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Due to reasons listed on the PDF information page we recommend avoiding or mimizing the use of PDF files as a sole source of online information.

However, if your only source of information is a PDF file, you may be able to export it to another format.

Conversion Options in Adobe Acrobat

If you need to extract information from a PDF file, but don’t have access to the original document (e.g. Word, Excel or InDesign), you may be able to convert the content to another format in Adobe Acrobat.

Note: Additional tools may also be able to convert a PDF document to another format.

  1. Open a PDF in the full version of Adobe Acrobat.
  2. In the Save As menu, you can choose from these options:
    1. Microsoft Word
    2. Spreadsheet
    3. Image
    4. Other Options (includes RTF, HTML, text, XML)
  3. Once the information has been extracted, you can reformat the document in an appropriate accessible format.
    Note: Different export options may be needed for different document types. You may want to experiment with them to see which results are optimal.

Convert to "HTML"

In some cases, PDF information can be converted to a Web page.

In many cases though, that could simply involve moving the information to a page within a content management system such as WordPress, Drupal or some other system. Many content management systems include WYSIWYG tools to facilitate creation of an accessible page.

Copyright Considerations

Exporting and manipulating PDF content should only be done for files that are owned by you or your organization. If you need to remediate an external PDF, be sure you have permission to extract the contents (or be sure that it can be done under a provision such as Fair Use).

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