How to convert PDF to Word on Mac: Easiest Methods

Productivity Boost

Jackson Kustec

jackson@macro.com

Published: Sat Oct 07 2023

Converting a PDF to a Word document has two main advantages – it makes the editing process easy and lets you onboard teammates.

In this guide, I explain how to convert PDF to Word on Mac with Mac’s Preview and Automator app.

But before that, I talk about an all-in-one PDF and Word editor tool, Macro, that lets you convert PDF files to Word documents easily.

How to change PDF to Word on Mac?

Emma, a marketing manager, has to update an old whitepaper for an upcoming trade show.

Unfortunately, the only available copy is a PDF; the original Word file is missing.

Instead of editing the PDF with an editor, she converts it to Word for easy editing and team collaboration.

After the update, the document aligns with new branding and includes current data.

The Word conversion makes the process quick and efficient, allowing Emma to meet her tight deadline. 😉

Here’s how you can do the same with Macro 👇

Let me now explain other conversion methods with this step-by-step guide 👇

Method 1. Converting PDF to Word on Mac with Macro

Macro is a PDF and Word editor that lets you edit, annotate, merge, and split PDFs.

But that’s not all – with this software, you can convert PDFs to Word documents offline and for free.

Here’s a short process to convert PDF to Word on Mac with Macro 👇

Step 1. Opening PDF in Macro

After downloading the app, click the ‘Open a PDF or DOCX file’ button inside Macro.

Select the PDF you want to convert to Word. Press ‘return’ on your Mac’s keyboard or click ‘Open.’

Step 2. Making changes to the PDF

Want to make changes to your PDF before saving it as a Word document? Mac lets you do it easily.

This feature-rich platform lets you edit, split, merge, and do several PDF-related tasks before converting the file.

Here are some of the features you can find in Macro 👇

Key Feature 1. Editing PDF before saving

Macro gives you extensive editing options to make changes to your PDFs. To edit a PDF, click the ‘Edit’ icon on Macro’s top-left menu bar.

Here are some functionalities the Macro editing feature offers:

Add a text box anywhere on the PDF to take notes or add additional information. You can change font style, increase or decrease font size, bold or italicize it, and change the font color you add in the text box.
Add shapes to your PDF – rectangles, circles, or triangles of different colors and sizes.
Add page numbers to PDFs and increase navigability.
Draw or type your e-signature and sign PDFs securely.
Watermark or redact text to secure PDFs and protect sensitive information.
Add header and footer to your PDF.
Comment on and bookmark pages to let your team know about what’s important.

Key Feature 2. Merging or splitting PDFs

Lawyers, students, and other business professionals often need to split or merge PDFs, and Macro lets you do it easily.

Macro’s organize feature enables you to merge multiple PDFs into one.

To do so, click the ‘Add Files’ button, select the PDF you want to merge with the existing one, and Macro will do the rest.

It also lets you export pages to a new file and split a PDF into two or more documents.

Key Feature 3. Macro’s AI capabilities

Macro comes with AI capabilities that help automate repetitive tasks and more.

Macro AI’s hero feature is the error detection functionality.

When you upload a PDF in Macro, the tool spots errors in your PDF and suggests the right course of action to rectify mistakes.

Apart from error detection, the AI can:

Summarize long PDFs
Look up internal PDF documents
Answer PDF-related questions
Auto-complete paragraphs
Rewrite sections

Step 3. Converting PDF to Word on Macro

After making changes to your PDF, from the top-right corner, click the ‘Save’ icon and select ‘Save As.’

This will open a ‘Save As’ box asking you for the document’s name to select the save location and format in which you want to save the file.

Click the format drop-down and select Microsoft Word .

The file extension automatically changes when you click the Word document.

Finally, click on ‘Save,’ and you’re done.

Method 2. Convert PDF to Word on Mac using Preview

Mac comes with a built–in app called ‘Preview’ that lets you open PDFs and convert them to Word documents.

Unfortunately, there’s no direct way to do it.

You must copy and paste the PDF content to Mac’s Pages app and then convert it into a PDF.

The method is efficient if your PDF is text-based, but you will face problems when you have images in there.

Follow these steps to convert PDF to Word on Mac using the Preview app:

Open the PDF file in the Mac’s Preview app.
Copy the PDF content you want to convert into Word.
Open the Pages app on Mac and paste the copied content into a new document.
Make your edits, and save the file as DOCX. To do so, go to File > Export To > Word.

Method 3. Turn PDF files into DOCX using Google Docs

Converting a PDF file into DOCX with Google Docs is better than the Preview app method.

Why?

You don’t have to copy and paste content from PDF to Word manually.

Here’s how the process works:

Upload the PDF to Google Drive.
Open the PDF and click ‘Open with Google Docs.’ Your PDF will automatically convert into a DOCX file.
To download the Word file, click File > Download > Microsoft Word (.docx) .

Method 4. Transform PDF to Word with Automator

Automator is a built–in macOS application that lets you automate repetitive tasks like changing file names or resizing images.

One of its functions is to make changes to PDFs, and here, we will use that to convert PDFs to Word documents.

Like the Preview app, Automator can’t convert PDF directly to Word.

The logic behind both these processes remains the same. The only difference is Automator copy-pastes the PDF content automatically.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to understand this better:

Search for Automator in Mac’s finder and launch it.
A window will open, asking you to choose a type for your document. Choose ‘Workflow .’
In the right-hand side section, drag and drop the PDF you want to convert into Word.
From the left-hand side menu, go to Library > PDFs .
Double-click or drag and drop the ‘Extract PDF Text function’ to the right-hand side space.
To keep the document formatting intact, select output as Rich text .
Automator also lets you add a header and footer to the Word document before saving.
Select where you want to save the file in Mac and click on the ‘run’ icon from the right-side top menu.

And that’s it!

❗Spoiler alert: I ran this method and didn't get the desired result. The document's formatting was wrong…

Here’s what I got:

The method is only suitable for exporting plain text from PDFs.

Read and edit documents faster with Macro

When converting a PDF to Word, the PDF must retain its formatting .

The PDF often loses its format with Mac's Preview and Automator apps, and both processes are only suitable for extracting text.

Want to convert a PDF into Word and keep the formatting intact?

Download the free Macro app and get started today!