# PDF to Text & Word — Convert PDF to Word on Mac

Get the text out of a PDF as a Word document, plain text or RTF. Scanned pages are read with OCR. Part of OneMacTools, 151 private tools in one native Mac app (macOS 26 or later); category: PDF. Runs on your Mac; nothing is uploaded.

Export a PDF's text into an editable .docx, .rtf or .txt file. Pages that are scans are read with on-device text recognition so nothing is left out.

Page: https://www.onemactools.com/tools/pdf-to-word · Download: https://www.onemactools.com/download · Pricing: https://www.onemactools.com/pricing

## How to use it
1. **Add the PDF.** Drop one or more PDFs onto PDF to Text & Word.
2. **Choose the format.** In the right-hand panel, choose Word (.docx), Plain text (.txt) or Rich text (.rtf).
3. **Decide on OCR.** Leave Read scanned pages with OCR on so pages that are pictures of text are read too.
4. **Convert.** Click Convert. The text of each page is taken out, page by page, into one file per PDF.
5. **Open the document.** The file is saved in a dated folder in Downloads › OneMacTools; open it from there or with Show in Finder.

## Options
- **Save as:** Word (.docx), the default, opens in Word, Pages and Google Docs. Plain text (.txt) gives just the words. Rich text (.rtf) keeps basic styling and opens in TextEdit.
- **Read scanned pages with OCR:** On by default. Pages with little or no real text are read with on-device text recognition, so scans aren't left blank. Turn it off for a faster run on PDFs you know contain only real text.

## Tips
- Choose Plain text when you only need the words, for example to paste into an email or an AI tool; there's no formatting to clean up.
- Expect to tidy multi-column layouts, tables and headers in Word afterwards. The text comes across in reading order, not as a copy of the page design.
- For tables, PDF to Excel rebuilds them cell by cell, which works much better than converting them to Word.
- If you want headings, lists and tables kept as structure, try PDF to Markdown & HTML instead.
- Crooked scans are read more accurately after Straighten & Repair PDF.

## Questions
**How do I convert a PDF to Word on a Mac without uploading it?**
Drop the PDF onto PDF to Text & Word, choose Word (.docx) and click Convert. Everything runs on your Mac, so private documents never leave it.

**Can I convert a PDF to Word without Microsoft Word?**
Yes. The .docx file is created by OneMacTools itself, and you can open it in Pages, Google Docs or Word.

**Does it work on scanned PDFs?**
Yes. With Read scanned pages with OCR on, pages that are pictures of text are read with on-device text recognition, so nothing is left out.

**Will the layout be identical?**
No. The text and its basic styling come across for editing; columns, tables and floating images usually need tidying in Word.

**How do I copy all the text out of a PDF?**
Choose Plain text (.txt) and click Convert. You get every page's text in one file, ready to copy.

**Can I convert several PDFs at once?**
Yes. Drop them all in and each one becomes its own document.