# PDF to EPUB without losing formatting: what is possible?

Source: https://epubcc.com/answers/pdf-to-epub-without-losing-formatting/ (updated 2026-11-04)

You keep the structure, not the page design: paragraphs, headings, chapters, footnotes, bold text and images can all survive, but the exact position of every line cannot, because a reflowable EPUB re-flows the text for each screen. If the look of each page must stay identical, keep the PDF or use a fixed-layout format.

## What carries over

- Paragraphs, rebuilt from line positions, with words split by hyphens joined again.
- Headings and chapters, from the PDF outline when it has one, otherwise from heading sizes.
- Footnotes, linked from the superscript that calls them.
- Images placed in the text, scaled to the screen; the first-page image as the cover.
- Right-to-left text such as Arabic, with the matching page direction.

## What changes by design

- Line breaks, page breaks and hyphenation: the e-reader decides them.
- Fonts and sizes: the reader can change them, which is the point of an EPUB.
- Running headers and page numbers: removed, because they belong to the printed page.
- Two-column pages: read one column after the other, so the EPUB has a single column of text.

## If the layout must stay

When the design of each page carries meaning, as in comics, picture books, sheet music or forms, a reflowable EPUB is the wrong target. Keep the PDF for those, or look for a fixed-layout tool.

## What EpubCC does not keep well yet

- Tables, which are read column by column.
- Scanned pages, which need OCR.
- Complex title pages, where author blocks spread over several groups.

## How to judge it on your own file

No converter can promise a perfect result on every PDF, and we don't. Formatting loss depends on the PDF, so a promise in advance is worth little. The free sample converts 5 pages of your file and shows them next to the original, and the quality report lists any problem found instead of hiding it.

**Can I get a fixed-layout EPUB that looks exactly like the PDF?** Fixed-layout EPUB exists for picture books and comics, but EpubCC produces reflowable EPUBs, because the reason to convert a text PDF is usually to read it comfortably on a small screen.

**Is bold text kept?** Bold is detected from the PDF's fonts and is also used to find headings at body size. Check the sample if emphasis matters in your document.