What is PDF Converter?

PDF Converter usually converts PDF file into another file fomat, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Plain text, html, image, etc. It should have clear understanding of PDF document structure as well as target file format structure. For instance, a PDF to Word Converter must know PDF objects and Word file structure. In fact, there is no one to one mapping between PDF objects (text streams, images, shapes, etc) and Word document elements. So, PDF Converter has to create compatible Word document elements for each PDF object. This process is further complicated because of the different PDF object attributes in different PDF versions.

There are two types of PDF Converters:

• OCR-Not-enabled
• OCR-enabled

Most PDF converters (including GIRDAC PDF to Word Converter and PDF to Word Converter Pro) belong to the first category. There are very few in the second category and are very costly. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is a technique to recognize characters based on the pixels order. Every image is set of ordered pixels (picture elements). Each pixel has a color number to display that color. Each character (alphabet, number, etc.) is combination of ordered pixels.

OCR software converts hand-written or typewritten text documents into machine editable text formats. Earlier versions of OCR are trained to translate specific fonts. The current OCRs are intelligent enough to recognize most of the fonts with high accuracy. Some OCRs can converts the image into a formatted version same as the original image. OCR uses algorithms to recognize characters and Neural Networks to increase the accuracy.

There are two methods employed in OCR software.

• Matrix matching
• Feature extraction

Matrix matching is simpler than Feature extraction. Matrix Matching compares each character with a library of character matrices. When an image matches one of the matrices of pixels, it labels that image as the corresponding character.

Feature Extraction uses artificial intelligence to analyze features such as closed shapes, diagonal lines, line intersections, etc. This method is flexible and is employed in both type-wriiten and hand-written documents.

Some PDF documents have text on images. Scanned hand-written and typed text usually results in text on image. Such text on image can be extracted through OCR-enabled PDF Converters. GIRDAC PDF to Word Converter and PDF to Word Converter Pro extracts such text as an image, not as text.

GIRDAC PDF to Word Converter and PDF to Word Converter Pro does not convert PDF documents having the secuity setting:
Content Copying: Not Allowed
or
Page Extraction: Not Allowed
One can see this information in Adobe Reader top-level menu
File -> Document Properties and clicking on Security tab.

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