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How to Fix Squares Instead of Text After PDF to Word Conversion
Question details
Users see square boxes or garbled symbols instead of readable text in their Word document after converting it from a PDF file.
- Product
- PDF Converters / Microsoft Word
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Converting a PDF document into an editable Microsoft Word document.
- Observed behavior
- The resulting Word file displays squares instead of the original text. This is typically caused by missing fonts, damaged encoding, or attempting to convert a scanned image without Optical Character Recognition (OCR).
Open the original PDF file and try to highlight a few words with your cursor. If you cannot select the text, your PDF is a scanned image and will require an OCR-enabled converter to extract the text properly.
Enable Optical Character Recognition (OCR) During Conversion
Use this solution if your PDF is a scanned document or an image. Standard conversion tools cannot read images, so they output squares or garbled formatting unless OCR is used to detect the text.
OCR technology analyzes images and translates them into editable text. If your PDF was created from a physical scanner, standard text extraction will fail.
Launch a PDF to Word converter application that includes OCR capabilities, such as Adobe Acrobat or WPS Office.
Import the PDF file that is causing the square box issue into the conversion tool.
Navigate to the conversion settings or options menu and check the box to 'Recognize Text' or 'Enable OCR'.
Ensure the correct document language is selected, then click 'Convert' to generate a readable Word document without square symbols.
Fix Unsupported Fonts or Encoding Errors
Use this solution if the PDF contains selectable text, but the conversion still yields squares. This indicates that the original document uses proprietary or missing fonts.
Convert PDF to Word Flawlessly with WPS Office
WPS Office includes a premium PDF converter equipped with highly accurate OCR technology. It effortlessly recognizes text in scanned documents and handles complex font encodings, ensuring your PDFs convert to Word perfectly without missing text or square symbols.
- 1. Open WPS Office: Launch the WPS Office application and click on the 'PDF' tab on the home screen.
- 2. Select PDF to Word: Choose the 'PDF to Word' tool from the available PDF processing options.
- 3. Add your file: Drag and drop the problematic PDF into the converter window.
- 4. Configure conversion settings: If the file is scanned, select the OCR option from the settings panel to ensure text is accurately recognized.
- 5. Convert and open: Click the 'Convert' button. Once finished, WPS will automatically open the error-free Word document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do squares appear instead of letters in my converted Word document?
Squares appear when Microsoft Word cannot read the text encoding from the converted file. This is usually caused by the original PDF using custom fonts that are not installed on your computer, damaged font encoding during the creation of the PDF, or attempting to convert a scanned image without utilizing OCR technology.
How do I know if I need OCR to convert my PDF?
Try to select or highlight the text in the original PDF using your mouse. If the text highlights line by line, it is a text-based document. If the entire page highlights as a single block or you cannot highlight individual words, it is an image and requires OCR for successful conversion.
Will installing the missing fonts fix the squares?
Yes, if the issue is solely due to unsupported fonts. Identifying the exact font used in the PDF's document properties and installing it on your operating system will allow Microsoft Word to render the text correctly, replacing the squares with the proper letters.
