File Format & Compatibility

How to Fix Unusual Text or Language Displayed in Microsoft Word

Elise Williams Oct 8, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to fix a Microsoft Word document that is displaying unusual text, strange symbols, or incorrect language formatting, likely resulting from a flawed PDF conversion, image-based source, or corrupted file.

Fix Unusual Text or Language Displayed in Microsoft Word

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Opening a Word document or converting a scanned PDF into an editable Word file.
Observed behavior: The text inside the document is unreadable, displays random symbols instead of standard characters, or shows an incorrect language format.

Before you start

Verify if the original source document was a scanned PDF or an image file, and ensure you have a backup copy of the original file before attempting to repair or convert it again.

Solution 1Recommended

Use OCR for Scanned PDFs and Image Documents

Use this solution if your Word document was converted from a scanned PDF. Standard conversion tools cannot read images, so Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is required.

If a PDF contains only scanned images, converting it directly to Word will often result in uneditable pictures or scrambled text. OCR technology analyzes the shapes of the letters in an image and translates them into standard, editable text.

Check the original PDF

Open the original PDF file in your PDF reader. Try to highlight a single word using your cursor. If you can only select the entire page, the file is an image-based PDF.

Open an OCR-enabled PDF editor

Launch a PDF conversion tool equipped with OCR capabilities, such as Adobe Acrobat or WPS Office.

Run the OCR tool

Navigate to the 'Tools' menu and select 'Recognize Text' or 'OCR'. Allow the software to scan the document and extract the text.

Export to Microsoft Word

Once the text is recognized, click 'File', choose 'Export To', and select 'Microsoft Word Document' to save the new, readable file.

Use OCR for Scanned PDFs and Image Documents

OCR Accuracy: The accuracy of OCR depends heavily on the quality of the original scan. Ensure the scanned image is clear and high-contrast for the best text recognition results.

Solution 2

Repair a Damaged Word Document

Apply this fix if the original PDF displays perfectly normal text, but the resulting Word document shows gibberish or unusual formatting due to file corruption.

Seamless PDF Conversion

Convert Scanned PDFs Accurately with WPS Office

Avoid scrambled text and strange formatting errors by using the built-in OCR and PDF to Word conversion tools in WPS Office. It effortlessly recognizes text from scanned documents, ensuring your output files are highly accurate and easily editable.

1. Open PDF to Word Tool: Launch WPS Office, go to the 'Tools' tab, and click on 'PDF to Word'.
2. Import Your PDF: Drag and drop your scanned PDF file into the conversion window, or click 'Add Files' to select it from your computer.
3. Enable OCR: Check the 'OCR' option in the settings menu to ensure the software actively scans and extracts text from images.
4. Start Conversion: Click the 'Start' button. Once finished, WPS Office will automatically open the accurately converted Word document.

Advanced OCR technology accurately extracts text from scanned PDFs and images.Maintains the original document layout and formatting during conversion.Fully compatible with Microsoft Word formats like .doc and .docx.Lightweight software with an intuitive, all-in-one interface.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my Word document look like random symbols?

This typically occurs when a scanned PDF is converted to Word without using Optical Character Recognition (OCR), when a document is opened with the wrong text encoding, or if the file itself has become corrupted.

How can I tell if my PDF is a scanned image?

Open the PDF in any standard viewer and attempt to highlight a single word or sentence with your mouse. If you cannot select individual words and instead drag a box over the entire page, the PDF is image-based.

Can incorrect language settings cause weird text display?

Yes. If the document was created using a different keyboard layout or language pack that is not installed on your computer, Word may substitute missing characters with boxes or strange symbols. Installing the correct language pack in your OS or Word settings can resolve this.

Document & File Issues