Convert a PDF into an editable Word document
Quick answer
Filly converts a PDF to .docx keeping the layout, so text, tables and spacing survive the trip and the document can actually be edited. It's for the case where you have the PDF but need to change the wording — an old letter, a template someone sent, a form you must amend.
When you’d use this
A template that only exists as a PDF
An engagement letter or client agreement circulated as a PDF has to be edited for the next client. Converting it once gives you a Word file to work from instead of retyping it.
Amending a document you didn't author
When a counterparty sends a PDF and asks for changes, editing the converted Word file is far quicker than annotating the PDF and describing what you meant.
How to do it
- 1Open the PDF tools and choose Convert document.
- 2Select the PDF and pick DOCX as the output.
- 3Run it and download the Word file.
- 4Check the layout before you rely on it — see the limits below.
What it doesn’t do
Conversion is a reconstruction, not a perfect translation. Simple text documents come across cleanly; complex tables, multi-column layouts, unusual fonts and scanned pages do not. A scan has no text to recover at all — it will convert into a Word file containing an image. Always open the result and check it before sending it anywhere. This operation costs two credits rather than one, because it runs through an external conversion service.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert a PDF to Word?
Open Filly's PDF tools, choose Convert document, select your PDF and pick DOCX. You get an editable Word file back with the layout preserved as closely as the source allows.
Will the formatting survive?
Usually for straightforward documents; often not for complicated ones. Conversion rebuilds the layout rather than translating it exactly, so multi-column pages, intricate tables and unusual fonts are where it drifts. Open the result and check before you rely on it.
Can it convert a scanned PDF to editable text?
No. A scan is an image of a page with no text underneath, so the conversion produces a Word file containing that image rather than editable words. If you need the text from a scan, upload it to Filly as a form instead — that path runs OCR.
Why does converting cost two credits?
Every other tool in the box runs on our own servers at no marginal cost. Conversion runs through an external service that charges per file, so it's priced at two credits rather than one. Subscribers have it included in their plan.
The tools are the side of it
Filly is a form filler first: save a client’s details once and every form you upload afterwards fills itself from that profile. These PDF tools exist because the paperwork around a filing needs assembling before and after it’s filled.
- Free plan — 10 forms, 5 clients, 10 fills a month, no card
- Reads any PDF or DOCX, including scans via OCR
- 18 official IRS, USCIS and SSA forms built in