Question 1

How to convert a PDF to Word and keep the formatting

Accepted Answer

Microsoft Word converts PDFs itself: File → Open, choose the PDF, and accept the prompt. Google Docs does the same through Drive. Both rebuild single-column text well and struggle with multi-column layouts, text boxes and tables. If nothing is editable afterwards, the PDF is a scan and needs OCR first.

Question 2

How to tell if a PDF is searchable, and make it so

Accepted Answer

Press Ctrl+F and search for a word you can see on the page. If it is not found, try to select the text with your mouse. If the cursor only draws a rectangle instead of highlighting words, the PDF is image-only and needs OCR to become searchable.

PDF to Word

Guides that use this tool