How to Add a PDF in Word as an Image, Every Page Visible (and in PowerPoint)

You want to put a page from a PDF into your report, your class paper or your presentation, exactly as it looks? Word has a menu item for that, but it only shows the first page. The cleanest way is to turn the PDF pages into images first. Here are all the methods and when each one fits.

Which method is right for you?

If the PDF should be visible in your document, the picture method is almost always best. It’s the only one that shows every page, stays sharp in print and works in every version of Word.

Step 1: Turn the PDF pages into images

Word and Windows have no built-in way to turn a PDF into images. In your browser it takes a few seconds, with no installation and no account. Your PDF isn’t uploaded to a server. That matters for confidential reports, contracts or transcripts.

To open a ZIP on Windows, double-click it and choose Extract All. On a Mac, just double-click it.

Step 2: Insert the images in Word

Now bring the images into your document. You can insert several pages in one step.

Word inserts all selected images at once, one below the other. Because the files are numbered, you can find each page quickly. Check the order afterward. If each PDF page should sit on its own Word page, add a page break after each picture with Ctrl + Enter, or Cmd + Enter on a Mac.

The picture starts out as In Line with Text and behaves like a large letter. For full pages, that’s usually the best setting. If you want text to wrap around it, click the picture, open Layout Options and choose Square, for example.

How to add a PDF in PowerPoint

PowerPoint works the same way, just with slides instead of pages. The picture method is especially handy for presentations, because you can resize and crop each page freely.

• One page: Insert > Pictures > This Device, pick the image and drag it to slide size.
• Many pages at once: In PowerPoint for Windows, choose Insert > Photo Album > New Photo Album. Click File/Disk and select all images, set Picture layout to Fit to slide and click Create. Each PDF page becomes its own slide, in the right order.
• On a Mac: Select the images in Finder and drag them onto the slide. For one slide per page, insert them one after another.
• Google Slides and Keynote: There, too, you add the PNG images with Insert > Image.

For a projector, 144 dpi is enough. If the presentation also gets printed, or a page is full of small numbers, choose 300 dpi. The file gets bigger, so only do it when needed.

The object method: when it makes sense

Insert > Object > Create from File embeds the whole PDF in your document. But only the first page is visible, and on some PCs just an icon. Double-clicking it opens the PDF in your PDF app.

This method fits when the PDF should travel along as an attachment, for example a quote inside a project report. In that case, check Display as icon. Whoever gets your document opens the PDF with a double-click. Word and PowerPoint for the web don’t offer this method.

Screenshot: only a stopgap

A screenshot only has the resolution of your screen. It still looks fine on your monitor, but small text quickly gets blurry in print or on a projector. On top of that, you have to open, capture and save every page separately.

For a single table or chart, that’s fine. On Windows, press Windows + Shift + S and drag a frame. In Word and PowerPoint you can also use Insert > Screenshot > Screen Clipping. For full pages, the picture method above works better.

PNG or JPG? And which resolution?

• PNG for pages with text, tables, formulas and charts. Letters and lines stay crisp.
• JPG for pages that are mostly photos, like a brochure. Your Word document stays smaller. For that, use PDF to JPG.
• 144 dpi for screen, projector and email. A Letter page comes out at about 1224 × 1584 pixels, an A4 page at about 1190 × 1684.
• 300 dpi for printing. A Letter page then has about 2550 × 3300 pixels, an A4 page about 2480 × 3508.

If many pages make your document too large, select a picture and use Picture Format > Compress Pictures in Word, or use JPG instead of PNG for photo-heavy pages.

Edit the text instead of inserting a picture?

If you want to change the PDF’s text or reuse paragraphs, a picture is the wrong choice. Open the PDF directly in Word with File > Open. Word converts it into an editable document. That works well for simple text pages. With tables, columns and images, the layout often shifts, and you’ll need to fix it up.

Need the PDF pages for something else too, like an Instagram story or an upload portal? The guide How to make a PDF a picture shows all the methods for Mac, Windows and phone.

• Insert > Object only shows the first page of a PDF.
• For all pages: convert the PDF into images, then add them with Insert > Pictures.
• PNG keeps text and lines sharp. Choose 300 dpi for printing.
• In PowerPoint, Photo Album turns many pages into separate slides in one step.
• As a picture, the text can't be edited. For that, open the PDF directly in Word.
• A screenshot is only a stopgap. It gets blurry when printed.