How to Convert a PDF to Word and Keep the Images

By Louise Balle

PDF (portable document format) files are convenient for sending and sharing online, but they are not made for editing. If the file is in Microsoft Word, you have more options when working with the file, and you can always convert it back to the portable PDF format later. While there is no simple "one step" way to convert a PDF file to look exactly like Microsoft Word, it is possible to do the conversion by copying and pasting elements between the two programs.

Step 1

Open the PDF document in Adobe Reader. Load Microsoft Word.

Step 2

Click "Tools" on the main menu then "Select & Zoom." Choose the "Snapshot Tool."

Step 3

Position your mouse at the very top corner of the page, click, and drag the tool down over the entire page. When you release the button the program will make a copy of your page.

Step 4

Go to Word and open a new document. Paste the image that you just took a snapshot of over to Word---the PDF file will now display in Word exactly as it did before.

Step 5

Copy the text from your PDF file first if your document has both text and images. Choose the "Select Tool" on the "Tools" menu, then use your mouse to select the text. Copy and paste it into its own separate Word file for now. Then go back and use the snapshot tool to copy and paste the images.

Step 6

Use the "Format Picture," "Size," "Text Wrapping," and "Format Autoshape" tool in Word to edit the image. Right-click the image to find these editing tools.

Step 7

Add a text box (or multiple ones) to the file that contains your image from the PDF. Copy and paste the text from your other Word file (see step five) into the text box. Edit the text so that it looks just like the PDF version.

Step 8

Repeat this action for each page in your PDF file.

Step 9

Open your PDF document in Adobe Acrobat as an alternative. Click "File" then "Save As" on the Acrobat main menu. Choose "Microsoft Word" from the "Type" drop down list and then save the file. You will still have to do some formatting as described in the previous steps.

×