How to Embed a PDF in Word

To embed a PDF in Word, click where you want it, go to Insert > Object, click the Create from File tab, click Browse, pick your PDF, and click OK. The PDF shows up in your document, and anyone with the file can open it from there.

These steps cover the Word desktop app in Microsoft 365, Word 2024, 2021, 2019 and 2016 on Windows, plus Word for Mac. Word for the web can’t embed a PDF, but you can link to one. For editable text or a .docx copy, use the Convert a PDF to an Editable Word Document section below.

An embedded PDF works like an attachment inside your document. You can move and resize it, but you can’t edit the PDF’s text in Word. These steps follow Microsoft’s guide to adding a PDF to an Office file.

Which Method Do You Need?

You want to	Use this method
Send the PDF along with the Word file	Embed it as an object
Show a small clickable icon instead of a page	Embed it with Display as icon
Keep the Word file small and always open the newest PDF	Link to the PDF
Show every page so readers see it without opening anything	Insert each page as a picture
Change the PDF’s words	Convert the PDF in Word

How to Embed a PDF in a Word Document

1. Open your Word document and click where you want the PDF to go.
2. Click the Insert tab.
3. In the Text group, click Object. If you see a small arrow next to it, click the arrow and choose Object. The Object box opens.
4. Click the Create from File tab.
5. Click Browse, find your PDF, and click Insert (or Open). The file’s location now shows in the File name box.
6. To show the PDF as a small icon, check Display as icon. Leave Link to file unchecked so the PDF is stored inside the document.
7. Click OK.

Without Display as icon, Word shows the first page of the PDF on the page. With it, you see an icon with the file name. Either way, you can drag the object to move it and drag a corner handle to resize it.

To pick a different picture for the icon, click Change Icon after you check Display as icon. The same box lets you change the label under the icon, which helps when a document holds several PDFs. Microsoft describes these options in Insert an object in Word or Outlook.

Open the Embedded PDF

Double-click the PDF in your document to open it. It opens in your PDF app, not in Word. You can also right-click it and choose the object’s menu (its name depends on your PDF app, for example Acrobat Document Object), then Open. You need a PDF reader, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, installed to view it. Anyone you send the document to needs one too.

Embed a PDF in Word for Mac

1. Click where you want the PDF in your document.
2. Select the Insert tab, then Object.
3. Select From File, choose the PDF, and select Insert.
4. If you want a small icon instead of the first page, or a link instead of a copy, select Options in the file window before you insert and choose Display as icon or Link to file.

To capture a single page as a picture on a Mac instead, press Command + Shift + 4 and drag around the page.

Word for the Web Can’t Embed PDFs

The Insert tab in Word for the web has no Object command, so you can’t embed a PDF there. You have two choices:

• Select Editing > Open in Desktop App and use the steps above in the Word app.
• Upload the PDF to OneDrive, share it, and add a link to it with Insert > Link. Make sure the sharing setting lets your readers open it.

Embed or Link: Which Should You Use?

In the same Object box, you can check Link to file instead of embedding. See Microsoft’s embed or link steps. Here’s the difference:

• Embed puts a copy of the PDF inside the Word file, so it goes wherever the document goes. The copy adds to the file size, and it does not change if someone edits the original PDF later.
• Link to file points to the PDF on your computer. Word shows the newest version of that PDF, and the Word file stays small. It only works while that PDF stays where it is, so other people usually can’t open it.

If you’re sending the document to other people, embed the PDF.

If the PDF is already online, you can make a hyperlink in Word to its web address instead of embedding it. In the desktop app, Insert > Link > Existing File or Web Page can also point to a PDF on your computer or a shared drive.

How to Show Every Page of a PDF in Word

An embedded PDF shows only its first page in your document. To show every page as part of the document, insert each page as a picture:

1. Open the PDF and capture each page with the Snipping Tool (Windows key + Shift + S). If you need help, here’s how to open and use the Snipping Tool.
2. Save each capture as a PNG file.
3. In Word, click where the page should go and select Insert > Pictures > This Device.
4. Select the images and choose Insert. Resize them to fit the page. If a page image is not needed, you can delete a picture in Word by selecting it and pressing Delete.

Right-click each picture and choose View Alt Text (or Edit Alt Text) to describe the page for people who use a screen reader. Pictures can’t be searched or edited like text, and they won’t update if the PDF changes, so use the next method if you need to change the wording.

To embed each page as its own object instead, split the PDF into one file per page first, then embed the pages one at a time.

Convert a PDF to an Editable Word Document

Use this method in desktop Word for Windows when you want to edit the PDF’s words or save a .docx copy. Opening the PDF converts it; embedding it with Insert > Object only attaches the file.

1. In Word, choose File > Open > Browse and select the PDF.
2. Read the conversion message and select OK. Word creates a converted copy; your original PDF stays unchanged. Select Enable Editing if a yellow bar appears at the top.

3. Edit the text and check every page against the original, including tables, line breaks, images, headers, and page numbers.
4. Choose File > Save As, give the copy a new name, and select Word Document (*.docx) to keep it editable.

To pull the PDF’s text into a document you already have, click where it should go, then select the arrow next to Insert > Object and choose Text from File. Pick the PDF and select Insert. Word converts it the same way. If PDF files aren’t offered in that window, open the PDF with File > Open, copy what you need, and paste it into your document.

To return the edited copy to PDF, choose PDF as the Save As file type, or use File > Export > Create PDF/XPS. Open the saved PDF and check its layout before sharing it. If the document has links, convert Word to PDF with embedded links so they stay clickable.

This works best for PDFs containing real text. A scanned page or a page made mainly of graphics may appear as one image, leaving its words uneditable. In that case, use an OCR-capable tool to recognize the text, then proofread the result. Complex layouts can move during conversion, so this is unsuitable when you must preserve an exact form or page design. Microsoft also lists features that often convert poorly, such as tables with cell spacing, page borders, footnotes that span pages, comments, and tracked changes.

No desktop Word? You can also convert a PDF to an editable Google Doc for free in Google Drive, or use Adobe’s Acrobat PDF to Word converter and copy the parts you need. Online converters upload your file, so don’t use one for a confidential PDF unless you’re allowed to.

For the full process and its limits, read Edit a PDF and Opening PDFs in Word. Word for the web does not provide the same PDF-opening conversion workflow.

How to Check It Worked or Undo It

Save the document, close it, and reopen it. Double-click the PDF object; if your PDF app opens the file, the embed worked. For a document you plan to send, email a copy to yourself and open it on another device if you can.

To remove an embedded PDF, click it once so the handles appear and press Delete. Press Ctrl + Z (Command + Z on a Mac) right away if you remove it by mistake.

Troubleshooting

• I can’t find Object. Make sure you’re in the Word desktop app, not Word for the web. On a narrow window, the Text group may be collapsed into one button; widen the window or click Text to see Object.
• The PDF shows as an icon when I wanted the page. Delete the object and insert it again with Display as icon unchecked. If it still shows only an icon, install a PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat Reader, then insert it again.
• Double-clicking does nothing or shows an error. The computer has no app that can open PDF objects. Install a PDF reader, or check how to change the default PDF viewer in Windows 11.
• A linked PDF stopped opening. The original file was moved, renamed, or deleted, or you’re on another computer. Insert the PDF again and embed it this time.
• The Word file is too large to email. Embedding adds the whole PDF. Compress the PDF before you embed it, or share it as a link.

Frequently Asked Questions