How to integrate a PDF into a Word document?

When working on Sales Collateral, you might encounter the following situation : while working on Word you realize that information from a PDF would be relevant to your document. So, what to do? Well, what if we told you, it is possible to insert a PDF into a Word document? Instead of having to re-write the PDF’s content into your document you can simply embed the PDF directly into Word.

We most often associate Word files and PDFs as a conversion, but the two file types work really well together! Adding a PDF to Word is pretty simple, and can save you time.In this article, we will show you different tricks to insert a PDF into Word, so read carefully !

Related articles

 

A few tips

Before we get started, here a few pointers related to the concepts you might come across in this article:

  • PDFs can be added to Word as clickable objects or embedded objects.
  • When you embed a PDF it only shows the first page, not the full document.
  • When you link a PDF, it can appear as an icon or display the cover page on your Word document.

How to insert PDF into Word Document as an Embedded Object

Before you insert your PDF into a Word file, make sure it does not need further editing. The embedded PDF is not a “living document” within Word, so edits made after embedding will not necessarily show up.

Below is how to how to insert PDF into Word:

  1. Open Word on your PC/Mac
  2. Open the document you want to add a PDF to
  3. Place the cursor where you want the PDF to embed
  4. At the top of your window, select “Insert”
  5. Go to “Text” and select the “Object” icon
  6. From the drop-down menu, select “Object”
  7. Select “From File” from the popup window
  8. Select the file you want to insert
  9. Click “Insert”

That’s it, your PDF is now successfully integrated into your Word document.

How to Insert PDF into Word as a Linked Object

Now that we have seen how to add a PDF to a Word document, it is time to discuss linked objects. When you add a PDF to a Word document as a linked object it means you are linking the PDF as an external document. In other words, it implies that the PDF must be hosted somewhere (like OneDrive for example) so changes on the PDF reflect on your linked document.

As mentioned above, linked objects in Word can be displayed as embedded documents or icons. Consider which is best for the end user before linking your PDF.

Below is how to add a PDF to a Word document as a linked object:

  1. Open Word on your PC/Mac
  2. Open the document you want to add a PDF to
  3. Place the cursor where you want the PDF to be linked
  4. At the top of your window, select “Insert”
  5. Go to “Text” and select the “Object” icon
  6. From the drop-down menu, select “Object”
  7. Select “From File” from the popup window
  8. Select the file you want to insert
  9. Select “Options”
  10. Click the “Link to file” box
  11. Click “Insert”

That’s it, your PDF is now successfully linked to your Word document.

How to insert PDF content as an Image in Word

Another way of integrating your PDF to Word is as an image, but you will have to convert it first. A good online app to convert your PDF files into pretty much any format is ilovepdf.

Once you have successfully converted your PDF document into JPEG files, each page will show as an image in your files. Below is how to add an image to Word :

  1. Open Word on your PC/ Mac
  2. Open the document you want to add a PDF to
  3. Place the cursor where you want the PDF to be linked
  4. At the top of your window, select “Insert”
  5. Select “Pictures”
  6. Select “Picture from file”
  7. Choose the image that you wish to integrate
  8. Select “Insert”

That’s it, your image is now successfully integrated to your Word document, and can be resized as you like!

 

How to Copy PDF into Word ?

Before we finish, we would like to add one last simple hack, and that is how to simply copy and paste text from a PDF into your Word.

Below are the instructions to use your traditional shortcuts to copy/paste :

  1. Open the PDF you want to copy text from
  2. Select the text you would like to copy
  3. Right-click within the PDF
  4. Select “Copy”
  5. Open the Word document you want to add the copied text to
  6. Place your cursor where you’d like to paste the text
  7. Right-click within the Word file
  8. Select “Paste”

That’s it, a simple copy/paste can also go a long way. However, please note that the text may not conform to the styling of your Word document.

Get a free PowerPoint template
customized to your company's industry

Get a free PowerPoint template
customized to your company's industry