[ILL-L] Converting pdf to word

[Joe Ellison]

Adobe Acrobat (the full version, not the reader) will export a pdf to 
a Word file. A couple of caveats, though--1) if the pdf was mostly 
graphics, those will not be editable (some I've done weren't even 
viewable except in print preview and 2) the exported document is 
actually in rtf (rich-text format), meaning that some, but not all, 
of the formatting is retained. They are, however, fully editable.

Most read-only Word files can be converted to read/write by using 
"save as" to save them to a new file name. Sometimes you can change 
them by simply right-clicking on the file name (in the My Documents 
window, Windows Explorer, whatever your favorite way of viewing your 
file/folder contents is), selecting properties, and deselecting the 
read-only check box.

Joe Ellison
Document Delivery and Digital Initiatives Assistant, Transportation 
Library (OCLC symbol JCR)
Northwestern University Library, 1970 Campus Dr.
Evanston, IL  60208-2300
phone: (847)491-8600, fax: (847)491-8601
j-ellison at northwestern.edu
ARIEL: 129.105.19.35 or staff019035.library.northwestern.edu

At 09:39 AM 7/10/2008, you wrote:
>Thank you!  You are all so helpful!
>
>btw this was a general faculty question, not having to do with ILL
>really.  I just knew you all are a wealth of knowledge so I used you as
>my personal wikipedia.
>
>:)
>
>holly
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org
>[mailto:ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Megan Bayonet
>Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 10:33 AM
>To: 'Interlibrary Loan Listserv'
>Subject: RE: [ILL-L] Converting pdf to word
>
>I think that's probably pretty close to a miracle.  The whole idea
>behind a PDF file is that it's an uneditable file type.  If the document
>you're trying to convert doesn't have too much formatting, you can copy
>and paste the text into a word document (this works better sometimes
>than others and I'm absolutely not sure about the legality of it).
>
>
>Megan Bayonet
>Interlibrary Loan Coordinator
>mbayonet at mbc.edu
>540-887-7317
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org
>[mailto:ill-l-bounces at webjunction.org]
>On Behalf Of Klump, Holly
>Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 10:29 AM
>To: Interlibrary Loan Listserv
>Subject: RE: [ILL-L] Converting pdf to word
>
>Thank you!
>
>Is there a way to convert the pdf to a word file that you can edit...as
>in not read only?  Or is that asking for a miracle?
>
>holly
>
><snip>