The PDF is a very versatile format suitable for a wide range of applications, but it is not a format intended for heavy text editing and word processing. Because the PDF’s primary purpose is to display information faithfully and provide a space for assembling digital assets, it has only basic support for text operations. Seeing that the average PDF reader only lets you view documents, not edit them, it’s no surprise that many users wonder how to open PDF files in Word for editing.

Quick View

Embed: Open MS Word, Choose Insert > Object  > Object > Create from File > Browse. Locate the PDF, and select OK.
Text-only: Open Word, choose Insert > Text from File. Locate the PDF, then Click on Insert.
Copy the text: Open the PDF, drag to select the text. Right-click and choose Copy Without Formatting. Then paste into a Word document.

How to Insert a PDF Into Word as a Linked Object

Step 1: Place the cursor in the Word document where you want to insert the PDF as a linked object.

Step 2: Click the Object icon in the text group, and select Object from the drop-down menu.

Step 3: Select the Create from File tab.

Step 4: Select Browse and locate the PDF file.

Step 5: Select Show as Icon to insert an icon that represents the file instead of a preview.

Step 6: Select OK to add the PDF to the Word document.

Step 7: A PDF icon or preview will appear in the Word document.

How to Open PDF in Word

A quick way to access your PDF file in Word is to locate your PDF in File Explorer and then open it from there. If you’re a Mac user, you can do that by opening Finder, right-clicking your PDF, and choosing Open With > Word.

Step 1:Open Word. If you are opening a PDF in an already created Word document, open the document by using the File tab to scroll to the page where the PDF will be inserted.

Step 2: Press the “Ctrl” key and “Enter” to create a page break for the PDF.”

Step 3:Click on the ‘Insert’ tab, then click on the ‘Items’ sub-menu on the ribbon.”

Step 4:Click “Items” in the drop-down list to open the Items window.”

Step 5:Click the ‘Create from File’ tab and click the ‘Browse’ button, navigate to the PDF and double-click it.

Step 6:Click the “OK” button, which closes the window and returns you to the Word and PDF document that is inserted on the page and opened.”

How to Open PDF On Mac

If you are a Mac user, go to the “File” tab and then select “Object” from the drop-down menu. Then you can click “From File” button to browse your local folder and add the target PDF into Word.