How to insert a PDF file into Word document

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Microsoft word has always evolved and even though there are many free word processors that are great alternatives, Word still remains the most popular of them all in part due to its many impressive features. But some of its features may be a bit confusing, especially if you are not familiar with them. One of these features is the Insert PDF to Word tool.

In this how-to article, you will learn a few several ways to insert PDF into a Word document so you can choose the method that works best for you.

Note: These steps apply to Word 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and Word for Office 365.

Insert PDF into Word as an embedded object

You can insert a PDF file into Word by embedding it as an object through the “Insert Object” command. This way, the first page of your PDF will appear in the document and become part of the document after it is inserted.

Note: Embedded PDFs become objects and cannot be modified once you embed them into Word. If you make any changes to the original PDF, they will not reflect in the Word document because it’s no longer connected to the source file.

Tip: You can reposition and resize the object in the document window. You can also attach a border, recolor it and control text wrapping around the object if desired.

Follow these steps to Insert PDF into Word as an embedded object:

1. Launch Microsoft Word.
2. Select the Insert tab on the top menu bar.
3. In the text group, select Object to open the “Object dialog box.”
4. In the “Object dialog box” that appears, select the Create from File tab.
5. Click Browse to locate the PDF file you want to insert.
6. Select OK to embed the PDF file into the document. You’ll see the PDF appear on the selected page of the Word document.

Note: You cannot embed a password-protected PDF file into Word. If you attempt to do so, Word will notify you that the file is protected, and you need to remove the password protection before embedding.

Insert a PDF into Word as a linked object

Inserting a PDF file into Word as a linked object means it’ll only appear as the first page of the PDF, and linked to the source file. You can choose to have it display an icon instead of a preview. Either option will open the file when you select the icon or preview.

Note: If you make any changes to the original PDF file, the changes will reflect in the Word document when using this method.

Follow these steps to insert a PDF into Word as a linked object:

1. Open Microsoft Word, double-click or right-click the “blue Word logo that is shaped with a W.”
2. Click File at the top of the screen and Open.
3. Click New in the File menu to create a new document.
4. Place the cursor where you want to insert the PDF as a linked object.
5. Select the Insert tab at the top of the window.
6. Click Object under “Text” group to open the Object dialog box.
7. In the “Object” dialog box that appears, select the Create from File tab.
8. Click Browse to locate the PDF file you want to insert.
9. Click Link to File to insert the PDF as a shortcut to the source file.
10. Select Display as Icon if you want to insert the file as an icon instead of a preview.
11. Click OK to add the PDF (icon or preview) to the Word document.

Note: Click Change Icon if you prefer to display the PDF file with a different icon. Change Icon > Browse to choose an icon and then select OK.

Insert text from a PDF into Word

Do you want a low-tech solution to grabbing text from a PDF? Try cutting and pasting. It’s fast and easy but only works if the PDF in question is primarily text. You can select then copy and paste text from a PDF document just as you can with other types of documents. The advantage of this approach is you will copy and paste text from your PDF file to your Word file, giving you all of Word’s formatting options to apply to this text once you’ve pasted it into the Word document.

This approach of inserting text from a PDF into Word will convert the PDF into an editable text document and only works best if the PDF file is primarily text.

Note: If the original PDF file includes graphics or text formatting, the result won’t look the same as this method will only insert the text without the original formatting or graphics.

Follow these steps to insert text from a PDF into Word:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Click File at the top of the screen and Open.
3. Click New in the “File” menu to create a new document.
4. Place the cursor where you want to insert the PDF as a linked object.
5. Select the Insert tab at the top of the window.
6. Click the down arrow next to Object under “Text” group.
7. Select Text from File to open the Insert File dialog box.
8. In the “Insert File” dialog box that appears, locate the PDF file you want to insert text from and select Insert.
9. Click OK if a notice appears. After Word converts the PDF to text, it’ll appear in your Word document.

Insert PDF content as an image in Word

This method allows you to convert the PDF document into a static image and insert it into your Word document.

Note: You can’t edit the contents of the PDF using this method, any changes made to the PDF source file will not reflect on the Word document thereafter.

You’ll need to use a conversion tool to convert your PDF file to JPG format. Alternatively, If the PDF is one page, you can use the Windows Snipping Tool to capture the PDF content and then save as a JPG file in a location such as your desktop so that you can easily find and insert it into Word document.

To insert PDF content as an image in Word, follow these simple steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Click File at the top of the screen and Open.
3. Click New in the “File” menu.
4. Place the cursor where you want to insert the PDF as an image.
5. Select the Insert tab at the top of the window.
6. Select Picture to open the Insert Picture dialog box.
7. In the “Insert Picture” dialog box that appears, locate the JPG version of your PDF file where you saved it.
8. Click Insert to insert the image into your Word document.

Copy the PDF file into Word

Copying the text from the PDF file into your Word document is a fast and easy way to insert a bit of text into Word. However, this method will not copy any text formatting or graphics (if any) from the original PDF file so the result might not look the same.

Note: These step by step guide explains how to copy text from a PDF in Adobe Acrobat reader, but you can use your default or another PDF reader application, although the steps required may slightly differ.

1. Open the PDF file.
2. Right-click anywhere on the document.
3. In the menu that appears, click Select Tool.
4. Drag to select the text you want to copy.
5. Right-click the selection and click Copy.
6. Open Microsoft Word.
7. Click File at the top of the screen and Open.
8. Click New in the “File” menu if you need to create a new Word document.
9. Place the cursor in the Word document where you want to paste the text from the PDF file.
10. Paste the copied text from your PDF file into the Word document.

Note: If you want to place the contents in your PDF file in a separate Word document, you can convert the PDF file into a Word document using Adobe Acrobat DC instead of inserting the PDF into Word.

Use Adobe to import PDF to Word

If you have the full version of Adobe (if not, here is a free 7 days trial), you can bypass all the other steps mentioned above. Why? The program has a built-in converter with options that can simplify your task much faster and improve the quality of the results. With Adobe Acrobat, you can easily import your PDF file and convert it into Word with better formatting and higher quality than the usual PDF to Word conversion from Word 2013 and 2016.

Follow these steps to import PDF to Word using Adobe:

1. Open Adobe Acrobat and select Export PDF.
2. Select the format you want to convert your PDF file into (Microsoft word) and then choose Word document.
3. Click Export.
4. Open Word document.
5. Place the cursor where you want to insert the PDF as a linked object.
6. Select the Insert tab at the top of the window.
7. Click Object under “Text” group.
8. Select Create from File.
9. Click Browse and locate the Word document you converted from Adobe Acrobat.

Note: If you would like to insert the file as an image, open it in Adobe Acrobat, then select Save As or Save As Other and choose your preferred image format. Acrobat will convert each of your file pages to an image file that you can then insert into Word Document.

Adobe Acrobat Pro is much more secure compared to using free services, the only downside is the price which may not be suitable if you are on a strict budget but you can try it out for free for 7 days.

How to insert a PDF to Word using a free online PDF converter

There are many good and free online PDF converters, you can search “free online PDF converter to image” on your browser. Pick one that is free, requires no registration and supports your preferred image file format like JPG or PNG.

Note: Some of these free software programs support multiple PDF page conversion. However, keep in mind that they often have file size and page limitations.

The step-by-step instructions using this method may slightly differ, depending on the online PDF converter you choose, follow these steps to get started:

1. Open a PDF converter program online
2. Follow instructions to convert your PDF. Several of these PDF programs do have an easy-to-follow interface.
3. Navigate and select PDF to JPG.
4. Locate Choose File or Upload Files icon on the page.
5. Select the PDF file to upload from where you saved it.
6. Click Convert to convert the PDF file to an image file format.
7. The program will now convert your file into images. You will see your file icon(s) at the bottom of the page ready to be downloaded.
8. Select Download individually or Download all to save the file to your computer. Your newly converted files will be downloaded in a ZIP folder, so you need to extract them.
9. Open Downloads on your computer. Double-click or right-click the file you’ve just downloaded, and select Extract All.
10. Open Word Document.
11. Place the cursor in your document where you want the PDF to appear.
12. Select the Insert tab from the menu.
13. Select Picture to open the Insert Picture dialog box.
14. In the “Insert Picture” dialog box that appears, locate the JPG files extracted from the ZIP folder you downloaded.
15. Click Insert to insert the image(s) into your Word document. Edit the image to fit the flow of your text.

Note: While using free online PDF converters may be convenient and save you some money, please be aware they may not be secure, especially if your documents are sensitive. So use these free programs with caution.

How to insert PDF to Word on a Mac

The steps outlined here on how to insert PDF to Word using a Mac are relatively similar to Windows but with some slight differences.

1. Open Word in the Mac version of Office.
2. Click Insert
3. Select Object to open the dialog box.
4. In the dialog box that appears, click From File.
5. Choose the PDF file and click Open to insert the file into Word.

Some differences between Mac and Windows when inserting PDF to Word

• To insert a PDF to Word using Mac, instead of selecting Create from File and Browse as you would in Windows, simply select Insert Object and then click From File.
• While Windows only inserts the first page of the PDF file, Mac allows you to preview and choose which pages from the PDF file you want inserted into Word.
• If you only need text from the PDF, there is a built-in “Preview” tool that allows Mac OS X users to save PDFs as Word directly. Note, this only saves the text into Word format. All formatting, hyperlinks or graphs will be lost using this method. This tool basically allows you to highlight the text you want, then copy and paste it into word. To use this option:

1. open the PDF with Preview.
2. Click Text Tool and highlight your text.
3. Copy and paste the text into Word.

Use Google Docs

You can also insert a PDF file into Word using Google Docs by following these steps:

1. Open Google Docs.
2. Click New.
3. Click File Upload.
4. Select the PDF file.
5. Once uploaded, right-click the PDF file and choose Open with then select Google Docs. The PDF has now been inserted into your Google Docs. Copy and paste the Word document you’d like to combine with it in Docs and edit it.

To download it as Microsoft Word:

1. In your Google Docs, click File.
2. Select Download.
3. Choose Microsoft Word.

Note: The downside of using this method is that the same formatting from the original PDF file will be lost when inserting it into Google Docs.

There are several ways to insert a PDF file into Word, try out any of these methods to see which option works best for you depending on your needs.

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