PDFs, Copy & Paste, and Formatting

[Ashrem Bayle]

Here is my problem.

I have a PDF and I want to copy and paste the text into Word.

Now, when I paste it, it retains its format.

Meaning, it doesn't word wrap. Every line is spaced.

I have to go to the end of every line and hit delete to get the next line to wrap with it.

Is there anyway to do this automaticly? Anything I can copy the text into and force it to loose it's formatting then copy it back out?

Thanks

 

[kreynolds]

Unfortunately, no. The formating of the text is broken apart in a PDF, meaning all kerning and such (letter and word spacing), for example, is removed to save space and to better insure that the text will look nearly identical on any system. It's a necessary evil.

One way around this, however, is don't copy and paste from the PDF. If you have Illustrator, open the PDF in that, and if you're lucky, the text will all be in one text box.

 

[nightmage61]

If you have an OCR program that reads PDF (something like OmniPage) it can bring in the text in with normal formating or keep the PDF format, your choice.