Converting a document from PDF to DOCX format

In today’s digital workplace, PDF files are widely used for sharing and preserving document integrity. However, there are many scenarios where converting PDF content back into an editable Word document (DOCX) becomes essential for business operations — whether it’s updating contract templates, extracting content for reuse, or enabling collaborative editing on previously static documents.

Traditional approaches to PDF-to-Word conversion often result in poor formatting and lost layouts, or they require manual cleanup that consumes valuable time. Many online conversion tools produce inconsistent results or compromise document security by requiring file uploads to third-party services.

For organizations that handle sensitive documents or need reliable, high-quality conversions at scale, having a robust PDF-to-DOCX conversion capability integrated directly into their applications provides both security and efficiency. This eliminates the need for external tools while maintaining complete control over the conversion process.

Streamlining document workflows with our Java SDK

What makes this feature particularly valuable is how seamlessly it can be implemented using our SDK. With just a few lines of code, developers can integrate PDF-to-DOCX conversion directly into their applications, eliminating dependency on external services or complex preprocessing steps. Whether you’re building a document management system or adding content extraction functionality to an existing platform, our SDK delivers accurate and reliable conversion results.

Preparing the project

Start by specifying a package name and create a new class named after what you’re going to do:

package io.nutrient.Sample;

The next step is to import Nutrient Java SDK. It’s recommended to specify the actual classes used, but using a wildcard for including everything is also possible:

import io.nutrient.sdk.*;
import io.nutrient.sdk.exceptions.NutrientException;
import io.nutrient.sdk.exporters.WordExporter;

public class PDFToWordDocument
{

Then create the main function and specify that it can throw a NutrientException. This exception could also be caught in the program logic for custom error management, but this is left as an exercise for the reader:

    public static void main(String[] args) throws NutrientException
    {

Once the inherent setup from a Java application is done, focus on what’s specific to our SDK.

The first step is to initialize the SDK by registering the license. This needs to be done only once during the application’s lifetime and must occur before executing any additional logic:

    License.registerKey("");

Proceeding with the conversion

With the SDK successfully initialized, you can begin working with the classes it offers. This guide concentrates on the Document class. You can initialize Document using a try-with-resources statement(opens in a new tab), which ensures proper lifecycle management of the document instance.

The SDK supports multiple integration methods, enabling flexibility in how you connect with your application. The source file can be specified either via a file path or a stream. This guide uses a file path as the source:

        try (Document document = Document.open("input.pdf"))
        {

This path can be either absolute or relative. Here, you’ll load the file from the application’s working directory, which typically resides next to the executable, unless otherwise configured.

Once the file is loaded into memory, you can perform various operations on it. For a complete list of available functionalities, refer to the API reference.

Your goal is to export this PDF content to a Word document. Just like when opening the PDF file, where you could choose between using a file path or a stream, the saving functionality offers the same flexibility. In this case, you’ll save the Word document as output.docx in the application’s working directory:

            document.export("output.docx", new WordExporter());
        }
    }
}

That’s it! You now have an editable Word document.

Error handling

Nutrient Java SDK handles errors with exception handling. Both methods presented in this guide throw a NutrientException in case of failure. This helps with troubleshooting and implementing error handling logic.

Conclusion

That’s all it takes to convert a PDF document into an editable DOCX file! This conversion process maintains formatting integrity while creating a fully editable Word document. You can also download this ready-to-use sample package, fully configured to help you dive into the Java SDK and explore seamless file format conversion capabilities.