How to scan to word

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If you’ve got a printed document or picture that you want to insert into your Word document, there are a couple of ways you can do that.

Note: If you’re looking for instructions on how to connect your scanner or copier to Microsoft Windows, please visit the manufacturer’s support website for your device.

Scan an image into Word

To scan an image into a Word document, you can use a scanner, a multi-function printer, a copier with scan capability, or a digital camera.

  1. Scan your image or take a photograph of it with your digital camera or smartphone.

  2. Save the image as a standard image format such as .JPG, .PNG or .GIF. Place it in a folder you can access on your computer.

  3. In Word, place your cursor where you would like to insert the scanned image and on the Insert tab of the Ribbon, click Pictures.

    The Pictures icon is highlighted on the Insert tab.

  4. Select your scanned picture from the dialog box, and click Insert.

    Select the picture you wish to insert in Word.

Scan text into Word

The best way to scan a document into Microsoft Word is to use our free Office Lens app on your smartphone or tablet. It uses your device’s camera to capture the document and can save directly into Word format as an editable document. It’s available for free on iPad, iPhone, Windows Phone and Android.

If you don’t want to use Office Lens, the next best option is to scan your document as a PDF using your scanner’s native software and then open that PDF file in Word.

  1. In Word click File > Open.

  2. Navigate to where your PDF file is stored, and open it.

  3. Word will open a dialog box confirming that it is going to attempt to import the text of the PDF file. Click OK to confirm, and Word will import the text. Word will do its best to preserve the formatting of the text as it appears in the PDF.

    Word confirms that it will attempt to reflow the PDF file you opened.

See Edit PDF content in Word for more information.

Note: The accuracy of the text recognition depends on the quality of the scan and on the clarity of the text you scanned. Handwritten text is seldom recognized, so scanning typed or printed text will give the best results. Always proofread the text after opening it in Word to ensure the text was accurately recognized.

Alternatively, your scanner may have come with an application that allows you to do Optical Character Recognition (OCR). Check the documentation for your device, or contact the manufacturer of your device, for more information.

Do you have a question about Word that we didn’t answer here?

Post a question in the Word Answers community forum

Help us improve Word

Do you have suggestions for how we can improve Word? Let us know by providing us feedback. See How do I give feedback on Microsoft Office? for more information.

See also

  • Insert pictures in Office 2013 and Office 2016

  • Insert a signature

  • Scan app for Windows: FAQ

Need more help?

Convert Scanned PDF To Word

When scanning a document, oftentimes, instead of containing text, the PDF contains an image of the scanned content. In order to work with the text, copy and paste, and use it, you can convert the scanned PDF to Word. Find out how to turn your scan into an editable Microsoft Word document.

How to convert a Scanned PDF to Word?

Scanned PDF to Word

  1. Open PDF2Go and go to the PDF to Word converter.
  2. Upload your file. You can do so via drag and drop into the purple box, choosing it from Dropbox or Google Drive, or your hard drive.
  3. Enable Convert with OCR. Improve the result by selecting the language(s) of your scanned document.
  4. Optional: Change the Word file format if it suits your needs.
  5. Start the conversion.

Is this converter free?

All features of PDF2Go are, in their basic usage, free. This also includes the scanned PDF to Word converter. There are only a few limitations, such as a file size limit of 100 MB, and the simultaneous conversion of three files (for free registered users it’s five files).

Are my scans safe?

On PDF2Go we do whatever we can to guarantee the safety of your scans. All servers and connections for the upload and download of your files are encrypted using 256-bit SSL encryption. This makes the transfer of your files between your device and our servers safe and secure.

The link with which you can download your converted Word document is non-guessable and expires after 24 hours or 10 downloads, whichever occurs first. Your files are not manually checked by us and the rights maintain with you at all times.


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Convert a scan into a Word document with this easy-to-use guide


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  • Opening PDF in Word
  • |

  • Scanning With & Using Microsoft Lens
  • |

  • Q&A
  • |

  • Tips

Do you want to edit that PDF in Word? You can open the PDF using Word’s built-in settings or, If you have a Microsoft account and a smartphone, you can also use the free Microsoft Lens app to scan your document and save it as a Word file in your OneDrive cloud storage. This wikiHow teaches you how to convert a scanned document into an editable Word document on your Windows PC, Mac, or smartphone.

Things You Should Know

  • If you have a PDF on your computer, you can open it within Word by going to «File > Open > OK.»
  • Use the Microsoft Lens app from your Android, iPhone, or iPad to scan documents and open them in Word.
  • If the doc you scanned is not PDF format, convert it first to be able to open it in Word.
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    Open Word. You can only do this in newer versions of Word (including anything newer than Word 2010). If you have Word 2010 or older, those are no longer supported versions, and importing a PDF into Word isn’t possible.

    • Make sure the document you have is in PDF format.
    • Opening a PDF in Word works best if the PDF is mostly text.
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    Click File and Open. The File tab is either at the top of your screen (Macs) or right above your document space (Windows).

    • Doing this will open your file manager.

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    Double-click your PDF. Double-clicking the file once you find it will open it.

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    Click OK. Word will begin converting the scanned PDF into a Word document.

    • This process can take several minutes if your PDF has lots of text or images.[1]
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    Clean up your document. Converting scanned files into Word documents isn’t an exact science; you may have to add missing words, remove excess spaces, and fix typos before your Word document is ready to go.

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    Save the document. Once you’re ready to save the converted document as its own Word file, do the following:

    • Windows — Press Ctrl+S, then enter a file name, select a save location, and click Save.
    • Mac — Press Command+S, then enter a file name, select a save location from the «Where» drop-down box, and click Save.
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    Open Microsoft Lens. Tap the Microsoft Lens app icon, which resembles a red and white app with a camera iris and the letter «L» in the center of the icon.

    • Microsoft Lens is a free smartphone app that allows you to take pictures of documents and turn them into PDFs. This will be super useful if you have a piece of paper that you want to edit in Word. In that case, you can take a picture of the paper, turn it into a PDF, and open it in Word.
    • If you don’t have Microsoft Lens installed, you can download it from the Google Play Store for Android or from the App Store on iPhone.
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    Allow Microsoft Lens access to your phone. If this is your first time opening Microsoft Lens, tap Allow or OK when prompted to allow Microsoft Lens to access your phone’s files.

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    Tap DOCUMENT. It’s a tab at the bottom of the screen.

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    Point your phone’s camera at a document. Position the document that you want to scan inside the camera’s view.

    • Make sure your document is well-lit and positioned on a dark background so the camera can pick up as much detail as possible.
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    Tap the «Capture» button. It’s a red circle at the bottom of the screen. This will take a photo of the document’s page.

    • Tap Confirm if the capture is ok. Tap Retake if the document wasn’t captured correctly.
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    Tap Done. It’s in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

    • You can scan more pages by tapping the camera with the plus icon in the bottom left corner of your screen.
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    Tap Word. You’ll find this option in the «SAVE TO» section.

    • On Android, tap the box next to Word and then tap SAVE at the bottom of the screen[2]
      .
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    Sign into your Microsoft account. If you haven’t already, enter your Microsoft account email address and password. Once signed in, your Word document will be uploaded to your OneDrive account.

    • This must be the account that you use to log into Microsoft Word as well.
    • You’re done using your phone.
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    Open Word on your computer. It’s the blue app with a white document and the letter «W» in the icon.

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    Click Open. It’s on the left side of the window below the «New» section.

    • On Mac, simply click the folder icon that says Open on the left-hand side of the window.
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    Click OneDrive — Personal. It’s in the menu on the left side of the window and will prompt your OneDrive to open on the right side of the window.

    • If you don’t see the OneDrive option, click + Add a Place, then click OneDrive and sign in with your Microsoft account.
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    Go to the Microsoft Lens folder. Click on the «Documents» folder, then click the «Microsoft/Office Lens» folder. This is on the right pane of the window.

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    Double-click your Word document. This opens the document you scanned using Microsoft Lens on your phone or tablet in Microsoft Word.

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Add New Question

  • Question

    Does anything here cost money? Is there any chance of getting a virus on my computer while downloading these things?

    Community Answer

    Some cost money, some don’t. The free ones run a risk of infection, but you should have an anti-virus program installed anyway.

  • Question

    I followed the instructions for enabling document imaging in Word 2007, but did not find the imaging program listed under Microsoft Office Tools, then what went wrong, and how can I do it correctly?

    Community Answer

    Microsoft (for some reason) didn’t enable document imaging in Word 2007 for 64-bit computers.

  • Question

    Will everything I scan become editable?

    Community Answer

    Indeed, it will. Just follow these simple steps: Go to onlineocr.net or if your file is more than 5mb, use you can use pdf2doc.com. Upload your file to these websites. When the file get uploaded, select doc or docx format and click ‘Convert’. It is a time-consuming process, especially if your file size is big. The moment it completes the conversion, click download the file. After downloading the file, go to your downloads and open the file which will automatically in MS Word. Now here you can edit your file and use it your way.

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  • Office Lens will handle physical files (e.g., paper documents) better than on-screen text.

  • If the scanned document is a JPEG or something else, convert it first.

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Plus, convert a scanned PDF to Word

Updated on December 5, 2021

What to Know

  • Use your scanner to scan a document as a PDF, and then open the PDF with Word.
  • Use the Office Lens and Word apps on mobile to scan documents and open them with Word.
  • Once you have a PDF of your scanned document, you can also use an online conversion tool to convert it into a Word document.

Most installed desktop versions of Microsoft Word can open and convert PDF files into editable Word documents directly. Or, you can scan pages and open recognized text in Word with an Android or iOS smartphone camera or a desktop scanner.

Scan Documents and Open with Installed Word

The character recognition capabilities in Microsoft Word work best with documents that are primarily text. For example, Word would be likely to cleanly open and convert a contract comprised of several pages of printed text whereas Word may struggle to cleanly recognize text in a brochure where text is printed within or around images in anything other than a single column.

You’ll need a working scanner connected to a Windows or macOS system, along with a relatively recent version of Word. 

Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2013, and Microsoft 365 all support the ability to open and convert PDF files into Word documents. While Microsoft offers some instructions for converting PDF files into word for older versions, such as Office 2010 and Office 2007, the process is more complicated.

  1. Follow your scanner manufacturer’s instructions to scan your document to a PDF file. Save this file at a location you will remember on your computer.

  2. Open Microsoft Word.

  3. Select File > Open, then navigate to the location of your saved PDF.

  4. Select the PDF file, and choose Open. Word will open the PDF and convert recognized text into a document you may edit.

  5. Read the converted text carefully, as some letters may be incorrect. The system may display items not identified within the document as images.

Use Mobile Apps for Android or iPhone

On an Android or iOS device, you’ll need to install both the Office Lens app (install for Android or iOS) and Microsoft Word (install for Android or iOS). After you install each app, tap to open it, and then sign in with your Microsoft account. Once you’ve installed and signed in to both apps, you’re ready to scan pages.

  1. Tap to open Office Lens.

  2. Along the bottom of the app, switch the slider to Document. (The choices displayed may include Whiteboard, Document, Business Card, and Photo.)

  3. Position your camera to capture the text you want to scan to Word within view. Tap the button to capture the image.

  4. After a page image is captured, you can either rotate it or crop the edges, if needed. 

  5. If you have additional pages to capture, tap the camera icon (in the lower left) to take another photo. Repeat this process until you have no more pages to scan.

  6. Tap Done. The system will display your Save To options.

  7. Tap Word. (On Android, you will then need to tap Save.)

    Wait for the app to recognize the text. The app may indicate “Waiting to transfer” or “Transferring” as it works. It will display the scanned document with a Word icon on the display.

  8. Tap the document, which will open your scanned file in a Microsoft Word document. For reference, the Word document includes the image you captured within the document.

  9. Review the recognized text to make sure the information is accurate.

Convert a PDF to a Word Document

If you lack access to Microsoft Word or your version of Word doesn’t open PDF files, you can still likely scan files to a PDF with an Android or iOS device, and then convert the documents into Microsoft Word.

  1. Follow the instructions in How to Scan Documents to Your Phone or Tablet to capture your pages into a PDF.

  2. Then, use a website service, such as CloudConvert.com or FileZigZag.com, to upload your PDF, convert it to a Word document format, then download it and save it to your system.

  3. Once converted, open the .doc or .docx file in Microsoft Word to review the file for accuracy.

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The process of converting the scanned PDF file into an editable Word doc may take a few extra seconds, as our OCR needs to recognize the text of the paper documents stored as scans in PDF form.
On the bright side, being a fast online PDF to Word converter—loved by over 40 million monthly users, and counting, the whole process to convert the file from scanned PDF to Word shouldn’t take too long.

Is the Scanned Pdf to Word Converter Free?

 

All of Smallpdf’s tools are free to use with some limitations—our OCR Word converter is a Pro feature. You can scan to pdf online, as well as convert images, spreadsheets, and powerpoints to pdf, even when these documents are scans. To use our optical character recognition (OCR) technology to convert images to editable Word, check out our JPG to Word guide.

Cool, But What Are the Limitations?

 

Free tasks are limited to two per day and some features are only accessible with a Pro subscription. File size is also limited to a maximum of 5 GB, as high-resolution scans may be quite large.

Getting a Smallpdf Pro account will remove the daily task limit and allow you to use the tools as often as you need to convert images to pdf, or scanned pdf to word, or use our scan to pdf converter.

Are My Scans Safe?

 

Utmost security of your files is a guarantee. We’ve recognized the concern of general users when it comes to cloud services from day one. Smallpdf does everything in our power to take care of your files; we use TLS encryption, delete files after one hour, and use the reliable Amazon Web Services to host and handle your documents. For full disclosure, check out our Terms and Privacy page.

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