2025 Author: Jason Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2025-01-23 12:04
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
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
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 “ Open with, and click " Word ” in the pop-out menu that appears.
Mac - Click the PDF file you want to convert, select the menu “ File ", choose " Open With, and click " Word ” on the pop-out menu.
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
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 “ 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
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
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 “ Save ”.
Mac - Press the Command+S key combination, enter a file name, select a save location from the " Where " drop-down box, and click “ Save ”.
Method 2 of 3: Changing the Scanned Image
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
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
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
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
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
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
Step 7. Click Microsoft Word (DOC)
This option is in the drop-down menu “ 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
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 “ 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
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
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 “L” 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
Step 2. Allow Office Lens to access the phone
If this is your first time opening the Office Lens app, touch “ 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
Step 3. Touch DOCUMENT
This tab is at the bottom of the screen.
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
Step 5. Touch the “Capture” 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
Step 6. Touch
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
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 “ SAVE ” at the bottom of the screen.
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
Step 9. Open Word on the computer
The program is marked by a blue icon with a white document and the letter “W”.
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 “ Open ” on the left side of the window.
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 “OneDrive” option, click “ + Add a Place ", choose " OneDrive ”, and sign in using a Microsoft account.
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
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
Are you trying to get Windows Media Player files continuously to play in iTunes? Are you struggling to find a way to convert your files to MP3? Here are some useful tips. Step Method 1 of 3: Free File Conversion on the Internet Step 1.
In the early days of internet music stores, DRM or Digital Rights Management was a fairly popular method of preventing others from copying their own music. However, this gives its own disadvantage because many users can only play or listen to their songs through their own devices.
With PDF files, you can maintain the original format of the document and open the file on almost any operating system. Over the years, it's become easier to create PDF files from text documents because many programs have built-in PDF creation features.
This wikiHow teaches you how to email a scanned document to someone else. Step Step 1. Scan the document you want to send The scanning process will depend on the scanner and the computer or mobile device you are using. Scanning documents to PDF format provides the flexibility and the best possible compatibility of documents for use on almost any device and computer Step 2.
Publisher files (.pub) can only be opened with Microsoft Publisher. If you don't have Microsoft Publisher, you can convert your.pub file to.pdf. Once converted,.pdf files can be opened in a variety of programs, including web browsers. If you have Microsoft Publisher, you can save the Publisher file as a PDF.
