Complete Example

This page walks through the shortest, runnable PDF → Word synchronous request — from copying your Public Key to downloading the result via downloadUrl.

Goal: convert a local sample.pdf into a Word file synchronously and download the result.

Flow

Request Reference

Item	Value
Endpoint (Global)	https://api-server.compdf.com/server/v2/process/pdf/docx
Endpoint (China Mainland)	https://api-server.compdf.cn/server/v2/process/pdf/docx
Auth Header	x-api-key: YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY
Method	POST
Content-Type	multipart/form-data
Mode	Synchronous

Parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
file	File	Yes	The source PDF to convert. For PDF→Word, upload one PDF file in multipart/form-data.
pageRanges	String	No	Page range string such as 1-3,6. Omit it to convert the entire document.
enableOcr	Integer (0 / 1)	No	Enable OCR for scanned or image-based PDFs. Use 1 when text is not selectable.
ocrRecognitionLang	String	No	OCR language code, for example eng. Useful when enableOcr=1.
enableAiLayout	Integer (0 / 1)	No	Enable AI layout analysis for better layout reconstruction. Default is usually 1.
pageLayoutMode	String	No	Word layout mode: e_Flow for flow layout or e_Box for box-based layout.

Request Examples

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api-server.compdf.com/server/v2/process/pdf/docx" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY" \
  -F "file=@./sample.pdf" \
  -F "pageRanges=1-3" \
  -F "enableOcr=1" \
  -F "ocrRecognitionLang=eng" \
  -F "enableAiLayout=1" \
  -F "pageLayoutMode=e_Flow"

Python

import requests

url = "https://api-server.compdf.com/server/v2/process/pdf/docx"
headers = {"x-api-key": "YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY"}
files = {"file": open("sample.pdf", "rb")}
data = {
    "pageRanges": "1-3",
    "enableOcr": "1",
    "ocrRecognitionLang": "eng",
    "enableAiLayout": "1",
    "pageLayoutMode": "e_Flow"
}

resp = requests.post(url, headers=headers, files=files, data=data, timeout=120)
result = resp.json()
print(result)

if result.get("code") == "200" and result.get("data", {}).get("downloadUrl"):
    download = requests.get(result["data"]["downloadUrl"], timeout=120)
    open("sample.docx", "wb").write(download.content)

Java

OkHttpClient client = new OkHttpClient();

RequestBody body = new MultipartBody.Builder()
        .setType(MultipartBody.FORM)
        .addFormDataPart("file", "sample.pdf",
                RequestBody.create(new File("sample.pdf"),
                        MediaType.parse("application/pdf")))
        .addFormDataPart("pageRanges", "1-3")
        .addFormDataPart("enableOcr", "1")
        .addFormDataPart("ocrRecognitionLang", "eng")
        .addFormDataPart("enableAiLayout", "1")
        .addFormDataPart("pageLayoutMode", "e_Flow")
        .build();

Request request = new Request.Builder()
        .url("https://api-server.compdf.com/server/v2/process/pdf/docx")
        .addHeader("x-api-key", "YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY")
        .post(body)
        .build();

try (Response response = client.newCall(request).execute()) {
    System.out.println(response.body().string());
}

Node.js

import fs from 'node:fs'
import FormData from 'form-data'
import axios from 'axios'

const form = new FormData()
form.append('file', fs.createReadStream('./sample.pdf'))
form.append('pageRanges', '1-3')
form.append('enableOcr', '1')
form.append('ocrRecognitionLang', 'eng')
form.append('enableAiLayout', '1')
form.append('pageLayoutMode', 'e_Flow')

const { data } = await axios.post(
  'https://api-server.compdf.com/server/v2/process/pdf/docx',
  form,
  { headers: { 'x-api-key': 'YOUR_PUBLIC_KEY', ...form.getHeaders() }, timeout: 120_000 }
)
console.log(data)

Successful Response

{
  "code": "200",
  "msg": "success",
  "data": {
    "taskId": "9f1b3a2e8c0d4f7e9a1b2c3d4e5f6789",
    "status": "TaskFinish",
    "fileName": "sample.pdf",
    "outputFileName": "sample.docx",
    "downloadUrl": "https://download.compdf.com/xxxx/sample.docx",
    "expireTime": "2026-05-09T08:00:00Z"
  }
}

Field reference:

Field	Description
code	Business code. "200" means success; otherwise see the error code page.
data.taskId	Task ID, used for later queries or closing the task.
data.status	Task status. TaskFinish means the task is complete.
data.downloadUrl	Result download URL, time-limited — fetch it promptly.
data.expireTime	When the download URL expires (UTC).

Important Notes

HTTP 200 does NOT mean business success

A 200 HTTP status only confirms the request was delivered. The actual outcome is in the code field of the JSON body.

• code != "200" → check msg and the error code page.
• Auth failures usually surface as 401 / 403: verify x-api-key, that it's enabled, and that the region matches (compdf.com vs compdf.cn).
• Oversized files (default cap 50 MB) return 413.

Next Steps

• Want a different output format? See the API Tool List.
• Large files / batch jobs: switch to asynchronous or pre-signed modes in Request Modes.
• Get notified when a task finishes: see Webhook Events.