In June, rumors claimed that the next version of Microsoft Word, Word 2013, would allow users to edit PDF files. Microsoft confirmed these rumors when it launched the preview version of Office 2013, which included Word 2013.
This week, Microsoft talked more about how Word 2013 can convert PDF files into editable Word documents while still trying to retain the original layout of the PDF file. In a post on the official Microsoft Word blog, Microsoft says Word 2013 accomplishes this task with a new feature called PDF Reflow.
The blog states that the PDF Reflow feature is not intended to be a replacement for the PDF reader that's built into Windows 8. It adds:
It works with any PDF, but because we re-layout the contents, the results are best with documents that are mostly textual, such as legal and business documents. If a PDF contains mostly images and diagrams, as in a presentation or a brochure, converting it has a much higher likelihood of issues ...
The PDF Reflow feature works on a specific set of rules to convert the PDF layout to something that corresponds to what a Word document will look like, such as the table example above.
Source: Microsoft Word blog | Image via Microsoft
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