How to Convert PDF to Pages on Mac: 5 Ways

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Carolyn Ryan
March 07, 2024 Preview 92.0K Preview 3
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PDF files are typically read-only and can't be easily edited. For users who heavily rely on the Apple ecosystem, converting PDF to Pages give us more convenient for editing the document and sharing it among users who use Mac or iOS devices.

In this blog, we will show you 5 easy and free ways to convert PDF to pages on Mac:

  Method 1 Method 2 Method 3 Method 4 Method 5
Compatibility macOS 10.14 or later All macOS versions All macOS versions All macOS versions All macOS versions
Work with PDF, scanned PDF, Images Normal PDF Normal PDF Normal PDF Normal PDF
Convert PDF to Pages Single & Batch Manually & Single Manually & Batch Single & Batch Single
Format Reserve Yes  No No Yes  No
Click for instructions Click Click Click Click Click

So let’s look at all methods one by one.

 

Method 1: Using The Best PDF to Pages Converter for Mac

Cisdem PDF Converter OCR can perform the PDF-to-Pages conversion directly, with it, you never have to worry about how to convert PDF to Pages or even a scanned PDF to Pages with OCR. It provides a full offline solution for all PDF conversion related problems. Now, please download this tool to convert a PDF to Pages on Mac for a trial.

Key Features of Cisdem PDF Converter OCR for Mac

  • Accurate PDF conversions to formats such as images, MS Office, Pages, Keynote, EPUB, HTML, and more.
  • Convert scanned PDF to editable and searchable formats, comes with support for 50+ language options.
  • Offline conversion, so no worries on converting confidential and sensitive files.
  • Create PDF from Word, PowerPoint, EPUB, HTML, Text, CHM, etc.
  • Supports batch converting PDF files.
  • Have no limit on PDF file size and file number. 

Pros

  • Easy to use, lightweight.
  • Supports batch conversion.
  • Accurate OCR engine 
  • Convert PDF to pages without losing format, Keep layouts, links, images, alignment, fonts, etc.

Free Download macOS 10.14 or later

Tutorial 1: How to Convert a Single PDF to Pages on Mac

Step 1: Upload the PDF File

Launch PDF Converter OCR for Mac and go to  “Converter" interface". You can drag and drop to add files directly into the application.

Step 2: Choose the Output Format

In the right-side drop down menu, choose the "to Pages” option.

pdf to pages mac cisdem1

Step 3: Convert PDF to Pages on Mac

Select All Pages or the page range to specify the pages before conversion. and then choose a destination folder to save the file. Finally, click the "Convert" button.

After the conversion is done, you can click on the folder icon to locate the converted Pages file. You can now open pages directly on your Mac and edit it the way you need.

Now, let’s just compare the converted Pages and the original PDF file. See, notice how well the layout has been preserved here, it can convert PDF to editable pages document while retaining formatting, accuracy.

Download Cisdem PDF Converter OCR and give it a try on your own now!

Free Download macOS 10.14 or later

Video Tutorial on How to Convert PDF to Pages

Tutorial 2: How to Batch Convert Multiple PDFs to Pages

Cisdem PDF Converter OCR also supports process batch of PDF files at the same time, so you can easily convert multiple PDF documents to Pages. Here's how:

Step 1. Go to the “Converter" interface, drag multiple PDF files into the program(up to 200 files). Add or delete the files by clicking the “+” or “-”icon in the lower left corner.

pdf to pages mac cisdem1

If you need to convert all the PDF to Pages at once, press “Command + A” to select all the documents, then choose “to Pages” from the output format drop-down menu.

For more accurate conversion, click on the Pages Setting icon and choose the priority.

pdf to pages mac cisdem2

Click “Convert” to efficiently convert multiple PDFs to Pages simultaneously. 

Tutorial 3: How to Convert Scanned PDF to Pages on Mac

Most of the time, the PDF you get will be scanned PDF files, If you use PDF Conversion program that have no support for OCR, the converted Pages will be a single image, which is not editable or searchable.

Cisdem PDF Converter OCR makes conversion as simple as possible, It requires no experience for working with OCR modules. And it support most of the popular OCR languages. 

1. Drag and drop scanned PDF files to the program.

2. The program will automatically detect the scanned PDF or image file and prompt you to download the advanced OCR module. With this you can convert scanned PDF or images to editable Pages.

That's it, several clicks and wait for several seconds, you will get your PDF in Pages format, and you will be able to edit the Pages file on your iPad or Mac anytime, anywhere.

 

Method 2: Convert PDF to Pages on Mac Using Preview

If you are looking for a built-in conversion feature on macOS that can convert PDF to Pages, then preview is what you are looking for. But, preview only supports converting PDF to Pages by copying and pasting, and this may lead to format loss. If you need to process a PDF file with a relatively small number of pages, then you can try the following method.

How to Convert PDF to Pages on Mac Using Preview?

  1. Open PDF with macOS Preview.
  2. Select and Copy the text that you want to paste to Pages.
  3. Create a new Pages document. Click on the Add Page icon and Paste the contents to the Pages file.
  4. Go to File > Save, your PDF file will be saved as Pages format on Mac.

 

Method 3: Convert PDF to Pages on Mac with Automator

You may encounter a situation where you cannot copy text when using Preview. If your file has too many pages or too much text to copy, you can try to convert it directly to Text format. On Mac, Automator can help you create automated workflow, applications or actions to process PDF files in batch.

How to Convert PDF to Pages on Mac with Automator?

  1. Run Automator on your macOS and choose Application for your documents.
  2. Go to PDFs > Extract PDF Text and drag it to the right side of the interface. Set the output format as “Plain Text” and choose the output file.
  3. Head to File > Save.
  4. Then you can find the program you set up in the folder where you saved it. Drag and drop a PDF to the program, a Text will be created instantly.
  5. Finally, you can easily copy and paste the text to Pages on your Mac.

 

Method 4: Convert PDF to Pages with CleverPDF

If you PDF is small and have no confidential information we recommend you use CleverPDF to convert PDF to pages. It offers online free services to create, convert, protect, unlock, compress and organize PDF files. Its PDF Converter helps to convert native PDFs to Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and image formats. It supports batch convert PDF to Pages format.

What impress us most is that the quality of the output pages is fairly good, you need only to do small changes manually.

Why We Picked This Method:

  • Other than convert PDF to pages it can create, convert, protect, unlock, compress and organize PDF files.
  • Convert PDFs to Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and image formats.
  • Convert PDF to Pages with good quality.
  • Fast convert speed.
  • Save converted files to Google Drive or Dropbox.

Why Avoid it?

  • Convert scanned PDF to images in Pages which is non-editable.
  • Can only process 1 PDF to Pages conversion at a time, don’t support batch conversion.
  • Potential risk of information leakage.
  • All files you upload will be removed automatically after 30 minutes.
  • Only supports adding PDF files smaller than 20 MB.
  • Require internet connection to process the file.

How to Convert PDF to Pages Online Free with CleverPDF?

  1. Visit cleverpdf.com and choose the PDF to Pages tool.pdf to pages cleverpdf1

  2. Drag and drop PDF file to CleverPDF or upload PDF from cloud storage devices such as Google Drive and Dropbox.pdf to pages cleverpdf2

  3. Then click on the “Start conversion” to turn your PDF into Pages.pdf to pages cleverpdf3

  4. Then download the Pages document to your Mac.

Now, lets just compare the converted Pages and the original PDF file. See, the result is good, though after conversion, the titles are crowded together.

 

Method 5: Convert PDF to Pages with HiPDF

Some users may note that CleverPDF doesn’t support batch process PDFs, which takes more time and effort. Here we show another online free PDF to Pages converter for you. It enables you to batch export PDFs as Pages format, but works on native PDFs only too. 

Why We Picked This method:

  • Can convert PDF to Pages directly.
  • Convert PDFs to Pages, Keynote, Numbers, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and image formats.
  • Support batch convert PDF to Pages online.
  • Fast convert speed.
  • Save converted files to Google Drive or Dropbox.

Why Avoid it?

  • Convert scanned PDF to images in Pages which is non-editable.
  • Potential risk of information leakage.
  • Only supports adding PDF files smaller than 20 MB.
  • Only supports PDFs with less than 20 pages, which is very limit, you’ll see pop ads every time your load a large size PDF or PDF with lots of pages, really annoying.
  • Require internet connection to process the file.
  • Require manually revise conversion errors.
  • Need to enter email address in order to download the converted Pages file.

How to Convert PDF to Pages Online Free with HiPDF?

  1. Go to HiPDF PDF to Pages.

  2. Drag and drop PDF file to the program or click “Choose File” to upload.pdf to pages hipdf1

  3. Click Convert to start the conversion.pdf to pages hipdf2

  4. When your task has been completed, they will ask you to enter the email address to log in and download the converted Pages file.

Compared with CleverPDF the output of HIPDF is not that good, the result came out all scrambled, and you need take some time to manually update it.

Can I Open PDF in Pages?

The above ways we show are relying on PDF converters, editors, or even workflows creator. Can I open PDF in Pages directly? I can definitely answer that this is achievable, but it will not be as convenient as we imagined.

With this method, the PDF imported to Pages can be only saved in image format. In other words, Mac Pages allows users to open and insert PDF to Pages, but it can only be added manually page by page and the content on the image cannot be changed.

Since iWork Pages cannot open PDF directly, you will need to open an existing Pages file, then insert the PDF file to Pages.

pdf to pages with Pages 01

Steps to Open PDF in Pages on Mac

  1. Open an existing Pages file with iWork Pages.
  2. Insert PDF to Pages on Mac.
    Once you have run iWork Pages, go to a new blank page and drag&drop the PDF file into the blank page. Only one page of PDF file can be imported at one time.
    Don’t drag and drop PDF files to pages that filled with contents. Otherwise, these pages will be overlapped by inserted PDF.
    Also, you can double click on the PDF page or go to the right panel to adjust the settings.open pdf in pages
  3. Save PDF as Pages on Mac.
    Once all is done, go to File > Save. Your PDF will be converted to Pages, though the imported PDF cannot be edited.

Steps to Insert PDF to Pages on Mac

  1. Head to Pages > Insert > Choose...pdf to pages insert1
  2. Then choose a PDF file that you want to insert to the Pages you create, and click on the “Insert” button.pdf to pages insert2
  3. The PDF will be inserted as an image, you can adjust the style, opacity, position, size and rotation on the right pane.pdf to pages insert3

Notes: If you want to edit PDF in Pages, you will need a professional PDF to Pages converter, or have a try on above-mentioned solutions.

 

Which is the best method to convert your PDF to Pages?

You may have noticed there are quite a few solutions to convert a PDF to Pages directly. Most of the guide tell you to convert PDF to Word, then Save Word as Pages, which takes time and scarifies quality.

All the method we introduced above supports directly convert PDF to pages. Which method you should follow depends on the PDF and your personal needs.

  • Using Preview - If your PDF is short and are mainly text-based.
  • Using Automator - If you have multiple PDFs and the is long and text-based.
  • Using CleverPDF & HiPDF - If you PDF is short, has complex formatting, and no sensitive information.
  • Using PDF Converter OCR - If your PDF is long, has complex formatting, is scanned, or you have batches of PDF to be converted to Pages.

 

FAQs in PDF to Pages Conversion

What are the differences between the original PDF and the converted Pages document?  

When converting PDF to pages, the most asked question is that whether converting PDF to pages will cause differences between the original PDF and the converted Pages file, such as format, layout, image quality, font substitution, hyperlink, bookmark, comment, etc.

If maintaining the formatting of the original PDF document is important to you, and you just don’t want to manually refine the output pages document, we recommend you use PDF Converter OCR or online sites like CleverPDF, this two method will preserve hyperlinks and interactive elements, and there is no loss of quality issue, and all the images, tables, chart will remain intact.

How to a password-protected PDF to Pages?

For most of the tools you need to enter the correct password and then convert PDF to pages, Cisdem PDF Converter OCR supports convert permission password protected PDF without the need to enter a password, and for open password protected PDF files, you just need to enter the right password and convert pdf to pages.

Is there any limitations or restrictions on converting PDF to Pages?

For offline tools, and build in tools like preview and automate, there no limit on the file size and file number, but for online sites like CleverPDF and HiPDF, they all have different limit on file size and file number, and using times per day.

Can I edit text and images after the PDF to pages conversion?

For normal pdf files, the converted pages document can easily be edited, but for scanned PDF files you need a tool that supports OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology, otherwise the converted Pages will be a whole images, which can not be edited.

Are Pages file compatible with Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or other word processing software?

Yes, Microsoft Word and Google Docs can read Pages documents. However, you need to export the Pages document to.docx or .doc before opening.

avatar
Carolyn Ryan

Carolyn has always been passionate about reading and writing, so she joined Cisdem as an editor as soon as she graduated from university. She focuses on writing how-to articles about PDF editing and conversion.

Comments (3) Leave a Reply

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  • Rumir

    There was a way to change PDF to pages with the help of Adobe(I am a Adobe user)! Thanks, but is there any better way to improve the file quality using this method?

    8 years ago commonReply

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  • Keshawn

    Way to go on this essya, helped a ton.

    8 years ago commonReply

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  • Jerem

    I usually use Pages to edit document, but I always receive many PDF file from other people. I need a good PDF to Pages converter. This article provides a good solution. Thank you!!!

    9 years ago commonReply

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