To convert a PDF to an editable Google Doc, upload it to Google Drive on a computer, right-click the file, then choose Open with > Google Docs. Google Docs extracts text, but the converted document may not preserve the PDF’s original layout. Review the result, especially if the file is scanned or contains tables, columns, or footnotes.
Convert a PDF to Google Docs in Drive
- On a computer, open Google Drive and upload the PDF.
- Find the uploaded PDF in Drive and right-click it.
- Select Open with > Google Docs.
Drive creates a Google Docs file with editable text. The original PDF remains in Drive. Google documents this workflow for PDF and photo files in its instructions for converting PDF and photo files to text.
What to expect from a scanned PDF
A PDF made from a scan may contain page images rather than selectable text. Drive uses optical character recognition (OCR) to recognize text in those images, and supports multipage PDFs. Recognition is not a guarantee of error-free text, so compare the converted document with the source.
Prepare the scan for OCR
Google recommends a PDF or image file of 2 MB or less, with text at least 10 pixels high. Pages should be upright, sharply imaged, evenly lit, and have clear contrast. Common fonts such as Arial or Times New Roman are recommended. Drive detects the document language. These are Google’s OCR preparation recommendations, not a guarantee that every scan will convert cleanly.
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After conversion, check names, numbers, punctuation, and other wording where an OCR error could change the meaning. Correct any misread characters directly in the Google Doc.
Check the formatting after conversion
Google says bold and italic styling, font size and type, and line breaks are likely to be retained. Lists, tables, columns, footnotes, and endnotes are unlikely to be detected. Treat the converted file as editable text rather than a guaranteed replica of the PDF, and inspect the elements that matter to your document.
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Understand the file-size guidance
Google’s OCR instructions recommend an input PDF or photo of 2 MB or less. Separately, Google lists a maximum of 50 MB for a text document converted to Google Docs format. The 50 MB figure is a limit for the converted text document; it does not mean an input PDF of that size will work with OCR. See Google’s file-size limits for the Docs-format limit.
Optional upload conversion setting
On a computer, Google Drive also has a setting called Convert uploads to Google Docs editor format. It applies to uploads converted to Google editor formats; you do not need to enable it for the manual PDF conversion steps above. Google describes the setting in its upload files and folders instructions.
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When to consider another OCR workflow
If Drive’s result does not meet your needs, Acrobat and ABBYY FineReader PDF document other OCR and PDF-conversion workflows. Adobe describes recognizing scanned text and exporting PDFs to Word; its Acrobat instructions for recognizing text in scanned PDFs advise reviewing recognized text for accuracy and completeness. ABBYY documents OCR, structural-element detection, and export to Word in its FineReader OCR guidance and PDF-to-Word support instructions.
These vendor pages describe their own features, not a controlled comparison of recognition quality. Consider an alternative when you need a different output format or more tools for handling a difficult scan; still review the converted text and layout.
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Create a searchable PDF from paper first
If you have paper rather than a PDF, the Google Drive mobile app can scan documents and save them as searchable PDFs. Google says the web version of Drive does not offer this scanning feature. Once you have the PDF, use the computer workflow above to open it with Google Docs. See Google’s instructions for scanning documents with Drive.
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