How to convert from Latex to Word properly?

Question

I have a latex document on Overleaf that contains equations and mathematical symbols and I want to convert my document to the Word version, I transformed my .tex document to .pdf then I used an online converter for pdf to Word, but all the equations get ruined.

Is there a way to do the conversion without damaging the equations?

Does this answer your question? Workflow for converting LaTeX into Open Office / MS Word Format — user202729, Dec 11 '21 at 13:59

score 6 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 27 '20 at 15:26

6

You could use Pandoc the simples usage is like this pandoc -o file.docx file.tex

answered Jul 27 '20 at 15:26

pml

462

Thank you for your answer. Do I need to install pandoc? – walid Jul 27 '20 at 15:30
2

@walid Read Getting started with pandoc: Step 1: Install pandoc – AndréC Jul 27 '20 at 15:40
I believe pandoc only does equations by converting to images. This is fine as long as you don't want to edit the equations in Word. – Mark Verschell Jul 27 '20 at 16:03
@pml is this command pandoc -o file.docx file.tex work even if my latex has figures? – walid Jul 27 '20 at 16:50
@MarkVerschell Verschell do you recommend another way si I can edit the equations? – walid Jul 27 '20 at 16:52
@walid I believe, you really should try! – pml Jul 27 '20 at 19:12
@pml yes I tried but each time an error pop up regarding my latex! Is there a way to skip them and do the conversion anyway? – walid Jul 27 '20 at 19:41
Pandoc converts tex math to editable word equations, not images. – John MacFarlane Jul 28 '20 at 03:32

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 27 '20 at 16:01

3

Equations are where you are going to experience your biggest problem. (One could also ask WHY you want to do this, as you will have a much richer experience with LaTeX, but I won't ask).

Since Word supposedly understands MathML, perhaps your best option would be to first use tex4ht or LaTeXML to convert to HTML with MathML and then import that file into Word.

answered Jul 27 '20 at 16:01

Mark Verschell

111
4

2

you can convert to word directly with TeX4ht, using make4ht -f odt filename.tex command. This has advantages over the HTML export, like support for footnotes and similar features that are supported by Word, but not by HTML. – michal.h21 Jul 27 '20 at 16:47
How can I use tex4ht? – walid Jul 27 '20 at 20:28
@walid it is installed automatically when you have a local TeX installation. You can then use make4ht on the command line. – michal.h21 Jul 28 '20 at 08:52
@michal.h21 I am using Overleaf. Is it possible to install a Tex in my laptop (which one)? – walid Jul 28 '20 at 12:38
@walid it is possible to use make4ht with Overleaf, but it is not that easy: https://www.kodymirus.cz/overleaf-html-sample/main.html It is best to use TeX Live, as it is most up to date. – michal.h21 Jul 28 '20 at 15:01

How to convert from Latex to Word properly?

2 Answers2