PDF Conversion Issues

How to Fix Question Marks When Converting PDF to Word or Excel

Huda Qurayshi Oct 22, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user encounters garbled text, specifically black diamonds with question marks, when exporting a PDF to Word or Excel.

How to Fix Question Marks When Converting PDF to Word or Excel

Product: PDF Converter
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Converting a PDF document containing readable text and charts into editable Word or Excel files.
Observed behavior: The exported Word and Excel files display black diamonds with question marks instead of the original letters and numbers, even though the source PDF looks fine.

Before you start

Before converting your PDF, attempt to highlight the text in the document. If the text cannot be highlighted, the file is likely an image-based scan, which will require an OCR-enabled conversion tool to extract the characters properly.

Solution 1Recommended

Recreate the PDF with Embedded Fonts

Garbled text and question marks often occur because the original PDF uses custom fonts that were not properly embedded into the file.

When a PDF relies on system fonts rather than embedded fonts, the conversion tool may fail to recognize the characters, replacing them with black diamonds and question marks. If you have access to the original source file, recreating the PDF with embedded fonts is the most effective solution.

Open the Original Source Document

Open the original file (e.g., in Word, InDesign, or a web browser) from which the PDF was initially created.

Access PDF Export Settings

Navigate to 'File' > 'Save As' or 'Print', and select the PDF format. Before saving, look for 'Options', 'Preferences', or 'Properties'.

Enable Font Embedding

Locate the font settings and check the box that says 'Embed all fonts' or 'Subset embedded fonts'. Save the new PDF.

Retry the Conversion

Upload or open this newly created PDF in your converter tool and export it to Word or Excel again.

Ensuring Compatibility: Using universally supported standard fonts (like Arial, Times New Roman, or Calibri) in the original document can further prevent conversion errors.

Solution 2

Use an OCR-Enabled PDF Converter

If the PDF is a scanned document, standard converters cannot read the text without Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology.

Convert PDFs Flawlessly

Use WPS Office for Accurate PDF to Office Conversions

WPS Office features an advanced built-in PDF converter equipped with high-precision OCR technology. It seamlessly processes scanned documents, unsupported fonts, and complex text encodings to ensure your Word and Excel files are generated flawlessly without question marks or garbled text.

1. Open PDF in WPS Office: Launch WPS Office and open your problematic PDF file.
2. Select Conversion Tool: Navigate to the 'Tools' tab on the top ribbon and click on 'PDF to Word' or 'PDF to Excel'.
3. Configure OCR Settings: If the PDF is a scanned image, the system will prompt you to use OCR. Select the correct document language.
4. Start Conversion: Click the 'Convert' button. The converted file will automatically open in WPS Writer or WPS Spreadsheet, free of question marks.

Industry-leading OCR technology for accurate text recognitionPerfectly retains original formatting, charts, and table structuresHighly compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx) and Excel (.xlsx) formatsAll-in-one suite to edit converted documents instantly

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do black diamonds with question marks appear in my converted Word document?

These symbols appear when the converter software encounters garbled text encoding, missing fonts, or OCR recognition failures, preventing it from translating the PDF data into readable alphanumeric characters.

Can I recover the garbled text directly in Microsoft Word or Excel?

Generally, no. Once the conversion process replaces the text with question marks, the original text data is lost in that specific output file. You must resolve the encoding or font issue in the PDF and convert it again.

Why did the charts and images convert correctly but not the text?

Charts and images are handled as graphical elements during conversion, which do not rely on text encoding or font libraries. Therefore, they remain intact even when text recognition fails.

How do I know if my PDF requires OCR for conversion?

Try highlighting a single word in your PDF using your cursor. If the entire page highlights blue instead of individual letters, or if you cannot select text at all, the document is an image-based scan that requires OCR.

PDF Troubleshooting