Convert PDF files to ODT

As I have already explained to you in great detail in my post on the subject, ODT files are text documents created together with the OpenDocument project to provide the world with free and open file formats to contrast with the “closed” and proprietary ones. productivity suite such as Microsoft Office. Converting this or that document into an ODT file can therefore be very convenient in various circumstances. How do you say? Do you agree with me perfectly and in this regard would you like to understand how to transform your PDF files into the format in question? Well, then I would say that you just came across the right tutorial at the right time.

With today’s guide we will see how to convert PDF files to ODT in order to transform the hugely popular PDFs into easily “digestible” documents from free word processing applications, such as OpenOffice and LibreOffice Writer. To do this, I suggest you rely on online services that avoid the boredom of downloading programs to your computer and allow you to carry out the whole procedure in a handful of clicks. You can do everything directly from the web browser that you usually use to surf the net and you can act from any computer (and also from smartphones and tablets) and operating system, Windows, Mac or Linux.

Then? Do you want to start? Yes? Very well! So I would say not to waste any more precious time and to immediately start focusing on what to do. Take a few minutes of free time all to yourself, make yourself comfortable in front of your computer and read the information you find right below. I bet that in the end you will be able to tell yourself very happy and satisfied with what you have learned and that even in case of need you will be ready to explain to all your friends how to proceed. Good job!

Online2PDF

One of the best sites that allow you to convert PDF files to ODT without losing the original formatting of the document is Online2PDF which has an upload limit of 50MB and works from any browser without the need for Flash Player or other add-ons. How does it work? It is so intuitive that it is almost useless to explain it.

In any case, after connecting to its home page using the link I have provided you just now, click on the Select files button  at the bottom and select the PDF to convert. You can select files with a maximum number of 50 pages. If you prefer, you can also upload the files on which you intend to intervene to the service by dragging them directly into the browser window, in correspondence with the wording (or drag your files here) . In addition to the already uploaded file, do you have other PDF documents to convert to ODT? Then click the Browse… button and select them from your computer.

Then set the OpenDocument Text (* .odt)  item in the drop-down menu located at the bottom of the screen next to the convert to: item and press the Convert button  to start the document transformation.

The operation should take a few seconds (everything depends on the weight of the PDF to convert and the speed of the connection). The download of the ODT file will start completely automatically and the file will be saved in the Download folder of your computer (if you have not made any changes to the default browser settings).

If the document you are going to work on is made up of more than 10 pages, make sure, before starting the conversion procedure, that in the menu under Optical character recognition in images (OCR): the Don’t use OCR option (up to 100 pages) . If instead the number of pages to convert is less than 10, always choose the Italian option from the drop-down menu in question .

Do you want to transform only a certain number of pages into ODT and not the entire PDF document? It can be done! To do this, just click, always before starting the conversion procedure, on the button with the scissors and indicate the pages of the PDF on which you want to intervene in the appropriate empty field on the screen.

Filemix

Another Internet site that I advise you to take into consideration for PDF to ODT conversions is Fileminx which, as well as Online2PDF, manages to keep the original formatting of the files almost always intact and allows you to upload documents up to 50MB (without limits details for the number of pages). It does not require registration and works on any browser.

To find out how it works, connected to its home page via the link I just indicated, click on the S leaf / Choose file button  and choose the PDF file to convert. Then, press the Continue button , select the ODT file icon located at the bottom of the page that opens and click on the name of the output document to download it to your computer.

Is the file you want to convert online? No problem! Instead of selecting the PDF from your computer, you can download it directly from the Web by clicking on the From The Internet tab in the home of the service, pasting the url in the appropriate empty field and pressing Continue . The rest of the procedure is practically identical to that seen above.

ABBYY FineReader

Another service I suggest you try out is ABBYY FineReader . It allows you to scan documents that have a maximum number of 10 pages for a total weight of 100MB. The data remain on the service’s servers for a maximum number of 14 days after which they are deleted. It is also very simple to use and supports various input formats, including ODT.

To use ABBYY FineReader, connected to the main page of the service, make sure that the Italian option is selected  in one of the drop-down menus located under the item  Select the language of your document and click the Upload button  to select the PDF to convert.

Then select the .odt Open Document option  from the Select an output format menu  and click on the Register button  to register for free on the ABBYY FineReader website. At the end of the registration (you can quickly authenticate with Facebook or other online accounts), remove the check from  Yes, I want to receive news letters about new versions and updates of ABBYY products (so as not to receive newsletters from ABBYY) and first click on the Confirm button  and then on the  Recognize button to start the transformation of the document.

Then wait for the conversion procedure to start and complete, then click on the name of the file in ODT format to download it immediately to your computer.

DocsPal

The DocsPal service which I have told you about several times in the past should also be taken into consideration . Using it, you can convert all major digital document formats quickly and easily. The upload limit is again 50MB per file and requires no registration.

It only takes a couple of clicks to do everything: after connecting to its home page via the link I just provided, select the PDF to convert by clicking the  Browse file button . Repeat this step for all the documents you want to convert (maximum 5). If, rather than “manually” selecting the files to act on, you prefer to use drag and drop, you can drag the documents directly into the browser window, on the box where it  says Simply drag an drop your files here . If, on the other hand, the document you want to transform into ODT is online, you can paste its url in the appropriate field that you find under the heading Enter file url:

Using the drop-down menu located next to the name of each file in the Step 2 section,  select  ODT – OpenDocument Text Document and then choose whether or not to receive an email from the service with the link to download the file when the conversion is complete by placing a check mark on the box next to the wording Step 3  or by leaving it blank. If you check the box, remember to also type your email address in the text field that is located under the heading  Send a download link to my email address (optional): .

Finally, press the Convert Files  button  and wait for the conversion procedure to be started and completed. Then click on the links with the names of the files converted to ODT that appear at the bottom of the page to immediately download them to your computer.

Clearly, if you had checked the box to receive the converted file also via email, by accessing your mailbox, you will find a message from DocsPal with a link inside which you can download the transformed file.

Online Convert

The tools that I pointed out in the previous lines have not been able to attract your attention in a way and are you still looking for a Web service that allows you to convert your PDF documents into ODT files? Then I can’t help but suggest you try  Online Convert now . It has a simple and clear user interface and allows you to convert all major file formats together, including those in question, of course. It has an upload limit of 100MB but allows you to convert only one file at a time.

To use Online Convert, connected to the home page of the service, expand the drop-down menu located in the Document converter box :  and select the Convert to ODT option from the menu that opens.

In the new web page that is shown to you at this point, click on the Choose file / Browse button and select the file to convert. Alternatively, go to the Or enter URL of the file you want to convert to [extension] field and enter the url of your file. If, on the other hand, you have saved the PDF on which you intend to intervene on Dropbox or Google Drive, press the relative buttons, provide the data that are required to access the services and select it directly from the cloud.

Finally, use the options in the Optional settings box to apply character recognition through OCR technology and click on the Convert file button  to start the conversion.

Within a few moments the conversion operation will therefore be started and completed and then the automatic download of your file will start.

ZamZar

In conclusion, even if in my tests it did not provide particularly brilliant results in terms of document formatting, I would like to point out the well-known universal converter ZamZar which, among the many functions offered, also allows you to convert PDF files to ODT. The upload limit is 100MB and to work it requires the insertion of a valid email address.

To personally test its operation, connected to the home of the service by clicking on the link I indicated above, click on the Choose files … button located under the heading Step 1 and select the document to convert. If you want, you can select the file on which to act also by drag and drop, dragging it from your PC to the browser, where there is the writing or drag and drop files in the ZamZar home. If you need to convert a file that is already on the web, you can select the ZamZar URL Converter tab and type the URL of the file in the Step 1 field .

Then set the ODT item from the Step 2 drop-down menu , type your e-mail address in the Step 3 field and press the Convert button . The link to download the output document will be delivered to you within a few seconds via email.

Finally, I would like to point out that, again through ZamZar, you can convert PDF files to ODT also by e-mail. How you do it? Simple: you have to create a message with the file to be transformed as an attachment and the address [odt] @ zamzar.com as a recipient. The download link will be sent to you directly by email. Very comfortable, don’t you think?