Best PDF conversion tool.

Dark123 · 03-18-2010, 11:22 PM

I have a PDF and I want to either convert it to HTML or DOC. What is the best tool that can do this?

frabjous · 03-19-2010, 12:39 AM

Are they scanned PDFs or text-based?

For the former, search the forums for recommendations on OCR software.

For the latter, I don't know of any software that works particularly well, but I'd still probably stick with calibre before paying for anything else. (Calibre will convert to rtf, IIRC, which you can open in a word processor and save as DOC or HTML.)

Patricia · 03-19-2010, 12:48 AM

Book Designer will also work for text-based PDFs. Then save as html. But it balks at image-based PDFS.
I tend to use Mobipocket Creator, which generally works rather well for text-based PDFs. After you load the file it makes an html version and stores it in "my publications."

For image-based PDFs I've invested in ABBYY Finereader 10. It's not cheap but does the job better than the competition, in my opinion.

Dark123 · 03-19-2010, 05:28 AM

It's just a normal book with a cover. So it has an image and it's mainly text.

Patricia · 03-19-2010, 07:12 AM

Ah, but if someone has made a scan from a paper copy, then saved to PDF, it will be an image scan. On the other hand, if someone has converted text and a cover-image to PDF then you have the (relatively) easy-to-convert sort.

HarryT · 03-20-2010, 01:39 PM

BookDesigner generally does a much better job of PDF conversion than does Calibre, in my experience. Plus, you will ALWAYS need to edit the result to clean it up, which you can of course do in BD, but not in Calibre.

Greg Anos · 03-20-2010, 02:28 PM

If you don't eant to spring for the full ABBYY Finereader, you can buy the PDF coversion part spearately as PDF Transformer. It work fairly well...

chainring · 03-20-2010, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

If you don't eant to spring for the full ABBYY Finereader, you can buy the PDF coversion part spearately as PDF Transformer. It work fairly well...

Along the same line, I have to wonder why ABBYY doesn't give any indication as to the differences/similarities between FineReader and PDF Transformer. It seems, although just a cursory glance, that FineReader may do a better job with PDF to different format conversion. Any words on that, Ralph Sir Edward?

greenapple · 03-20-2010, 07:45 PM

If price isn't an issue, then go for Adobe Acrobat. It does a good job of conversion from PDF to HTML, without the hassle of editing out headers, footers, and page numbers from the output.

Fat Abe · 04-09-2010, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chainring

Along the same line, I have to wonder why ABBYY doesn't give any indication as to the differences/similarities between FineReader and PDF Transformer.

The user can download trial versions of both programs. Since individual users have different requirements, just be sure you have some tough test files to run the program(s) against. The trial is very short lived (15 days, max of 50 pages, one page at a time). I feel certain I can eliminate the more expensive program with just a few pages. How does this look for conversion:

E(A, D) = DT £ [(Yi • Yi)I — YiY? D = DTM(A)D

The source is page 2 of

http://www.geometrictools.com/Docume...resFitting.pdf

It's not the subscripts and superscripts that upset me. FineReader got most of them correct. It is the non-recognition or omission of the math fonts. This makes sampling Transformer, the next program in line, moot. Which leaves me with Acrobat.

For non-math/science uses, FR is not too bad. It flows the paragraphs correctly, recognizes italicized text, and identifies headings. Since I won't be evaluating Transformer, I'll leave that to another board member.

plim · 04-09-2010, 07:05 AM

of those i tried so far, the best is abbyy pdf transformer, specialy for pdfs with images and graphics.

archerwoo · 04-09-2010, 08:37 AM

can i transfer TEXT to PDF?

frabjous · 04-09-2010, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by archerwoo

can i transfer TEXT to PDF?

You can do that with calibre, or with just about any word processor, or about a million other applications. But I think it would help to know a bit more about how you'd like these pdfs files formatted, if at all.

greenapple · 04-09-2010, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by plim

of those i tried so far, the best is abbyy pdf transformer, specialy for pdfs with images and graphics.

IMO, abbyy is terrific as an OCR tool for converting texts within images. But as a pdf (non image)-to-html or -text converter, I didn't have any good result with it at all. It will convert headers and footers of the PDF as part of the text, and it's a chore to crop the headers and footers within the abbyy program, because you have to do it manually, one page at a time.

I would rank the best 3 converters in terms of output to be used in an ebook reader, or to be used for conversion through Calibre, in this order:
1) Acrobat
2) Nuance
3) Nitro

I liked Nuance converter so much I purchased it. The price point is much more palatable than the Adobe's product.

Fat Abe · 04-10-2010, 12:14 AM

Nuance had some pretty bad reviews here:

http://download.cnet.com/Nuance-PDF-...-10973909.html

When I see the word "crash", I shudder. Bad customer support is also scary.

Adobe Acrobat is a bear to use, but there are several books you can buy to master the program. Adobe will be around for a long time. Who knows how long Nuance will be in existence?

03-18-2010, 11:22 PM	#1
Dark123 Zealot Posts: 112 Karma: 105 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Kindle 3 WiFi	Best PDF conversion tool. I have a PDF and I want to either convert it to HTML or DOC. What is the best tool that can do this?

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03-19-2010, 12:39 AM	#2
frabjous Wizard Posts: 1,213 Karma: 12890 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Amherst, Massachusetts, USA Device: Sony PRS-505	Are they scanned PDFs or text-based? For the former, search the forums for recommendations on OCR software. For the latter, I don't know of any software that works particularly well, but I'd still probably stick with calibre before paying for anything else. (Calibre will convert to rtf, IIRC, which you can open in a word processor and save as DOC or HTML.)

03-19-2010, 12:48 AM	#3
Patricia Reader Posts: 11,504 Karma: 8720163 Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Wales, UK Device: Sony PRS-500, PRS-505, Asus EEEpc 4G	Book Designer will also work for text-based PDFs. Then save as html. But it balks at image-based PDFS. I tend to use Mobipocket Creator, which generally works rather well for text-based PDFs. After you load the file it makes an html version and stores it in "my publications." For image-based PDFs I've invested in ABBYY Finereader 10. It's not cheap but does the job better than the competition, in my opinion.

03-19-2010, 05:28 AM	#4
Dark123 Zealot Posts: 112 Karma: 105 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Kindle 3 WiFi	It's just a normal book with a cover. So it has an image and it's mainly text.

03-19-2010, 07:12 AM	#5
Patricia Reader Posts: 11,504 Karma: 8720163 Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Wales, UK Device: Sony PRS-500, PRS-505, Asus EEEpc 4G	Ah, but if someone has made a scan from a paper copy, then saved to PDF, it will be an image scan. On the other hand, if someone has converted text and a cover-image to PDF then you have the (relatively) easy-to-convert sort.

03-20-2010, 01:39 PM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	BookDesigner generally does a much better job of PDF conversion than does Calibre, in my experience. Plus, you will ALWAYS need to edit the result to clean it up, which you can of course do in BD, but not in Calibre.

03-20-2010, 02:28 PM	#7
Greg Anos Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,248 Karma: 35000000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Pocketbook	If you don't eant to spring for the full ABBYY Finereader, you can buy the PDF coversion part spearately as PDF Transformer. It work fairly well...

03-20-2010, 07:45 PM	#9
greenapple Evangelist Posts: 404 Karma: 664 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle DX, Kobo Aura HD	If price isn't an issue, then go for Adobe Acrobat. It does a good job of conversion from PDF to HTML, without the hassle of editing out headers, footers, and page numbers from the output.

04-09-2010, 07:05 AM	#11
plim Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: none	of those i tried so far, the best is abbyy pdf transformer, specialy for pdfs with images and graphics.

04-09-2010, 08:37 AM	#12
archerwoo Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 495464 Join Date: May 2008 Device: Kindle 3;Ip4	can i transfer TEXT to PDF?

04-10-2010, 12:14 AM	#15
Fat Abe Man Who Stares at Books Posts: 1,816 Karma: 10606722 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: 50th State, USA. Also, PA, NY, CA, and elsewhere. Device: All of the Above	Nuance had some pretty bad reviews here: http://download.cnet.com/Nuance-PDF-...-10973909.html When I see the word "crash", I shudder. Bad customer support is also scary. Adobe Acrobat is a bear to use, but there are several books you can buy to master the program. Adobe will be around for a long time. Who knows how long Nuance will be in existence?

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