PDF to Word Converter

A professional Python application that converts PDF files to Word documents (DOCX format) with OCR support for scanned PDFs. Features a modern dark-themed GUI with multiple conversion modes.

✨ Features

• 🎨 Professional Dark Theme GUI - Modern, user-friendly interface
• 📄 Multiple Conversion Modes:
  • Auto (Best Quality) - Automatically chooses the best method
  • Text-based PDF only - Fast conversion for documents with selectable text
  • Scanned PDF with OCR - For scanned documents and images
• 🔍 OCR Support - Uses Tesseract for scanned PDFs
• 📁 Smart Output - Saves converted files in the same directory as input
• ⚡ Background Processing - GUI stays responsive during conversion
• 🛡️ Error Handling - Robust validation and user-friendly error messages
• 📊 Progress Tracking - Real-time conversion progress
• 🔄 File Overwrite Protection - Asks before overwriting existing files

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

1. Python 3.7 or higher
2. Tesseract OCR (for scanned PDF support)

Installation

1. Clone or download this repository
2. Install Python dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Install Tesseract OCR (optional but recommended):
   • Windows: Download from Tesseract Releases
   • macOS: brew install tesseract
   • Linux: sudo apt-get install tesseract-ocr

Usage

Run the application:

python pdf_to_word_gui_pro.py

📖 Detailed Usage Guide

1. Launch the Application

• Run python pdf_to_word_gui_pro.py
• The GUI will open with a dark theme interface

2. Select PDF File

• Click "Browse" to select your PDF file
• The application will show where the output Word file will be saved

3. Choose Conversion Mode

• Auto (Best Quality) - Recommended for most cases
• Text-based PDF only - Faster for documents with selectable text
• Scanned PDF with OCR - For scanned documents

4. Convert

• Click "Convert to Word"
• Watch the progress bar during conversion
• Get notified when conversion completes

5. Access Results

• The Word file will be saved in the same folder as your PDF
• Option to open the output folder directly

🔧 Conversion Modes Explained

Auto (Best Quality)

• Best for: Most PDF files
• Process: Tries text extraction first, falls back to OCR if needed
• Speed: Medium
• Quality: Highest

Text-based PDF only

• Best for: PDFs with selectable text
• Process: Uses direct text extraction only
• Speed: Fastest
• Quality: High (preserves formatting)

Scanned PDF with OCR

• Best for: Scanned documents, images, handwritten text
• Process: Uses OCR to extract text from images
• Speed: Slowest
• Quality: Good (depends on image quality)

📁 File Structure

pdf-to-word-converter/
├── pdf_to_word_gui_pro.py    # Main GUI application (RECOMMENDED)
├── pdf_to_word_allinone.py   # Alternative single-file version
├── requirements.txt          # Python dependencies
├── README.md                # This file
└── spk.ico                  # Application icon (optional)

🛠️ Installation Details

Windows Installation

1. Install Python:

   • Download from python.org
   • Ensure "Add Python to PATH" is checked during installation

2. Install Dependencies:

   pip install -r requirements.txt

3. Install Tesseract (for OCR):

   • Download from Tesseract Releases
   • Install to default location: C:\Program Files\Tesseract-OCR\

macOS Installation

1. Install Python (if not already installed):

   brew install python

2. Install Dependencies:

   pip3 install -r requirements.txt

3. Install Tesseract:

   brew install tesseract

Linux Installation

1. Install Python (if not already installed):

   sudo apt-get update
   sudo apt-get install python3 python3-pip

2. Install Dependencies:

   pip3 install -r requirements.txt

3. Install Tesseract:

   sudo apt-get install tesseract-ocr

📋 Dependencies

Package	Version	Purpose
pdfplumber	≥0.9.0	PDF text extraction
pytesseract	≥0.3.10	OCR functionality
pdf2docx	≥0.5.6	Direct PDF to DOCX conversion
Pillow	≥9.0.0	Image processing
python-docx	≥0.8.11	DOCX file creation

🔍 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. "Tesseract not found" Warning

• Solution: Install Tesseract OCR
• Windows: Download from Tesseract Releases
• macOS: brew install tesseract
• Linux: sudo apt-get install tesseract-ocr

2. "Module not found" Errors

• Solution: Install dependencies

  pip install -r requirements.txt

3. GUI Not Opening

• Solution: Check Python installation

  python --version

• Alternative: Try python3 instead of python

4. Conversion Fails

• Check: File is a valid PDF
• Check: File is not corrupted
• Check: Sufficient disk space
• Try: Different conversion mode

5. OCR Quality Issues

• Solution: Ensure scanned PDF has good image quality (300+ DPI)
• Solution: Use "Scanned PDF with OCR" mode for scanned documents

Error Messages

Error	Meaning	Solution
Tesseract not found	OCR not available	Install Tesseract
PDF file not found	Invalid file path	Check file location
Conversion failed	Processing error	Try different mode
Permission denied	File access issue	Check file permissions

🎯 Best Practices

For Best Results:

1. Use "Auto" mode for most PDFs
2. Ensure good image quality for scanned documents (300+ DPI)
3. Close the PDF in other applications before converting
4. Use descriptive filenames for easier organization
5. Backup important files before conversion

File Size Guidelines:

• Text-based PDFs: Usually convert quickly
• Scanned PDFs: May take longer, depending on page count
• Large files: Consider splitting into smaller parts

🔄 Updates and Maintenance

Checking for Updates:

• Monitor this repository for new releases
• Update dependencies periodically:

  pip install --upgrade -r requirements.txt

Reporting Issues:

• Check the troubleshooting section first
• Provide error messages and system information
• Include steps to reproduce the issue

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

👨‍💻 Development

Building from Source:

1. Clone the repository
2. Install development dependencies
3. Run the application

Contributing:

• Fork the repository
• Create a feature branch
• Submit a pull request

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Tesseract OCR for text recognition capabilities
• pdf2docx for direct PDF conversion
• pdfplumber for PDF text extraction
• Python community for excellent libraries

📞 Support

For support and questions:

• Check the troubleshooting section
• Review the documentation
• Open an issue on GitHub

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Built with ❤️ for efficient PDF to Word conversion

© 2025 | by spk