How to Copy and Paste an Image from PDF to Word

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Put that PDF image right where you want it – on your Word doc.

Written by Megaera Lorenz, PhD

Last Updated: August 19, 2024 Fact Checked

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• Copying an Image (PC)
|
• Copying an Image (Mac)
|
• Copying an Entire PDF to Word
|
• Tips

|Show more |Show less

This wikiHow teaches you how copy an image from a PDF and insert it into a Word document. We’ll also explain how to insert an entire PDF into a Word document as an image.

How to Copy and Paste Images from PDF to Word

• On PC, open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Right-click the document, choose the Select Tool, then click the image. Right-click again and click Copy Image.
• On a Mac, open the PDF in Preview and double-click an image to select it. Copy the image and paste it into your Word document.
• You can also insert an entire PDF file into a Word document as an image.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Copying an Image (PC)

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1. 1
   Open your PDF in Adobe Reader. If you don’t already have Adobe Acrobat Reader, download it now. It’s a free program. While Reader won’t let you do much more than read PDFs, you can use it to select and copy text and images.

   • If you like, you can set Reader to open PDFs by default when you double-click on them.
   • By default, PDFs will open in Microsoft Edge when you double-click them on a PC.
2. 2
   Right-click anywhere on the document. A context menu will pop open.
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3. 3
   Choose the Select tool. It’s the tool at the top of the menu that looks like an arrow cursor.
4. 4
   Click the image you want to copy. This will select it.
5. 5
   Right-click the image and select Copy Image. The image will now be copied to your clipboard.
6. 6
   Open a Word document. Open the document where you want to paste the image you just copied.
7. 7
   Press Ctrl+V. Click the spot where you want to insert the copied image, then hit Ctrl + V on your keyboard to paste it. You can also right-click that place on the page and select Paste, or go to Edit > Paste.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Copying an Image (Mac)

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1. 1
   Open the PDF in Preview. By default, PDF files open in Preview on Mac. Double-click the PDF to open it.

   • Preview is a free PDF viewing and editing app that comes with your Mac.
2. 2
   Double-click the image you want to copy. This will select the image. Once you’ve selected it, you’ll see a blue overlay over the image.
3. 3
   Press ⌘ Command+C. This will copy the image. You can also click on the Edit menu and select Copy.
4. 4
   Open a Word document. Launch the document you want to add the image to.
5. 5
   Press ⌘ Command+V. Click on the location where you’d like the image to appear, then press Command + V to paste it. You can also click Edit, then select Paste.

   • Now that the image is in your document, feel free to edit it however you like!
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Copying an Entire PDF to Word

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1. 1
   Open a Word document. This technique should insert the PDF into your Word document, where it will act like an editable image within the Word doc. Start by opening the document where you want to insert the PDF.
2. 2
   Click Insert. Select the one in the menu bar at the top of the screen, not the one in the ribbon at the top of your document.
3. 3
   Select Object… > Create from File. Depending on your version of Word, you might see a button that says From File instead of a Create from File option.
4. 4
   Select and insert your PDF. Browse your files and find the PDF you want to insert. Click Okay or Insert.

   • If this option doesn’t work, it’s possible you don’t have a PDF reader or editor that’s compatible with Word. You may need to install a different app or try one of the alternative techniques below.
5. 5
   Try copying and pasting the entire PDF. If the Insert Object technique doesn’t work, there are a couple of alternatives you can try. In your PDF viewer, go to Edit > Select All, then press Ctrl + C (Windows) or Command + C (Mac) to copy the contents of the PDF. Open your Word document and use Ctrl + P (Windows) or Command + P (Mac) to paste it into the doc.

   • If this works, the entire PDF, including text and images, should appear in your Word doc. The original formatting of the PDF may be lost, however.
6. 6
   Convert your PDF into an image, then insert it. If all else fails, you can convert your PDF into an image file, such as a JPG, and then insert it into your Word document. You can easily do this using a free tool such as Adobe’s online PDF to JPG converter. Once you have your converted file:

   • Open the Word document and click the spot where you want to insert the image.
   • Click the Insert tab and select Pictures. Click Picture from File and select your converted PDF, then click Insert.
   • You can also insert a PDF directly using the Insert > Pictures > Picture from File path, but it may only display the first page from the PDF. If this happens, you can try splitting the PDF into multiple pages and inserting them separately.
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Tips

• Some PDFs may have protected content that you can’t copy. If you aren’t able to copy images due restrictions on the document, you may be able to get around it by taking a screenshot.
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