How to Convert a Word File to PDF on Mac?

What is PDF (Portable Document Format)?

PDF is a file format created by Adobe that is used for the electronic exchange of information, including text, fonts, images, tables, hyperlinks, and graphics within a document, without losing formatting and original layout. It is highly compressed, allowing complex information to be downloaded efficiently. To view PDF files, you can download the official Adobe Acrobat Reader software or its web browser plug-in. You can access the web at

How to Convert a Word File to PDF on Mac?

Using Google Docs

To convert PDF documents using Google Docs, it is necessary to perform some simple manipulations. First, you need to go to Google Docs and sign in with your Google account. Next, click the Download button and select the desired PDF file. After that, you need to save it in text format.

To do this, call the context menu and click on the “Download as…” item. In the second window that opens, select the desired format. Microsoft Word on this list will be first. As a result, the converted file will appear on Mac in the specified folder and can be edited at your discretion.

Copy Text from a PDF Document

Few people know that the text of a PDF document can be simply copied and pasted into a text editor. To do this, you will need to perform the following steps: Open the PDF file on Mac in Preview.

With the mouse cursor, select the text to be copied and press the key combination Command + C. Open a text editor, be it Microsoft Word, Pages or any other, at your discretion and press the key combination Command + V. In order to copy all text from a PDF document, you can use the key combination Command + A.

Export a PDF file to text format with Adobe

Adobe offers paid solutions, but one of the easiest and most understandable for converting various formats. Its web app lets you convert PDF files to DOC, DOCX, RTF, or Excel XLSX on mac OS, iOS, Windows, and even Linux.

However, despite all the comforts, the annual price seems quite high. And if the user does not need to convert files several times a day, it is worth thinking twice before subscribing.

Extract text from a PDF file with a special online tool for macOS

This method consists of converting a PDF file into a text document. A specially designed program will help you extract text from a PDF document into RTF or TXT format, which you can then manually save in Word DOC or DOCX.

To extract text from a PDF, you’ll need to open your program of choice on the Mac and create a new workflow, program, or service. Find “Extract PDF text” in the task list and drag it to the workspace.

Next, a dialog box opens with the ability to set various parameters for extracting and saving text. At this point, you can select the saved text option: plain or formatted (RTF). Drag the required PDF file to the workspace and click the Start button at the top of the application window. After a few seconds, a text document with the extracted text appears in the specified save folder.