PDF Conversion Issues

Fix Squares Appearing Instead of Letters When Exporting PDF to Word

Rana Garcia Oct 18, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user's exported Microsoft Word document displays unreadable square boxes instead of alphabetical letters when converted from a PDF.

How to Fix Squares Appearing Instead of Letters After Exporting PDF to Word

Product: PDF Converter / Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Exporting or converting a PDF document into an editable Microsoft Word document format.
Observed behavior: The resulting Word document shows square symbols in place of letters, which occurs because the PDF uses embedded fonts or encoding that Word cannot map correctly.

Before you start

Before attempting fixes, open the original PDF to verify if the text is selectable. This helps determine whether you need font adjustments or OCR technology to resolve the issue.

Solution 1Recommended

Change to a Standard Unicode Font in Word

This is the quickest fix if the text was correctly converted but is currently mapped to a missing or unsupported font in Microsoft Word.

Often, the conversion retains the text content but assigns it a font that your system does not recognize. Changing the font forces Word to use a standard encoding map.

Select the unreadable text

Open the converted document in Microsoft Word. Press Ctrl + A to select all the text, or highlight the specific sections displaying the square boxes.

Apply a common Unicode font

Go to the Home tab on the ribbon. Click the Font dropdown menu and select a widely supported Unicode font such as Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman.

Quick Check: If the letters immediately become legible, the issue was simply a missing local font.

Solution 2

Ensure Fonts are Embedded in the Source PDF

If the PDF uses custom or proprietary fonts, embedding them before conversion prevents character mapping errors.

Solution 3

Run OCR (Optical Character Recognition) Before Exporting

Ideal for scanned documents or image-based PDFs where text is not directly selectable.

Advanced PDF Tools

Convert PDF to Word Without Font Errors Using WPS Office

Avoid font mapping issues, missing characters, and square symbols by using the built-in PDF to Word converter in WPS Office. It accurately preserves text encoding, complex layouts, and features highly accurate OCR for scanned files.

1. Open WPS Office: Launch WPS Office and click on the 'PDF' tab from the main dashboard.
2. Open the problematic PDF: Select and open the PDF document you need to convert to Word.
3. Select PDF to Word: Navigate to the 'Tools' tab in the top ribbon and click on 'PDF to Word'.
4. Convert with High Fidelity: Choose your output preferences (such as retaining page layout) and click 'Start' to export a clean, readable Word document without square boxes.

Highly accurate PDF to Word conversion without missing fonts or encoding errorsBuilt-in OCR technology extracts text from scanned PDFs flawlesslyFully compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx) formatsLightweight, fast, and easy to use on Windows, Mac, and mobile

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do missing fonts cause square boxes in Microsoft Word?

When Word encounters text formatted with a font that is neither installed on your system nor properly embedded in the document, it cannot process the character encoding. As a fallback, it displays placeholder square boxes.

Does the original PDF creation software affect the conversion quality?

Yes. If the PDF was generated using non-standard encoding or custom fonts without embedding them, most PDF-to-Word converters will struggle to accurately render the text, resulting in garbled text or symbols.

Can I fix the square symbols if I don't have access to the original PDF?

Yes. If the text is selectable in the converted Word document, simply highlighting the square boxes and changing the font to a standard Unicode font like Arial or Times New Roman will often restore the readable letters.

PDF Troubleshooting