The most common errors you may encounter when converting PDF to Word

Converting a PDF to a Word document offers up a world of possibilities, allowing you to alter and rework previously uneditable text. Changing the file type, especially when using a top-tier PDF to Word conversion tool, will save you time and frustration regardless of the type of changes you need to make.

If you're given a massive paper file that has to be reviewed and changed, scanning it and converting it to Word is the most practical way to turn it into an editable document.

If your team is preparing to send a PDF proposal to a client and you notice a last-minute typo, rapidly convert it to Word, make the required adjustments, review it, and then convert it back to PDF and send it to the client.

If you're a book publisher who gets manuscripts in a variety of formats, you'll need a uniform method for converting them to Word so you can format the book and get it ready for galleys.

These are just a few examples of how a PDF to Word conversion tool might be useful. There are a plethora of different instances where file conversion will make your life easier.

Now that we've persuaded you that PDF to Word conversion software is the greatest thing since sliced bread, we must confess that not all conversions are flawless. Although they're usually quite close, one disadvantage of converting PDF to Word is that even the finest software occasionally makes slight mistakes.

Let's imagine you're working on a 100,000-word book and you're utilising a PDF to Word conversion application that promises 99.9% accuracy. This means that one out of every 1,000 words may contain an error. A huge problem will definitely arise if you publish your manuscript with 100 small mistakes.

Conversion problems can manifest themselves in a variety of ways, from minor font irregularities to major misspellings or distorted visuals. While conversion errors are usually uncommon and minor in the broad scheme of things, it's crucial to be aware of and avoid a few of the most common sorts. If you're aware of what to look for, catching and correcting them should be simple.

The following are five common conversion errors to watch out for when reviewing a converted file:

Font Problems

Optical character recognition (OCR) software is frequently used in PDF to Word conversion applications to determine how words and figures fit together. They're made to read and convert a wide range of different fonts. As a result, new fonts are generated and adjusted on a regular basis.

Over the last few years, OCR software has improved dramatically in terms of accuracy. Despite these significant developments, however, OCR software is still far from flawless.

It's unlikely that you'll have any problems if you use Times New Roman 12 point font throughout. However, employing only boring fonts isn't entertaining. If you combine Lobster, Pacifico, and Anton in your text, it will undoubtedly be more dynamic and entertaining, but you may be more prone to typeface issues when converting from PDF to Word.

Disjointed Letters and Numbers

OCR software, in addition to typeface mistakes, can cause a variety of other minor faults. Letters or numerals are sometimes mistranslated, especially when deciphering lower quality scanned materials.

The capital letter "O," for example, might be confused with the number "0." Lowercase "l," capital "I," and number "1" can all seem the same depending on the font. It's easy to get a lowercase "b" and a number "6" mixed up.

To add to the confusion, certain scanned PDFs can combine two letters into one or split one letter into two. For example, the software could divide a "w" erroneously into "vv." The infamous squiggly red line under the supposedly misspelt word is frequently displayed by your Word Document spell check feature when it detects egregiously misspelt terms. However, relying just on Word spell check is a risky game that should be avoided.

Wrong Words

If a term is misspelt in an illogical fashion due to fragmented letters, Word's spell-check tool should display the notorious red squiggly line beneath the misspelt word — which is really good news in this case.

Let's take our earlier example when a PDF conversion software misread a "w" as "vv." The word "lower" was used in the original document, but "lovver" is displayed in the transformed document. You didn't mean to say "lovver" or "lover," as a quick review of the text will reveal; you wanted to say "lower." Correct manually and you're set to go. The vast majority of text-based spelling problems should be highlighted by word spell check.

Unfortunately, spell check isn't perfect, and it shouldn't be used in place of rigorous proofreading. If "lovver" or "lover" is unintentionally displayed instead of "lower" anyplace in your document, you and your publisher will look dumb.

Bold, Underline and Italics Errors

To emphasise titles, names, essential points, and more, use bold, underline, and italics. They aren't used at random by writers; they have a specific purpose.

It's a problem if the text you highlighted in a specific method doesn't convert appropriately. Bold, underlined, and italicised text may be misinterpreted by OCR conversions as a different typeface or even altogether new characters.

For OCR software, modified typography can be a stumbling block. It's a good idea to double-check your beautiful typography and make sure your fonts and styles are displaying correctly.

Hyphenation Confusion

The majority of conventional manuscripts employ "justified alignment," which means that the text spans the entire page. This differs from "left alignment," which means that if a word doesn't fit on the same line, it will automatically move to the next. This blog article is oriented to the left for reference.

The text is neatly shown in a box-like shape rather than having the right column irregularly dispersed based on where the last word on the line finishes, which has aesthetic advantages.

One of the tactics justified alignment employs to accomplish this is hyphenating words on the first line that don't quite fit in with the rest of the text. Justified alignment merely hyphenates words in between syllables, yet that's enough to cause file conversion problems. Unnatural hyphenations can appear in the middle of a line on the converted file if Word page settings (such as gutter width or line spacing) aren't equal to the source PDF document.

You can use the CTRL+F (command+F on Macs) capability to find all hyphens and eliminate the ones that aren't needed. You don't have to be concerned about hyphen typos because they're easy to spot, but you should be mindful of the potential for embarrassment.

Bottom Line

We want to remind you, now that you've read a comprehensive list of conversion problems, that PDF to Word conversion software has vastly improved over the previous decade. Characters, typefaces, spacing, and pictures are all easily deciphered by the best converting software. They work at a level of precision that exceeds 99 per cent (DocFly is one such tool). Any of the aforementioned faults are unlikely to destroy your document or give you severe problems.

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