Efficiently Convert PDF to Word in Python (DOC & DOCX) [Simple Guide]

PDF (Portable Document Format) is widely used for sharing documents because of its consistent appearance across devices, but editing a PDF directly can be frustrating. Converting it into an editable Word document (DOC or DOCX) makes formatting and modifications much easier. In this article, you’ll learn how to convert PDF to Word in Python, from basic DOC/DOCX conversion to adding custom document properties like title, author, and tags. Let’s check it out!

This tutorial uses the Spire.PDF for Python library, which you can download from the official website or install via PyPI:

pip install Spire.PDF

Benefits of Converting PDF to Word

Converting a PDF into a Word document offers several advantages in everyday work:

• Easier editing and formatting – PDFs are designed for reading and printing, not for making changes. Editing them directly can be cumbersome and often produces poor results. By converting a PDF to Word, you can freely add, remove, or modify text, adjust formatting, and apply styles as needed.

• Better collaboration – Word documents are ideal for team editing and co-authoring. Many collaboration platforms support real-time updates, making it easy for multiple people to work on the same file. To take advantage of these features, a PDF must first be converted to Word.

• Simplified data extraction – Sometimes you need to pull specific text or data from a PDF. Once converted to Word, extracting the required information becomes much easier, allowing for further processing or analysis.

Converting PDF to Word (DOC and DOCX) in Python Directly

The PdfDocument class represents a PDF file, and its LoadFromFile() method can be used to load a PDF from a file path. Once loaded, you can call the SaveToFile() method of the PdfDocument class to export the PDF into other formats such as DOC, DOCX, HTML, or SVG. When using SaveToFile(), simply provide the output path along with the desired FileFormat enumeration value as parameters.

The process involves the following steps:

• Import the required modules.

• Create an instance of the PdfDocument class.

• Load the PDF file using the LoadFromFile() method.

• Convert the PDF to a DOC or DOCX Word file using the SaveToFile() method.

from spire.pdf import PdfDocument
from spire.pdf import FileFormat

# Create an instance of the PdfDocument class
pdf = PdfDocument()

# Load the PDF file
pdf.LoadFromFile("/AI-Generated Art_images.pdf")

# Convert the PDF file directly to a DOC file and save it
pdf.SaveToFile("/output/PDFtoDOC.doc", FileFormat.DOC)

# Convert the PDF file directly to a DOCX file and save it
pdf.SaveToFile("/output/PDFtoDOCX.docx", FileFormat.DOCX)

# Close the instance
pdf.Close()

Conversion result preview:

Converting PDF to DOCX in Python with Custom Document Properties

In addition to the method above, you can use the PdfToDocConverter class by passing the file path as a parameter when creating an instance. This approach not only converts the file but also allows you to set various document properties for the output Word file. Note that this method supports conversion only to DOC and DOCX formats.

The process is as follows:

• Create an instance of PdfToDocConverter.

• Use the properties under PdfToDocConverter.DocxOptions to define the document’s metadata, such as title, author, and tags.

• Call the SaveToFile() method to save the PDF as a DOC or DOCX file. Passing True converts to DOCX, while False converts to DOC.

from spire.pdf import PdfToDocConverter

# Create an instance of the PdfToDocConverter class
converter = PdfToDocConverter("/AI-Generated Art_images.pdf")

# Set the document properties for the converted Word file
converter.DocxOptions.Title = "AI-Generated Art"
converter.DocxOptions.Subject = "AI-Generated Art and the Law"
converter.DocxOptions.Tags = "AI, Law, Painting"
converter.DocxOptions.Categories = "Categoty"
converter.DocxOptions.Commments = "The article shows the pros and cons of AI-Generated Art."
converter.DocxOptions.Authors = "Lily"
converter.DocxOptions.LastSavedBy = "Kiki"
converter.DocxOptions.Revision = 8
converter.DocxOptions.Version = "V4.0"
converter.DocxOptions.ProgramName = "Python"
converter.DocxOptions.Company = "default"
converter.DocxOptions.Manager = "default"

# Convert the PDF file directly to a DOC file and save it
converter.SaveToDocx("/output/PDFtoDOC_setproperty.doc", False)

# Convert the PDF file directly to a DOCX file and save it
converter.SaveToDocx("/output/PDFtoDOCX_setproperty.docx", True)

Here is the preview of the properties of the converted file:

Conclusion

This article demonstrated how to convert PDF files to Word documents in Python, including both DOC and DOCX formats, and how to set document properties during conversion. Spire.PDF for Python also supports exporting PDFs to many other formats, such as HTML, SVG, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and RTF. For more details and examples, please refer to my homepage.