You probably know you can create and edit documents with Google Docs, but you can edit more than just .doc files. Google Drive can also convert PDF files and images of text to editable files through Google Docs. Here’s how.
In our example, we’ll convert a PDF file to editable text. First, open a web browser and log in to your Google Drive account. Then, drag the PDF file you want to convert into your Google Drive account on the browser window.
A dialog box displays the progress of the upload and when the upload is complete. Click the “X” on the dialog box to close it.
Right-click on the PDF file in the file list and select Open With > Google Docs.
The PDF file is converted to a Google Doc containing editable text.
Notice that the Google Docs version of the file still has the .pdf extension on it, so the files have the same name in the list. However, the Google Docs file has a different icon than the PDF file.
You can then convert the Google Doc to a Microsoft Word file that you can download or continue to work with online in your Google Drive account.
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You can convert an image file containing text the same way. You’ll end up with a Google Docs file containing the image at the beginning, followed by the text extracted from the image in an editable form. The results of conversions from images files are generally not as good as from PDF files, though.
Whether you’re converting a PDF file or an image file, the layout is not preserved well. Notice that the Section 1 heading from our original file becomes part of the first paragraph in both the PDF file and image file examples.
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How to Convert a Google Docs Document to Microsoft Office Format
How to Work with Microsoft Office Files in Google Drive
