I was in the same situation before. One day I faced that problem to open pdf in word. So i started googling for that solution. Then I found this solution which still working for me. This trick will fix the issue when you cant open pdf in word on mac, when you are unable to open pdf in word on mac etc.

Opening PDFs in Word

Word for Microsoft 365 Word 2021 Word 2019 Word 2016 Word 2013

To open a PDF file without converting it to a Word document, open the file directly wherever it’s stored (for example, double-click the PDF file in your Documents folder).

However, if you want to edit the PDF file, go ahead and open it in Word. Word makes a copy of the PDF, converting it to a Word document and attempting to match layout of the original PDF. You always have the original PDF file, in case you don’t want to keep the version that Word converts.

Converting from PDF to Word works best with files that are mostly text—for example, business, legal, or scientific documents. But when you open a PDF file in Word, it might not look exactly the way it looked as a PDF.

If the PDF contains mostly charts or other graphics, the whole page might show up as an image. When that happens, the text can’t be edited.

Sometimes, Word doesn’t detect an element, and so the Word version doesn’t match the original PDF file. For example, if Word doesn’t recognize a footnote, it treats the footnote as regular text and might not put it at the bottom of the page.

Document elements that don’t convert well

Some elements are known to be problematic when converting from PDF to Word format. If your PDF includes these, you might want to open it directly rather than converting it to a Word document:

• Tables with cell spacing
• Page colors and page borders
• Tracked changes
• Frames
• Footnotes that span more than one page
• Endnotes
• Audio, video, and PDF active elements
• PDF bookmarks
• PDF tags
• PDF comments
• Font effects, like Glow or Shadow (in the Word file, the effects are represented by graphics)

How does conversion work?

PDF is a fixed file format, which means the file stores the location of text, pictures, and vector graphics on a page, but not necessarily the relationships among them. Most PDFs don’t include information about structural content elements, such as paragraphs, tables, or columns. For example, PDF stores a table as a set of lines without any relationship to the content inside the table cells.

Different programs represent the same content using different structures in PDF files. For example, a PDF might contain invisible text, graphics, and images. It might use different text boundaries. But you can’t see those differences when you look at the PDF in a reader.

When you open a PDF file in Word, Word uses a system of complex rules to figure out what Word objects (like headings, lists, tables, etc.) best represent the original PDF and where to put those objects in the Word document.

Other Options

• READING PDF DOCUMENTS

How to Open PDF in Word

Download ArticleMETHODS1Using Word 20132Using Older Word VersionsOTHER SECTIONSQuestions & AnswersTips and WarningsRelated ArticlesAuthor Info

Last Updated: November 1, 2021

Microsoft Word 2013, the most recent version of Word, is the first one that will allow you to natively open and edit PDF files in Word. If you are using Microsoft Word 2013, the process will be fairly simple. If not, though, you will need to use additional software to convert.

Need help creating, merging, or converting PDF files? Try wikiHow’s PDF Toolkit, a free and easy-to-use custom tool to help you be more productive with your documents.https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?npa=1&client=ca-pub-9543332082073187&output=html&h=120&slotname=7672188889&adk=1420845234&adf=1628805645&pi=t.ma~as.7672188889&w=728&lmt=1636113400&psa=1&channel=7020581953%2C7144957968%2C4523983966%2C2001974826&format=728×120&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wikihow.com%2FOpen-PDF-in-Word&flash=0&wgl=1&uach=WyJXaW5kb3dzIiwiOC4wLjAiLCJ4ODYiLCIiLCI5NS4wLjQ2MzguNjkiLFtdLG51bGwsbnVsbCwiNjQiXQ..&dt=1636253509116&bpp=48&bdt=27594&idt=36511&shv=r20211103&mjsv=m202111020101&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3Dcde52b3efe7ed1af-223bb7e1d1cc00b0%3AT%3D1636222923%3ART%3D1636222923%3AS%3DALNI_MYJaVnI5X7_hCFZazJVy6GyH5bwxQ&correlator=1055641042878&frm=20&pv=2&ga_vid=1265401294.1636243363&ga_sid=1636253546&ga_hid=551275319&ga_fc=1&u_tz=60&u_his=1&u_h=768&u_w=1366&u_ah=738&u_aw=1366&u_cd=24&adx=150&ady=523&biw=1349&bih=635&scr_x=0&scr_y=0&eid=31063246%2C21067496&oid=2&pvsid=1429336114924778&pem=647&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F&eae=0&fc=896&brdim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C1366%2C0%2C1366%2C738%2C1366%2C635&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7CpeE%7C&abl=CS&pfx=0&fu=0&bc=31&ifi=1&uci=a!1&fsb=1&xpc=7JLrn2QS3u&p=https%3A//www.wikihow.com&dtd=36779

Method1Using Word 2013

1. 1Open Microsoft Word. Press the Windows key (to the left of the Alt key), type “word,” then press ↵ Enter.
2. 2Click blank document. When you first open Word, you will be presented with a variety of template options and special formatting. For the purpose of this tutorial, though, choose the “blank document” option.
3. 3Click “File.” In the upper-left corner of the window, click on the File tab. This will open up a dropdown menu on the left side of the window with a few different choices.
4. 4Click “Open.” Find and click on the Open option. It should be one of the first choices listed for you. This should open up an additional menu, listing sources from which you can open a document.
5. 5Click the correct source. If the PDF file is on your computer, click Computer. If the PDF file is on a flashdrive or other external drive, click on that drive.
6. 6Select the PDF document. Find and open the correct PDF file from its location on your computer.
7. 7Click “OK” from the dialog box. After opening a PDF, you will be notified that the process may take a while to complete. Depending on the size of the PDF file and the number of graphics in the File, the process will take longer.
   • Be aware that if you do have a large number of graphics, there is a chance that Word will not be able to properly format the document. It will still open, but may not look identical.
8. 8Enable editing. If you downloaded the file from the web, you may be notified that editing is not enabled. This is a security measure that Word takes to prevent your computer from being infected by a virus.
   • If you trust the source, click File in the upper-left corner of the window, then click on “Enable Editing” from inside the yellow box.
9. 9Edit the document. You can start editing the document just like you would any other Word document.
10. 10Navigate the document. Use the arrows on the left and right side of the window to navigate through pages, or scroll just like usual.https://b0fdf9629f0e0d41682ae21e33750bc6.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

Method2Using Older Word Versions

1. 1Download Adobe Acrobat reader. There are online services which will convert your file, but it is difficult to verify the security of those sites. Apart from being a good converting tool, Adobe Acrobat also provides features for marking up documents. Adobe Acrobat Reader does cost money, but you can get around this by downloading a 30-day trial from this link: https://www.acrobat.com/en_us/free-trial-download.html?promoid=KQZBU#. Follow the steps to install the program.
   • You will need to enter in some information such as name, e-mail, and date of birth. Be sure to uncheck the option which notifies you through e-mail about new Adobe products and information. These e-mails can get annoying
   • If you do not want to sign up for an account, or if you have already used a 30 day trial, there are online services which convert your documents for free. Check out https://www.pdftoword.com/ or http://www.pdfonline.com/pdf-to-word-converter/ and follow the instructions on the page. Be aware that there are some security issues with using these online programs.
2. 2Open Acrobat Reader. The process is slightly different depending on if you are Mac or PC user.
   • For PC users:Click the Windows key, type “Acrobat Reader,” then press ↵ Enter.
   • For Mac users:Open Finder from your dashboard, search for “Acrobat Reader in the search box, then open the program.
3. 3Upload a document. To convert a PDF document, you will first need to open a PDF document in Acrobat Reader. On the left side of the window, find and click on “Computer” under the “Storage” header. Then, click on the blue “Browse” button and open up the PDF file.
4. 4Convert the document. This can be done through two different methods. Both will create a Word document from your PDF document.
   • Option 1: Click File in the upper-left of the window. Then, click “Save as Other” from the dropdown menu. Finally, click “Word or Excel Online” from the two options.
     • From the new page opened up, choose your “Convert to” and “Document Language” options. Be sure you are converting to your version of Word and you are using your preferred language. Then, click the blue “Export to Word” button.
   • Option 2: Click the “Export PDF” button on the right side of the window, choose your version of Word, then click the blue “Convert” button.
5. 5Open up your new Word document. Find and open the newly created word document from wherever you decided to save it.

Conclusions

How to Open a PDF in Word for Mac OS X has been viewed and shared more than 500K times and was featured on Forbes and Fast Company! I am grateful to all the people who have subscribed and supported the blog. Thank you so much!