10 Easy Steps to Edit and Convert PDFs in Microsoft Word

PDF download Download Article
PDF download Download Article

Do you want to make changes to a PDF without paying for Adobe Acrobat? If you have Microsoft Office for Windows or Mac, you can easily use Microsoft Word to edit PDFs and even convert them to Word documents on your computer. While Word can open and display most PDFs without problems, PDFs containing book chapters or that contain scanned text might have some formatting inconsistencies. This wikiHow article will teach you how to use Microsoft Word to open, edit, and convert PDF documents on your PC or Mac.

Things You Should Know

  • You can easily open and edit most PDFs in any version of Word without using any third-party conversion tools.
  • If the PDF contains text that's in an image, such as a scanned book, you might need to convert it with an OCR converter first.
  • After editing the text and images in Word, you can save in any format, including PDF and DOCX.

Steps

PDF download Download Article
  1. You'll find it in your Windows Start menu or on your Mac's Launchpad. You can edit PDFs in any version of Word, including the version that comes with Office 365, Word 2021, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013. [1]
    • If the PDF you want to edit is a scanned document, you might not be able to edit the text in Word without first converting the file using an OCR file converter —these converters can transform scanned text into text you can edit. Fortunately, there are great free options on the web, including https://www.newocr.com , that can easily convert scanned text to the Word .docx and PDF formats.
    • While you can edit the contents of a PDF in Word, you won't get the more robust features of a premium PDF editor , such as the ability to easily reorganize pages in the document. Images and graphs may also not appear in the precise locations that they'd appear in a PDF-specific app.
  2. You'll see the File menu at the top-left corner.
    • When you double-click on the PDF file, a dialog box will appear confirming whether you want to convert the PDF file into a Word document, click “OK” to proceed.
    • If the PDF file has content that Word is unable to convert, another dialog box may appear. Click “OK.”
    Advertisement
  3. If you downloaded the PDF file from the web, it'll usually be in your Downloads folder. If you saved the PDF from an email attachment in Microsoft Outlook, you'll typically find the file in your Documents folder. [2]
    • If you don't see the folder you're looking for, click Browse to navigate all of the folders on your computer.
  4. When you open a PDF, Word will need to convert it to a format it can display. [3] This might take a few moments or longer, depending on the size of the PDF.
  5. Once you’ve successfully imported the PDF file to your MS Word, you can edit it just like any other Word document. You can even alter the page size, orientation, line spacing , margins, and font style.
    • If the text you want to edit is inside of an image, such as a graphical logo, you may not be able to edit it. If the text you want to change isn't editable, try using OneNote's Copy Text from Picture feature.
  6. If the PDF contains images or charts, you can remove them for easier reading and printing, move them to other parts of the document, and even add your own .
    • To add an image, just click the Insert menu, select Pictures , then choose the location of the image you want to add. Select the image and choose Open to place it in the document.
    • To move an image, just click and drag it to the desired position.
    • To delete an image, click it once to select it, and then press delete or del on your keyboard.
    • To crop an image, right-click it, then choose Crop .
    • You can also apply effects and add special coloring and borders to images using Word's Picture Tools. [4] Just click the picture you want to edit, click the FORMAT tab that appears under "Picture Tools" at the top of Word to open all image editing options.
  7. Once you've finished editing the PDF, you can save it as a PDF or a Word document, depending on your needs.
    • If you want to prevent others from editing the file, you can restrict editing before saving the document. Just click the Review tab, select Restrict Editing , check the box next to "Allow only this type of editing in the document," then select No changes (Read Only) . [5]
  8. To save to a folder on your computer, you can choose This PC (Windows) On My Mac (if you're using a Mac).
  9. From the "File Format" or "Save As Type" menu, select the format you want to use. For example, Word Document (.docx) or PDF .
  10. This saves the edited PDF file in the selected format. [6]
    11. Advertisement

Expert Q&A

Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
      Advertisement

      Tips

      • If the PDF is secured with a password, you won't be able to open or edit it unless you know the password .
        Thanks
        Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
      • The converted PDF document may not be a perfect page-to-page replica compared to the original. For example, lines, pages, or images may appear at slightly different places. The PDF-to-Word conversion works better with documents that contains more text than graphics.
        Thanks
        Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Submit
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
      Advertisement

      You Might Also Like

      How to
      Unprotect a Word Document Without the Password
      7 Ways to Use Microsoft Office for Free: Web, Mobile, & Desktop Versions
      A Complete Guide to Transferring MS Office to a New Computer
      Strike Through Text Easily in any Outlook Email Message
      How to
      Install Microsoft Office: Subscribe and Download
      How to
      Adjust Image and Object Transparency in PowerPoint
      How to
      Schedule an Email Message in Microsoft Outlook
      A Complete Guide to Duplicating Pages in Word
      How to
      Print Mirror Image
      How to
      Attach Large Files & Folders to Emals in Outlook
      How to
      Upgrade Microsoft Office
      How to
      Install Microsoft Teams on Windows: Work, School, & Personal
      Step-By-Step Guide to Convert PowerPoint to Word: Windows + Mac
      How to
      Share a OneNote Page
      Advertisement

      References

      1. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/edit-a-pdf-b2d1d729-6b79-499a-bcdb-233379c2f63a
      2. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/customize-the-save-experience-in-office-786200a7-f5f2-4d26-a3ae-b78c60dd5d3b
      3. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/edit-a-pdf-b2d1d729-6b79-499a-bcdb-233379c2f63a
      4. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/editing-photos-without-picture-manager-2b540dac-7cd4-42fc-b7a3-d8d0ba47f4c5
      5. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/make-a-document-read-only-5c25909c-46d9-4eb0-9d1f-d072a560e340
      6. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/save-or-convert-to-pdf-or-xps-in-office-desktop-apps-d85416c5-7d77-4fd6-a216-6f4bf7c7c110

      About This Article

      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 65,542 times.

      Is this article up to date?

      Advertisement