Fixed layout versus editable structure
PDF stores where things sit on a page; DOCX, Markdown and HTML store what the content means. That difference explains almost every quirk of document conversion. Going from structure to PDF is reliable, because the converter simply decides on a layout. Going the other way is interpretation, so headings, tables and columns come back approximately rather than perfectly.
If a document is still being written, keep it in DOCX or Markdown. Export to PDF only when it is final.
Scanned PDFs and the text layer
A PDF produced by a word processor contains a real text layer, and extracting it to TXT, Markdown or HTML is exact. A PDF produced by a scanner or a phone camera contains only pictures of text, and no amount of conversion will find words that were never stored — those files need optical character recognition first.
Supported document converter formats
- DOCX
- DOC
- TXT
- RTF
- ODT
- HTML
- Markdown
Frequently asked questions
Can I convert a PDF back to Word?
- Yes. PDF to DOCX runs through our conversion backend because it needs full layout reconstruction; the file is deleted immediately after the result is returned.
Will my formatting survive?
- Headings, lists, bold and italics carry across reliably. Multi-column layouts, footnotes and complex tables are simplified.
Is there a page limit?
- No page limit, only the 100 MB per-file size ceiling.