How to Convert Word Documents Into Images (jpg, png, gif, tiff)
Need to convert your Word Document (or part of it) into an image? Microsoft Word itself has a function that will allow you to do so. Versions 2007 and better allow you to convert documents into images using 'paste special' and you will have the option to convert into jpeg, jpg, png and other formats of your choice.
This method is very simple and yields reasonable quality with a high resolution, which is much better than other doc-to-image converters available online. What's more, you have the option of converting any document into any type of graphic: jpg, tiff, png, or gif file format.
So stop wasting any of your time and money searching for scam converters when you can create an image without one using the following easy steps:
- Select what you'd like to save as an image.
- Copy your selection.
- Open a new document.
- Paste special.
- Select "Picture."
- Right click the resulting image and select "Save as Picture."
- Select your desired format from the dropdown menu.
The instructions below will walk you through each step.
1: Select What You'd Like to Save as an Image
If you would like to turn your entire document into an image, select all. You can do this by:
- Pressing Ctrl+A on a PC.
- Pressing command+A on a Mac.
- Pressing Shift+Ctrl+End to select from the cursor position till the end of the document.
- Or selecting "Edit">"Select All" from the menu.
If you would only like to turn parts of your document into an image, select those objects with your cursor.
Do note that contents selected on a single page only will be converted to an image. So to convert multiple pages you will have to select each of their contents and follow the steps separately.
2: Copy Your Selection
Copy your selection. You can do this by:
- Typing Ctrl+C on a PC.
- Typing command+C on a Mac.
- Right-clicking the selection and selecting "copy."
- Or clicking on the copy icon in the standard toolbar.
3: Open New Document
Open a new blank Word document. (This is where your selection will be pasted as an image.)
4: Paste Special
In the Home tab, go to paste options by clicking on the downward arrow at the bottom of the button, then click on "paste special" as shown in the picture above. Alternately, you can select "edit">"paste special."
5: Select "Picture"
In the paste-special window, select "Picture (Enhanced Metafile)," as shown in the picture above, and click "OK."
An image of what you copied will be pasted in the document.
6: Right-Click and Select "Save as Picture"
Right-click on your new image and select "Save as Picture." To right-click on a Mac, hold the control key as you click.
7: Select Your Desired Format
Select your desired format from the dropdown menu and save it. You are done!
I recommend saving it as png if you want to upload it somewhere on Internet. It will give you best quality in a small-sized file.
If you Get a Black Background In the End?
If you get a black background in the final converted image after executing up till the last step, try saving the image again, as a png or tiff. Else try opening the converted image file through MS Paint.
This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.
Questions & Answers
Is there a way to convert Word documents into images if my version of Word doesn't offer the "Paste Special" option (only Paste)?
The "Paste Special" option is available in all versions of MS Word above 2007; I have 2016 right now and the option is available. In case it is not available, you will not be able to follow the process.
Helpful 36My source Word 2010 page had a border created by Word. Is there any way to select that, so it converts?
Yes, you can convert to images with borders by following the same method but with a slight addition.
You need to flex page margins to the very edges of the page, such that the page border now falls within the margins instead of outside the margins.
Next place a dot at the 'topmost corner' of the page and the 'bottom most corner' of the page.
Press Ctrl + A to select all of the page and then follow the process in the article to convert to image, if you get a black background, save as PNG and open the image file in MS Paint.
Helpful 16- Helpful 2
I saved with png on my pc and later copied it to my phone but it is showing black. What should I do?
You should try to save it as a jpg and then transfer to your phone.
Helpful 5How do I repair a jpg that saved entirely dark?
Try saving as a PNG.
Helpful 3
© 2012 StormsHalted
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Comments
Thank you you so much for this tutorial! I try it and it was wonderful.
I right clicked on the document to save it as picture but i was only change picture i saw.
My microsoft word version is 2007.
Thank you for this tutorial! I made it. ❤
Hi,
Well, ctrl+A doesn't work on headers. At least not in MS Word 2013 which I use.
Also I notice that in Word 2007 there is no 'save image as' nevertheless that 'paste special' is available. So your method doesn't work on MS Word 2007 but requires later versions.
Another problem is that the picture I save as png contains clean text (nice resolution indeed) without any background. So in Paint 3D I insert a white canvas in order to get white background of the text, saved as picture.
This is because I need the picture to be added to a video, edited by Avid Media Composer.
So finally I save the text as png, then save the header as picture as well. Then in Paint 3D I insert a visible white canvas of the text and then insert the header as another png, resize and put in right position.
Then I save the project in Paint 3 D, and here starts the fun - when I save as png the result, it is damaged by Paint 3D, maybe this is a bug. So i copy the whole thing (ctrl+A and copy) then paste in Paint (not 3D) and save it as png in Paint.
That's it.
P.S. I write here because I didn't have a chance to answer to the email you have sent to me.
When trying to save doc, my drop down do not have "Portable Network Graphics"
Pleas can you advise on this
When I paste as picture it lose formatting. Why is that?
At first Thanks for ur excellent explanatio. Bt I have no 'Save as' option.So what can I do now???
Storms you really are a star. I dimly remember OCR back in yesteryear but it has improved markedly I used TurboFuture and it worked like a treat. Thank you once again
- AUTHOR
Have you tried to this with some of the OCR tools available online?
Beautifully explained - thank you. One further query is how do I go the other way to convert a JPEG image into an MS Word document? I have Win 10 and MS Word 2016 also Photoshop CS 6.
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hi, how can I convert a whole page including boardings into a picture format
Excellent and very helpful. thank you...
I want to take the time to thank you because I think you're smart as this is so clear and has helped just now without stress!
- AUTHOR
Their will be a difference in quality of the image.
Why not just screenshot your document. Minimize it so it'll fit then have it screenshot. After, go to screenshot file. open the photo. and then crop the sides. there goes your photo file.
Vow that was great. Thanks a ton
For those of you who, like me, do not have the option to "save as picture," select "copy" when you right click instead and open an image editing program (such as gimp), then paste it in!
Really great solution! Very useful...
This worked perfectly! Thank you!!
Thanks so much! I have MS 10 version & from my Word doc page I went to "File" then "Save As" then "Picture" then "Save as Type:" (Drop-Down box) then I Changed "Word" to "PDF" choice. It worked! Much success to everyone in 2019!
Whys "SELECT PICTURE" not available on Word 365?
This was awesome. I tried all afternoon how to figure out how to do this and finally I googled it your page came up first. It took me about 30 seconds to do. Thank you so much for your info.
Hi.
The procedure suggested for converting Word documents into images is clear and straightforward. However, when I reached at Step 6, I faced the same problem described also by some others. When I right clicked on the image pasted on the new document, no 'Save As Picture' option was available to select. I wonder is it because of the version of MS Word I still prefer to use, Word 2003. Since I need the image as a 'jpg' file instead of merely its copy, any suggestions to solve this problem?
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I was able to follow your instructions up to the point of right clicking. There was no option for me to Save As. Btw; this image was selected for my business card. So what I did: I first needed to resize to business size. Clicked on image and selected Copy. I then opened up my Microsoft Office Picture Manager and was able to right click and Paste it there. This automatically Copied it into my file under MyPictures.
- AUTHOR
Hi dio,
I recently did another conversion test on Word 2016, considering your comments.
Conclusively, anything added as background will not convert to an image, however if you add the same image, shape, or a collage of multiple shapes and images as a watermark, it will be translated into the image.
is there a way convert the WHOLE page into image? because these doesn't copy the background color and shapes I put on the document.
Finally! A solution! After searching the web, this was the only one that worked!! Thanks much!
Thank you so much. Worked perfectly and not something that's readily apparent!
Not what I wanted. Libre Office Does it with a click of a button. Open Office does this with an export. Word is the least friendly of the word processor programs.
- AUTHOR
Try a converting to PNG instead.
Tried it and some of the words and numbers did not render very well (word pic to JPG)
Hi,
In the new word document,after right clicking the object the "save as picture" option is not coming from the drop down menu
On Word 2007, there's no File or Edit but there is a Ribbon. Anyway, everything went smoothly to the point when I did Ctrl+A and then Ctrl+C. My original image had text on it that I managed to insert with WordArt but when pasting that into another Word, the text was gone. Argh. And was unable to save as image in Word 2007 anyway.
What eventually worked is pasting everything into Paint. Went in fine along with the text but turned out small. However since this image happened to be nearly perfect, I resized it (enlarged) and saved as PNG.
The entire process is a pain but I love the results.
- AUTHOR
Their might be a very clever work around to this:
Increase the paper size from A4 to A3 or any other bigger then A4. Then also scale up your clipboard utilizing the new space available.
You will get an image with increased resolution automatically.
HI
What do I do if the image is too small and I need it bigger it is showing up as 1400 x 560 and I need 3000 x3000
I am at the limits of landscape orientation
- AUTHOR
Yes, It will work for a single page only, for multiple pages you will have to do it once foe every page.
is it single page only?
Use printscreen Button on Keyboard to Copy Contents of Screen to Clipboard. Then Open paint program & use paste function to save it as Image.( we can use Control key & Plus key (+) to zoom before pressing printscreen).
how can i convert word presentation to image
- AUTHOR
If you convert it to a PNG, then the image of text will have a transparent background. I hope that is what you want.
Is there a way to do this with just text, removing the white background?
There is another method for converting word to image. First save word file as .pdf. Then zoom the pdf to 200%.In the edit section 'take snapshot'.Then select all and copy.Open Windows Paint and paste. Save file as .PNG.This will give you a higher resolution image.
Does not work for MS Word 2007 as 'Save Picture as' option is not shown during right click. Works for MS Word 2010
You are brilliant! Saved me a ton of time and energy. Thanks!
You sure got me out of the woods...
I get down to the last step and when I right click on the image my drop down menu does not give me the same options. I'm using word 7. Is that my problem?
My Document is not showing "Portable Network Graphics".
What can be done??
- AUTHOR
Yes, press the undo button.
My document objects (table) are converted to images automatically. Is there a way to recover them?
Tried this with a Word file that is photo & text. Text portion comes out BLACK, with only photo showing. Tried JPG, TIFF and PNG, no luck....
That was so helpful and easy to follow. Thanks so much!
Great Tip. Thank you so much!!
Very, very helpful. Thanks!
I did what you suggested and placed all my content into a text box before I copied it so I could the desired image size I wanted.
Thanks for this post!
- AUTHOR
It will only work for a single page.
Worked great! The only thing was that when I inserted that image in mi design the quality of the png was very low.
Hi StormsHalted,
I tried and it seems it only works for single page Word file though. Is it possible to convert a multi-page Word file into a single (long) image file? Thanks!
this was SO helpful. Thank you.
Thank you so much for this tip, I have been trying for ages as I wanted to flip the text so that I could print on transfer paper but could not find a way to save my document as a picture until now - very happy person
Thank you! Very helpful, I never would've figured out the 'save as picture' step.
I tried this and its very low resolution, cannot print
I tried but it pasts only one page and not all the pages I copied what am I doing wrong?
Kind regards
Thank you so much, it really saved me the trouble of printscreening and stuff.
I don't have the "save as" picture option on my word. (Used to but don't see it now.) Any ideas?
I LOVE YOUR EXPLANATION KEEP IT UP
- AUTHOR
@Lyba:
If you are getting a black background after conversion into jpeg then try to convert into PNG or TIF instead.
Trying to do this on a new iMac and in newest version of Word and I can not save as any type of jpeg or photo file. Not sure why. I followed all steps until Paste as... Then I only have Word Doc, Formatted Text, Unformatted Text, HTML format and PDF. Any advice? Thanks
So, awesome I can finally change word to picture. Thank you for sharing this and for free.
I am still stuck with black background after trying all the recommendations you have posted. What else can I do?
It saves 6 pages to the clipboard but only pastes 1 page to the new document.
Hi,This is great up until right click and save as picture. I have a 6 page document. I did what you said about opening each page separately and pasting it into the new document. When I right click on the new document, though, it is saving only the page that my curser is on when I right click. I have tried everything. Any ideas? Thanks.
Thank you for writing this helpful article! Bless you!
Thank you! That was so simple and brilliant!
Thank you so much. I found this very useful.
Way to Go My Friend! You answered a very obscure question regarding converting my Excel 2010 file. Thank you so much!!!
I have gone to several websites asking about this, and all the others were either going "Take a screenshot! Herp deerp!" or trying to push pay-to-use subscription based software.
I didn't even know you could paste the contents of a document as an image. I actually learned something about MS-Word today!
This is awesome, I didn't believe even as i got done.
Thanks
How to make documents from image in excel..
THANK YOU! Worked wonderfully and when I got the black background you were there again! Doing a huge party and would never have figured this out! Once I got in the groove it took no time at all! Appreciate google search too!
Worked like a charm! Thanks!
thank you. it is very useful
This is what I see...no option for picture??? Everything else has worked seamlessly as instructed. Why am I missing two fields at this point?
This is fine for a small number of pages. Is there a solution that works well for a long document?
So easy. Thanks!
I can't find the edit drop down option on my tool bar?
This does not work for Windows 10. On step # 6, when I right click the drop down shows cut, copy, paste, grouping, order, and so on, but no "save as picture." I've wasted an hour of my life trying to get this to work.
Dude, you are awesome! You saved me big time.
- AUTHOR
Update:
If you are getting a black background after conversion into jpeg then try to convert into PNG or TIF instead.
awesome trick. Saved my day. Thank You.
Thank you so much. I thought there had to be a way but no-one else would tell me!!!
Thank you, thank you! I used adobe to convert my doc to an image, but the quality wasn't all that great. The image created this way looks awesome, and was easy to do with your clear directions. I appreciate it!
You are my savour. Thank you so much for the clear and easy to follow instructions and its FREE....
You beauty!!! This has been the stress of my life and this has just made things SO much easier! I cannot thank you enough.... No downloading, just free advice. Thank you!
Lee
Thank you so much, StormsHalted! Your instructions are clear and simple to follow for newbies like me... I'm so grateful!!!
unfortunately, there is no option to "save picture as" in step six. this is for word 2007. any other suggestions? thanks.
I've followed the steps exactly but when I open the final saved documents all I get is a completely black document - no image/content at all. Have reepeated the steps several times with the same result - what am I doing wrong? thx R.
Thank you StormsHalted, and to all others who offered useful comments and suggestions! This process resolved a problem I had been struggling with off and on over several days! Very well written and laid out.
And let me offer a "boo! hiss!" to the commenters who had problems but wouldn't even reply to @StormsHalted's followups. Yeesh! Some people! Getting indignant or even bitchy about free help.
To end on a positive note -- thank you once again, and best success in all future endeavors!
Thank you so much
An excellent solution.
Good job. You helped to end my headache. Everything worked perfectly every step of the way.
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