Skip to main content
lauras18755173
lauras18755173
Participant
March 27, 2015
Answered

PDF is blurry when inserted into Word document

  • March 27, 2015
  • 7 replies
  • 219187 views

I am able to insert a PDF as an object into Word, but the image quality is slightly blurry.  Is there anything I can adjust to improve image clarity in Word?

    Correct answer Dov Isaacs

    Microsoft Office applications under Windows provide no real mechanism for placing PDF content at full quality. When you do attempt to import PDF, what you actually end up is a screen resolution, low quality raster image representation of the PDF you are importing, not the original, high quality content. Simply stated, Microsoft Office can't handle the graphically rich imaging model of PDF, only raster images and crippled vector formats such as WMF and EMF. Sorry!

            - Dov

    7 replies

    H
    Huntest
    Participant
    June 9, 2020

    In Word, use "Insert/Object... and select the PDF" instead of "Insert/Pictures".

     

    If you use a Mac you have one more option:

    Open PDF with Preview, Tools/Rectangular Selection, Copy&Paste into the Word Doc.

     

    Thank me later. 

    Good luck!

     

    PS: I'm not an Adobe scientist. But I have to overcome these technical issues all the time for my scientific writting. 

     

    Hunter

    A
    Andreas5C23
    Participant
    May 3, 2021

    This seems like quite an old issue. Has Microsoft shown any incentive in the meantime to fix this? I am just struggling with the same issue. Are there any alternative programs similar to MS Word that fully support the integration of PDFs?

    Dov Isaacs
    Dov Isaacs
    Legend
    May 4, 2021

    Don't complain about this here. Adobe can't assist. Contact Microsoft.

     

    If you read the rest of the thread, you will see that none of the Microsoft Office applications support enough of the PDF imaging model to allow full integration of PDF into Office documents.

     

    And of course such integration can mean any number of things. What most in this thread apparently want or wanted was a way to place PDF content into an Office document as opposed to taking PDF content and making it native.

     

    - Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
    D
    DdB1
    Participant
    November 22, 2019

    I had good results by inserting the PDF as a printout into OneNote and then copying and pasting into the Office doc

    D
    default50qkrhu711f2
    Participant
    January 13, 2021

    Results are decent using this method.  Not perfect, but much better than using the Insert > Object method.

    D
    Dave R
    Participant
    October 6, 2019

    Another workaround is to expand your PDF file in Adobe Reader to full screen and take a snapshot of the image or information you want to insert. Then simply paste that image into your Word document. I've found that method to provide a clearer image than importing the PDF as an object. Plus, you can eliminate unwanted white space this way.

      G
      Gasilver56
      Participant
      October 22, 2019

      Thanks Dave,

      I am working with a pdf  that came from Tableau and Powerpoint and experienced the same pixalation issues as described above. Your solution worked the best.

      C
      chartbot
      Participating Frequently
      May 16, 2018

      1) Word "compresses" saved image files when you save the file... by lowering their resolution. Ugh! To get rid of this in Word: File + Options + Advanced, scroll down to Image Size and Quality, check the box that says Do Not Compress Images in File. Note that it's a PER-FILE setting by default.

      2) There's a Word addin that can copy full-resolution images from Word to PDF. See PDFpasteup.com

      It copies images from Word at the full resolution of the image in the PDF, or you can paste in pages (or parts of pages) in vector quality. Either way, there's no loss of resolution. Of course if the original source-document resolution was down-sampled by the PDF creator, that's the best resolution you can get from the PDF. Bonus: with the addin you can automate the process with Mail Merge variables.

      A
      af31159243
      Participant
      April 14, 2017

      If you have Acrobat (not reader), the proper procedure is to save the pdf as a Word Document.

        A
        AirSausageSandwich
        Participant
        January 1, 2021

        This works for me - thanks!

        Dov Isaacs
        Dov IsaacsCorrect answer
        Legend
        April 1, 2015

        Microsoft Office applications under Windows provide no real mechanism for placing PDF content at full quality. When you do attempt to import PDF, what you actually end up is a screen resolution, low quality raster image representation of the PDF you are importing, not the original, high quality content. Simply stated, Microsoft Office can't handle the graphically rich imaging model of PDF, only raster images and crippled vector formats such as WMF and EMF. Sorry!

                - Dov

        - Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
          lauras18755173
          lauras18755173Author
          Participant
          April 1, 2015

          thanks for this response. That is disappointing, but a little bit

          reassuring since it means I wasn't missing a step somehow that should have

          made the image look clearer.

          On Tue, Mar 31, 2015 at 8:09 PM, Dov Isaacs <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

          KlausKi
          KlausKi
          Inspiring
          October 4, 2017

          Mac OS has PDF built in. PDF is a valid clipboard format. On the Mac, Office can just say "display this PDF" and it will be shown at the quality of the Mac's PDF engine. This doesn't involve any Adobe technology. Basically, Windows does not include any of this technology, and PDF is therefore not a viable quality graphical choice in Office.


          As I wrote before: MS Word for Windows (or better, MS Office) uses OLE to correctly paste objects into its documents.

          If Acrobat Reader implemented the corresponding COM interfaces correctly, everything would work like a charme. As it does with many other programs that correctly implement the necessary OLE COM interfaces.

          Please refer to the above hyperlinks I provided for further technical information.

          B
          Bill12
          Inspiring
          March 28, 2015

          Word is probably viewing the PDF as an image. Is the resolution maintained to be a simple ratio, or a like 69% or such.

          lauras18755173
          lauras18755173Author
          Participant
          March 28, 2015

          Thanks for this response. How can I check to see what the ratio is? Is

          that a setting in Acrobat or in Word?

          B
          Bill12
          Inspiring
          March 28, 2015

          If you check the image properties in WORD you should be able to see the % size compared to the original.

          A lot may depend on the resolution of the picture. If it is rather low resolution, then the process of the software try to do the interpolation to display at other than 100% or maybe 50% may have mixed results. The 94% I am showing above is not necessarily a good idea. This was a selection from a students MS thesis.

          Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
          Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices