To do so, go to the folder where you saved the PDF.
Right-click on the file and go to Open With > Pages . If your default Word document opener is set to Pages, you can just double-click the file.
And that’s it.
Method 2. Mac’s Preview app
Preview is Mac’s default PDF opener that lets you edit and convert PDF documents.
Step 1. Open PDF in Preview
Right-click on the PDF > Open With > Preview App to get started. If the Preview app is the default PDF opener, double-click the PDF document to open it.
This will open your PDF in Preview, which will look like this 👇
Step 2. Converting PDF to Pages with Preview
To copy all PDF content, press ‘ command + A’ to select everything in the PDF and ‘ command + c’ to copy it. Or right-click on the selected text and click ‘Copy.’
Step 3. Paste the copied text into Pages
Open Spotlight and search for the Pages app.
Click ‘New Document.’
Select the Blank template and click ‘Create.’
To paste the copied content, press ‘command + V’ or right-click on the blank pages sheet and click ‘Paste.’
Pages will take some time to paste text. Once the text appears, save the document, and you’re done ✅
👀 Note: The process isn’t ideal for PDFs with images. When I tried it, the Pages app messed up the formatting.
Also, this method works well if your PDF has a few pages. If your document has hundreds of pages, I recommend using Macro or automating the conversion with Mac’s Automator, showcased below 👇
Method 3. Mac’s Automator
Automator is a free, built-in macOS app that helps automate tasks.
With Automator, you can build bite-sized apps and use them as desired.
In my case, I used it to build an app that extracts text from PDF and converts it into a Pages file.
Step 1. Open Automator
Search for Automator in Spotlight and open it.
Select ‘Application’ and click ‘Choose.’
Step #2 Create PDF to Text Converter app
From the left-hand side menu, drag and drop the ‘ Ask for Finder Items’ action to the right side.
Next, select ‘PDFs’ from the left sidebar.
As the section expands, drag the ‘Extract PDF Text’ action to the right side.
Here’s what you will see in the Extract PDF Text box:
- Output: Select from Plain or Rich text. If you have a PDF with images, select Rich text to keep the formatting intact.
- Header & Footer: By checking the box, you can add a header or footer to every PDF page.
- Save Output To: Select where you want to save your text file.
👀 Note: Remember the output folder you’ve selected, because every time you run Automator, the output will be saved to that folder by default.
Step 3. Save the application
Once you’re done customizing the output format, click File > Save from the top menu bar.
Give your app a name, choose a save location, and click ‘Save.’
Step 4. Convert PDF to DOCX
Open the PDF to the TXT Converter app. Select the PDF file you want to convert and click ‘Choose.’
The document will be automatically converted and saved as a .txt file on your device.
💡Note: Creating a custom app with Mac’s Automator can be time-consuming if you do not have basic technical knowledge.
Read and edit documents faster with Macro
All the above processes let you convert PDFs to Pages for free. The primary aim of this conversion, at least for me, is to edit PDFs comprehensively.
The reality is that PDF editors don’t have the flexibility of DOCX editors, nor are they free (in most cases).
Want to convert your PDF to a Word document and open it in Pages right away?
Download Macro’s free app and get started immediately.