Key takeaways
- Converting a PDF to Word extracts its text into an editable .docx, which is the right choice whenever the words inside the PDF need changing.
- Inserting places a PDF inside a Word document as an object or page image, so its content travels along but never becomes editable text.
- In Microsoft Word, inserting means placing the cursor, then choosing Insert and Object to attach the file or Picture to place a page image.
- Nine times out of ten, someone who wants to get a PDF into Word actually needs conversion rather than insertion.
If you want to change the words inside a PDF, you need conversion. If you want to attach a PDF inside a Word file you are writing, you need insertion. Everything else in this guide is detail, but that one distinction answers the question for most people.
Converting: when you need to edit the PDF's content
Converting PDF to Word pulls the text out of the PDF and puts it into an editable .docx file. Use it when someone sent you a contract, resume, or report as a PDF and you need to revise the actual words. Upload the file to a PDF to Word converter, download the .docx, and edit it in Word, Google Docs, or LibreOffice. The PDF's text becomes your text.
Inserting: when you need a PDF inside your document
Inserting places a PDF into a Word document you are already writing, as an attachment or as a picture of its page. The PDF's content does not become editable text; it travels inside your document as an object. Use this for reports that reference an exhibit, or coursework that includes a source document.
How to do it in Microsoft Word:
- Put your cursor where the PDF should go.
- Go to Insert, then Object (to attach the PDF file) or Picture (to place an image of a page).
- Save. The PDF now lives inside your Word document.
A 10 second decision guide
Ask one question: do I need to change the words inside the PDF? Yes means convert. No, I just need the PDF to appear inside my document, means insert. If you are still unsure, you almost certainly want conversion, because that is what people mean nine times out of ten when they say they want to "get a PDF into Word".
The bottom line
Convert to edit. Insert to embed. Two different jobs, two different buttons, and now you know exactly which one to press.