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This wikiHow teaches how to insert a multiple-page PDF into your Microsoft Word document. If you've tried to insert the PDF already, you've probably noticed that you only see the first page. You can get around this by splitting your PDF into separate pages and inserting them each as objects. If you don’t want to split the PDF into separate pages, you can insert it as an object that is represented by an icon or image of the first page that, when clicked, opens in a PDF viewer.

Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

Splitting a PDF into Separate Pages on Windows

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  1. If you want each page of your multi-page PDF to appear in your Word document, you'll need to save each page in the file to its own file. You can do this in any free PDF reader by printing each page into individual PDFs. The Microsoft Edge web browser comes with a built-in PDF reader, and since it comes pre-installed with Windows, we'll use that.[1]
    • To open the PDF in Edge, right-click the name of the PDF file on your computer, select Open with, and then choose Microsoft Edge.
    • If you want to use a different PDF reader, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader or Google Chrome, you can do that instead. The steps will be similar.
  2. This opens the Print dialog window.
    • You can also click the printer icon in the toolbar running across the top of the page.[2]
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  3. You'll choose this from the drop-down menu at the upper-left corner of the page. This tells Edge to create a PDF instead of sending the file to your printer.
  4. By default, the radio button next to "All" is selected. Because we need to "print" each page separately, we'll need to choose the second radio button, which lets us enter page numbers.[3]
  5. This tells Edge to save just the first page of the PDF as a separate PDF.
  6. It's at the bottom of the Print window. This opens the "Save Print Output As" window.
  7. For example, you could select Desktop in the left panel to save the PDF pages to your desktop.
    • If the PDF has a lot of pages, consider creating a new folder on your desktop. To do this, click the Desktop folder in the left panel, right-click an empty area of the right panel, select New > Folder, type PDF, and press Enter. Then double-click the new folder called "PDF" and save this first file there.
  8. This saves the first page of your PDF as its own individual PDF file.
  9. Each page in your PDF must be saved as a separate PDF to be included in your document. The steps are:
    • Press Ctrl + P to open the print dialog.
    • Select Microsoft Print to PDF.
    • Select the second radio button and type 2 (to do page 2).
    • Click Print and select the same folder you chose earlier.
    • Call the new file page 2 and click Save. Repeat for all pages.
  10. If you want your PDF images to start on a new page, press Ctrl + Enter to create a page break.
  11. This is in the editing ribbon above the document.[4]
  12. It's in the "Text" panel on the right side of the toolbar.[5]
  13. This opens your file browser.[6]
  14. This inserts the first page of your PDF into the file.
  15. To insert the next page, click Object on the Insert tab, select Adobe Acrobat Document again, choose your next page, and click Open. Continue doing this until you've added all pages of the PDF to your Word document.
    • When you're done inserting pages, make sure you save the file by clicking File > Save.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

Splitting a PDF into Separate Pages on macOS

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  1. If you want each page of your multi-page PDF to appear in your Word document, you'll need to save each page in the file to its own file. You can do this in any free PDF reader by printing each page into individual PDFs. Your Mac comes with Preview, which makes it easy to get the job done.[7]
    • To open the PDF in Preview, just double-click the PDF file on your computer.
  2. This opens the Print dialog window.
  3. This tells Preview to create a PDF instead of sending the file to your printer.[8]
  4. It's under the "Pages" header. Because we need to "print" each page separately, we'll need to choose the second radio button, which lets us enter page numbers.
  5. This tells Preview to only create a PDF from the first page.
    • You'll repeat this for all other pages in your document and insert them all separately into your Word document.
  6. The saving dialog window will appear.[9]
  7. Select a folder you'll remember, such as the Desktop folder.
    • If you want to create a new folder instead, go to File > New Folder.
  8. This saves the first page of your PDF to the selected folder.
  9. Now that you've printed the first page to its own PDF file, you'll need to do the same for all other pages that you want to insert in your Word document. Be sure to save them all to the same folder so you can insert them easily later.
  10. If you want your PDF images to start on a new page, press Cmd + Return to create a page break.
  11. This is in the editing ribbon above the document.[10]
  12. It'll be in near the right side of the toolbar at the top of Word.[11]
    • If you don't see this option, click the down-arrow next to the icon of a square with a window over it toward the right side of the toolbar—when the menu expands, click Object.
  13. This button is at the bottom-left corner of the window.
  14. This inserts the first page of your PDF into the file.
  15. To insert the next page, click the Object option again, select From file, choose the next page, and then click Insert. Continue doing this until you've added all pages of the PDF to your Word document.
    • When you're done inserting pages, make sure you save the file by clicking File > Save.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Inserting as an Object Icon

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  1. If you don't need the actual pages of the PDF to appear in the file and are okay with readers clicking an icon to open the PDF in their own reader instead, use this method. If you want your PDF to start on a new page, press Ctrl + Enter (Windows) or Cmd + Return (Mac) to create a page break.
    • You can't do this using the mobile app or a web browser version of Word.
  2. This is in the editing ribbon above the document.[12]
  3. You'll find it in the toolbar at the top of Word.[13]
    • If you're using Windows, it'll be in the "Text" group.
    • If you're using a Mac, you may have to click the small down-arrow next to the icon of a square with a window on it and choose Object.
  4. If you're using Windows, you'll click the tab at the top of the window. If you have a Mac, click the button at the bottom-left corner of the window instead.
  5. This option determines how the PDF is displayed in your document.
    • First, if you have a Mac, click the Options button at the bottom-left to display your options.
    • To display an icon that represents the file in the document, check the box next to "Display as icon." This icon will appear in your document with your text and your readers can click the icon to open your multi-page PDF in a PDF viewer.[14]
    • To display the first page of the PDF as a clickable link, which, when clicked, opens the entire PDF in another window, check the box next to "Link to file."
  6. If you're using a Mac, navigate to the file and click it once to select it. If you're using Windows, click Browse, navigate to the file, and then click it once to select it.
  7. This inserts the PDF into your file as a clickable icon or image link.
    • After inserting the object, make sure you save your document by going to File > Save.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    I have a 44 page PDF, this is really not a good solution and super clunky.
    Anuj_Kumar1
    Anuj_Kumar1
    Community Answer
    For that many pages, rather use any PDF to MS word converter. Outputs may need to be optimized, depending on what is the content of your PDF files.
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About This Article

Stan Kats
Reviewed by:
Professional Technologist
This article was reviewed by Stan Kats and by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Stan Kats is a Professional Technologist and the COO and Chief Technologist for The STG IT Consulting Group in West Hollywood, California. Stan provides comprehensive technology solutions to businesses through managed IT services, and for individuals through his consumer service business, Stan's Tech Garage. Stan holds a BA in International Relations from The University of Southern California. He began his career working in the Fortune 500 IT world. Stan founded his companies to offer an enterprise-level of expertise for small businesses and individuals. This article has been viewed 242,426 times.
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Co-authors: 4
Updated: April 16, 2024
Views: 242,426
Categories: File Manipulation
Article SummaryX

1. Open the PDF in a reader like Edge or Preview.
2. Save each page as its own individual PDF file.
3. Click the mouse in your Word document where you want to insert the pages.
4. Click Insert' > Object. 5. Insert the first PDF page.
6. Repeat for all other pages.

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