3 Ways to Convert Scanned Documents To Microsoft Word Files

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3 Ways to Convert Scanned Documents To Microsoft Word Files
3 Ways to Convert Scanned Documents To Microsoft Word Files

Video: 3 Ways to Convert Scanned Documents To Microsoft Word Files

Video: 3 Ways to Convert Scanned Documents To Microsoft Word Files
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This wikiHow teaches you how to turn a scanned document into a Word document that can be edited on a computer. You can change this using Word's default settings if the document was previously scanned as a PDF file. However, you will need a free conversion program/service if the document is scanned as an image file. If you have a Microsoft account and a smartphone, you can also use the free Office Lens app to scan documents and save them as Word files on your OneDrive internet storage account.

Step

Method 1 of 3: Converting Scanned PDF Files

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 1
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 1

Step 1. Make sure the scanned document is saved as a PDF file

Microsoft Word can recognize and convert scanned PDF files into Word documents without any additional programs.

If the document is saved as an image file (eg a-j.webp" />
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 2
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 2

Step 2. Open the PDF file in Word

The process of opening the file will depend on the operating system used:

  • Windows - Right-click the PDF file you want to convert, select β€œ Open with, and click " Word ” in the pop-out menu that appears.
  • Mac - Click the PDF file you want to convert, select the menu β€œ File ", choose " Open With, and click " Word ” on the pop-out menu.
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 3
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 3

Step 3. Click OK when prompted

Once clicked, Word will convert the scanned PDF file into a Word document.

This process can take a few minutes if the PDF file you're opening contains a lot of text or images

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 4
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 4

Step 4. Enable editing for the file if necessary

If you see a yellow bar with a warning at the top of the Word window, click β€œ Enable Editing ” on the yellow bar to open file editing access.

Usually this happens with files that you upload (eg if you download PDF files from an internet storage service or cloud service)

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 5
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 5

Step 5. Tidy up the document

Converting scanned files to Word documents does not always give precise results. You may need to add missing words, remove excess whitespace, and correct misspellings before the Word document is ready for use.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 6
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 6

Step 6. Save the document

When you're ready to save the document as a Word file, follow these steps:

  • Windows - Press the Ctrl+S key combination, enter a file name, select a save location, and click β€œ Save ”.
  • Mac - Press the Command+S key combination, enter a file name, select a save location from the " Where " drop-down box, and click β€œ Save ”.

Method 2 of 3: Changing the Scanned Image

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 7
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 7

Step 1. Open the New OCR site

Visit https://www.newocr.com/ through your computer's web browser.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 8
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 8

Step 2. Click Choose file

It's a gray button at the top of the page. Once clicked, a File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) window will open.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 9
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 9

Step 3. Select the scanned file

In the file browsing window, locate the desired image/document file, then click the file.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 10
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 10

Step 4. Click Open

It's in the lower-right corner of the window. After that, the file will be uploaded to the website.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 11
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 11

Step 5. Click Upload + OCR

It's at the bottom of the pasted page. Once clicked, New OCR will extract the readable text from the scanned image you uploaded.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 12
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 12

Step 6. Scroll down and click Download

This link is in the lower-left corner of the page, just above the box containing the document text. Once clicked, a drop-down menu will appear.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 13
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 13

Step 7. Click Microsoft Word (DOC)

This option is in the drop-down menu β€œ Download After that, the Microsoft Word version of the scanned file will be downloaded to the computer.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 14
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 14

Step 8. Open the document

Once the download is complete, you can double-click the file to open it in Microsoft Word. The scanned image is now a Microsoft Word document.

You may need to click β€œ Enable Editing ” at the top of the page because it could be that the document is locked by default.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 15
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 15

Step 9. Organize your document

Converting scanned files to Word documents does not always give precise results. You may need to add missing words, remove excess whitespace, and correct misspellings before the Word document is ready for use.

Method 3 of 3: Scanning Documents Into Word Files

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 16
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 16

Step 1. Open the Office Lens app

Tap the Office Lens app icon which is red and white with the camera iris and the letter β€œL” in the center.

If you don't already have the Office Lens app on your phone, you can download it from the Google Play Store on an Android device or the App Store on an iPhone

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 17
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 17

Step 2. Allow Office Lens to access the phone

If this is your first time opening the Office Lens app, touch β€œ Allow " or " OK ” when prompted to allow Office Lens to access files on the phone.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 18
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 18

Step 3. Touch DOCUMENT

This tab is at the bottom of the screen.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 19
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 19

Step 4. Point the camera at the document

Place the document you want to scan so that it is within the view or camera capture area.

Make sure the document is bright so the camera can capture as much detail as possible

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 20
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 20

Step 5. Touch the β€œCapture” button

It's a red circle button at the bottom of the screen. Once touched, a photo of the document page will be taken.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 21
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 21

Step 6. Touch

Android7done
Android7done

It's in the lower-right corner of the screen.

You can scan more pages by tapping the camera and plus icons at the bottom of the screen

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 22
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 22

Step 7. Touch Word

This option is in the " SAVE TO " section of the " Export To " page.

On an Android device, select the box next to the Word option and touch the β€œ SAVE ” at the bottom of the screen.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 23
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 23

Step 8. Sign in to your Microsoft account

If not, enter your Microsoft account email address and account password. Once signed in, the scanned Word document will be uploaded to your OneDrive account.

This account is the account used to sign in to Microsoft Word

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 24
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 24

Step 9. Open Word on the computer

The program is marked by a blue icon with a white document and the letter β€œW”.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 25
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 25

Step 10. Click Open Other Documents

It's on the left side of the window, below the "Recent" section.

On a Mac, simply click the folder icon labeled β€œ Open ” on the left side of the window.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 26
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 26

Step 11. Click OneDrive - Personal

It's at the top of the window. After that, the OneDrive folder will be opened.

If you don't see the β€œOneDrive” option, click β€œ + Add a Place ", choose " OneDrive ”, and sign in using a Microsoft account.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 27
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 27

Step 12. Visit the Office Lens folder

Click the "Documents" folder, then click the "Office Lens" folder. This folder is in the right pane of the window.

Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 28
Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document Step 28

Step 13. Double-click the Word document

After that, the scanned Word document using Office Lens will be opened in Microsoft Word.

Tips

Office Lens can handle/scan text on physical files (eg paper documents) better than the text displayed on the screen

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