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How to Fix PDF Converting to Garbled Text in Word
Question details
The user is experiencing an issue where converting a PDF to Word results in unreadable, machine-like text on a new laptop.
- Product
- PDF to Word Converter
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Converting a PDF document to a Word DOCX file using an export tool on a newly setup device.
- Observed behavior
- The resulting Word document displays garbled, unreadable characters instead of the original English text, despite the exact same software working fine on an older machine.
Before troubleshooting, try opening the original PDF in a standard PDF reader to ensure the text is selectable and not an image, and test converting a different PDF to see if the issue is document-specific.
Test Conversion with a Different PDF File
Determine if the garbled text issue is isolated to a single problematic document or affects all PDF conversions on your new laptop.
Often, garbled text occurs because the specific PDF has corrupted font encodings or missing font subsets that the new laptop does not recognize. Testing a different file isolates the root cause.
Choose a different PDF file that contains standard English text, preferably one created from a standard Word document.
Process this new test file through your PDF to Word conversion software exactly as you did with the problematic file.
Open the newly created Word document. If the text is perfectly readable, the issue lies within the font embedding of your original PDF.
Use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to Extract Text
If the original PDF has missing font subsets or encoding errors, using OCR can bypass the corrupted font layer by reading the visual text directly.
Convert PDF to Word Accurately with WPS Office
Avoid garbled text, missing fonts, and encoding errors by using the advanced WPS PDF to Word tool. It accurately preserves original formatting, layouts, and font encodings to give you an editable document instantly.
- 1. Open WPS Office: Launch the WPS Office desktop application and click on the 'PDF' tab from the main dashboard.
- 2. Open the Problematic PDF: Click 'Open' and select the PDF file that was previously resulting in unreadable text on your computer.
- 3. Select PDF to Word: Navigate to the 'Tools' tab on the top ribbon and click on the 'PDF to Word' conversion button.
- 4. Convert and Save: Choose your desired output folder, adjust any language settings if prompted, and click 'Start' to generate a perfectly formatted Word document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my PDF turn into weird symbols when converted to Word?
This usually happens due to missing font subsets, incorrect character encoding in the original PDF, or the conversion software failing to map the original PDF fonts to the standard system fonts installed on your computer.
Can missing system fonts on a new laptop cause garbled text in Word?
Yes. If the original PDF used a custom font that wasn't properly embedded into the file, your new laptop might attempt to substitute it with an incompatible system font, resulting in machine-like or unreadable characters.
How do I fix encoding issues in a PDF before converting it?
You can try opening the PDF in a browser or PDF reader and using the 'Print to PDF' feature. This creates a flattened version of the document, which often resolves underlying font encoding errors before you attempt to convert it to Word.
Will OCR fix garbled text in my PDF conversion?
Yes, using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) treats the PDF text as an image and reads the visual characters directly. This completely bypasses the corrupted font encoding layer that causes garbled text during standard conversion.
