Inserting a file in word

Inserting a document

You can insert the content of previously-created Word documents into a new or different Word document.

1. Click or tap where you want to insert the content of the existing document.

2. Go to Insert and select the arrow next to Object .

3. Select Text from File.

   

4. Locate the file that you want and then double-click it.

5. To add in the contents of additional Word documents, repeat the above steps as needed.

Important: If you want to insert the header and footer also, be sure to insert the text from the file in a new section so that the header and footer are applied to only those pages. For more info on sections, see Insert a section break.

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Updated: 03/05/2023 by

When creating or modifying a Microsoft Word document, it can be beneficial to insert or embed another file into it. By inserting a file into a Word document, that file becomes a part of the Word document. A reader can open and view the embedded file without requiring special permission or access.

Nearly any file can be inserted into a Word document, including another document, spreadsheet, presentation, text file, or a media file containing music or video. However, be aware that inserting a file into a Word document can increase its size significantly.

Insert a file into a Word document

To insert or embed a file into a Microsoft Word document, follow the steps below.

Note

It is not possible to insert a file in a Microsoft Word Online document. You can only insert a file in a document opened and edited in the Microsoft Word desktop application.

1. Open a Microsoft Word document.
2. Locate the file on your computer that you want to insert into the Word document.
3. Click the file and, while holding down the left mouse button, drag the file from your computer into the Word document. Release the left mouse button once the file is where you want it to be inserted.

Word allows you to insert other files with data and functionality from another document or program directly into your Word document.

Microsoft calls these additions ‘Objects’ which makes it sound overly technical and difficult but it’s not. Don’t get fazed by all the nerd talk about ‘objects’, that’s programmer speak that’s leaked out into the real world.

Whenever you see the word ‘Object’ think ‘Another file’.

Objects are just other files or sometimes, parts of other files.  Word or text files, graphs, Excel worksheets, PDF’s, PowerPoint files or a lot more.

You can either create a new object within your Word document or insert an existing file. You can also choose to either embed or link the object.

Embedding

Embedding an object just takes a snapshot or copy of the file at the time you embedded it. If you later change the original file, the changes are not reflected in your document.

• Use this to keep a copy of the file at a particular time like end of financial year or when contract is finalized.
• Embedding can also hide files and documents from prying eyes, that’s explained in our ebook Beating Bots, Spies and Cock-ups.

Linking

Linking an object creates a live link to the original file. If you make changes to the original file, the changes will appear in the object in your Word document.   See Putting Excel into Word

To insert an object in Word, go to Insert | Object.

Insert all the Text from Another File

If you have another text document, such as another Word file, plain text file, or even a PDF file, you can easily insert all of the text from that file into your document.

To do this, select the Text from File option.

The Insert File dialog will open for you to navigate to the file that you want to insert.

NOTES:

• The content will be inserted along with all its formatting from the source file. If the original is a large, complex document, this may take some time.
• If you select a PDF document, Word will do the best it can to convert it into Word, along with all its formatting. It may not look exactly like the original file, especially if the source file contains a lot of graphics. Very complex PDF files may take excessive time or may not be able to be imported.

Insert a New Object

To insert any other kind of object other than a text file, select the Object option.

The Object dialog will open with the Create New tab selected by default. You will see that there is an extensive list of object types available to choose from. In this example we will choose to insert a new Excel worksheet in the document.

An Excel worksheet will appear in the document, and the Excel ribbon and tools will appear above it, just as if you are working in an Excel file.

You can now drag the edges to show as much of the worksheet as you wish, enter whatever data, and perform whatever functions you wish within the worksheet.

When you’re done, click anywhere outside the object, and the Excel ribbon will disappear, but the worksheet will still appear as a table in your document. You can then double-click within the object to enter and edit it again.

NOTES:

• When you insert a new object in this way, you can click within the object any time to edit it.
• If the Excel worksheet contains more data than fits in the visible window in your document, the part that you have visible when you click out of the object is what will appear in your document when you click out of the object.

Embed an Existing Object

To insert an existing object in your document, click the Create from File tab in the Object dialog and browse to the file you want to insert.

A section of the file will appear in the document, and the reader can double-click on it to open it and view the whole file. The part of the file that displays in the document varies depending on the type of file:

• A PowerPoint presentation will show the first slide only. Double-clicking will allow the reader to click through the whole presentation.
• An Excel file with multiple worksheets will display the worksheet that was open the last time the file was saved. Double-clicking will give access to all worksheets.
• A PDF file will display the first page of the document. (Unlike the Insert Text from File option, with this method the inserted object will still be a PDF file, not converted to Word.)

PowerPoint presentation embedded in a Word document

An Excel worksheet embedded in a Word document

For more see Putting Excel into Word

NOTES:

• An embedded object is just a snapshot of the file at the time you embedded it. It no longer has any link to the original file, and any subsequent changes made to the original will have no effect on the object in your document.
• If the object is an editable file, such as an Excel file, you can edit it after you have inserted it. Double-click on the object, and the interface of the original application will open within your document, just as described above for inserting a new object.

Link an Existing Object

To embed an object and maintain a live link between it and the original file, again, select the Create from File tab in the Object dialog, but this time also click the “Link to file” box.

The object will appear in the document just like an embedded object, but with one big difference. In this case, if any changes are made to the original file, those changes will be reflected in the object in your document. You also will not be able to edit the object in the document – double-clicking on, for example, an Excel object will open the original Excel document in a separate window.

Refreshing the Link

Sometimes a change to the original file will not immediately appear in the object in your document. To ensure that you are looking at the latest information, right-click on the object and select Update Link.

Displaying an Icon Instead of the Object

There is one more choice in the Object dialog that we have not touched on yet. Whether you are inserting a new object, or embedding or linking an existing object, you have the option to just display an icon in your document rather then the object itself. The reader or editor can then click on the icon to open the file to view or edit it.

By default, the icon for the program the file is created in will show, but you can click Change Icon and choose your own icon file to use instead. The Change Icon button also allows you to edit the caption that appears under the icon in your document.

Inserted objects displayed as icons

How to embed files, including other Word files, into a Word document

Updated on September 6, 2022

What to Know

• Open Word doc > place curser where you want to insert file > select Insert tab.
• Next, select Object drop-down arrow > choose Text from File > select document > Insert.

This article explains how to insert one Word document into another — even when the copied document includes headers and footers. Instructions apply to Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2013, Word 2010, and Word for Microsoft 365.

How to Insert a Word Document Into Another Word Document

If you have an existing Microsoft Word document that would augment a document you’re working on, you have a few options. If you want to add an entire document to a second Word doc, your best bet is knowing how to insert a document into Word.

Word inserts the document into the current document without changing the formatting applied to either document. Images, tables, shapes, and other objects in the existing document carry over into the new Word file as well.

1. Start Word and open the document into which you want to insert another Word document.

   Alternatively, select New > Blank Document to open a new, blank Word document to insert an existing document into.

2. Place the cursor on the spot in the document where you want to insert an existing Word file.

3. Select the Insert tab.

4. Select the drop-down arrow next to Object in the Text group.

5. Choose Text from File in the drop-down list that appears. The Insert from File dialog box will open.

   If you select Object from the Object drop-down menu, you can embed an existing Word document as a clickable file from the Create from File tab of the Object dialog box that appears. Alternatively, you can create a new, blank document that becomes a clickable object when saved using the Create New tab in that dialog box. This is a useful way to reference a document without importing the text into your existing document.

6. Navigate to the Word file you want to insert into the current Word document and select it.

7. Select Insert. Word will insert the document into the current document.

8. Save the changes to the combined file, if desired.

9. You can repeat the steps to insert additional Word docs into the Word file you are currently working on.

Any changes made to the contents of the inserted document does not affect the original Word document.

How to Insert a Word Document With Headers or Footers Into Word

If the file you want to insert has headers and footers you want to carry over into the new file, add a section break before selecting the insertion point in the new document.

1. Place the cursor on the spot in the document where you want to insert an existing Word file.

2. Select the Layout tab.

3. Select the Breaks drop-down arrow in the Page Setup group.

4. Either select Next Page to add a section break and insert the Word document starting on the next page, or select Continuous to add a section break and insert the Word document starting on the same page.

5. Insert the Word document using the same steps listed above. The header and footer will only be applied to the pages of the newly inserted document.

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If you have a file, whether text, media, or PDF, that would help with your current document, here’s how to embed that file into a Microsoft Word document.

Photo Credit — iStockPhoto

Are there times when you create a document and have a saved file that would make a good reference? In Microsoft Word, you can embed a file and either link to it or display it as an icon. You can then pop open that document, spreadsheet, or media file with a simple click whenever you need to.

You might have a college paper where another paper you’ve written can provide insight or a business report where a financial PDF would help. Maybe you have an article where a media file would be ideal.

Whatever you’re creating, we’ll show you how to embed a file into a Word document using the steps below.

You can embed almost any file type into a Word document and display it as an icon or link. To do this, insert an object. Place your cursor in the document where you want to embed the file and follow these steps.

1. Go to the Insert tab.
2. Click the Object drop-down arrow in the Text section of the ribbon.
3. Select Object.
4. When the Object window opens, click the Create from File tab.
5. Use the Browse button to locate the file, select it, and click Insert. You’ll see the name populate the File name field.
6. On the right, check the box for Link to file or Display as icon per your preference. If you don’t mark one of the boxes, the file will appear in your document using the default associated application’s icon.
7. If you pick Display as icon, you can change the icon that displays. Click Change Icon, select or browse for one, and click OK.
8. When you’re ready to embed the file, click OK.

To show how the embedded file displays, here’s a screenshot with the same file as a link, an icon, and with neither Link to File nor Display as icon selected. Note that if you insert a link to the file, you may see a small icon for the file type or associated application.

To open the embedded file, double-click the icon or the link.

How to Insert Text From a File in Word

Some people also consider “embedding a file” as inserting the file’s contents into a document. We’ll explain how to insert text from another file in Word. Here’s how:

1. Place your cursor in the document where you want to embed the contents.
2. Go to the Insert tab.
3. Click the Object drop-down arrow in the Text section of the ribbon and select Text from File.
   
4. Locate the file, select it, and click Insert.

The contents of the file will appear in your Word document.

As you can see in the screenshot below, we inserted text from the file on the left into our document on the right.

Embedding a File in Word for Easy Access

You can easily embed a file in Word using the steps we’ve outlined above. This could be a media file containing audio or video or text from a PDF or a TXT text file. You can even embed PowerPoint slides into Word or add Excel data to your Word pages directly.

For more, take a look at how to follow hyperlinks in Word or how to insert an Excel table into word with VBA. Keep up with future tutorials by connecting with us on Twitter or Facebook!

Word documents are for word processing while Excel files are for data processing. But what if you need to combine the two? What if you need to display a part of your Excel data in, say a sales report that’s in a Word file?

You’re probably aware of the easiest technique that involves copying the table from Excel and pasting it into Word.

This technique, though quick and easy, has certain limitations.

However, there are other techniques to insert an Excel file into your Word document that allow for a lot more flexibility.

In this tutorial we will look at three ways to insert an Excel file into Word:

• By simple copy-pasting
• By Inserting as an embedded object
• By inserting as a linked object

Inserting an Excel File into Word by Simple Copy-Pasting

This first copy-paste method is the easiest. It’s just like copy-pasting data from one sheet in Excel into another.

In fact, you have probably already used this technique plenty of times. The method simply involves the following steps:

1. Select the part of the Excel file that you want to insert into your Word file
2. Press CTRL+C to copy (or right-click on the selection and then click on Copy)

1. Open the Word file where you want to insert this data
2. Place your cursor where you want to insert the Excel table
3. Press CTRL+V to paste

Once you’ve pasted the data into Word, you get a table with the data that you copied. This works the same way as a regular Word table.

You can press the tab key to navigate through the table, you can edit the contents, you can delete rows and columns, or insert new rows and columns. 

However, the changes you make to the pasted table do not get reflected in the original Excel file.

Moreover, any changes you make to the original Excel file will not automatically get reflected in your pasted table, unless you paste it again.

This method, though easy, does not offer much in terms of flexibility. It’s best used when you have a final table/data in Excel and you want it in Word (as a static table).

While this method works as expected in most cases, there are some minor issues you may face when using the simple copy paste to insert Excel data into Word:

• You might lose some of the formatting from your original table structure
• It will not be possible to copy larger tables
• If you have any formulas in the original Excel file, they will get pasted as values. So you cannot use Excel formulas in the table once it is pasted to Word

If you want to take advantage of Excel formulas inside Word, then the next two methods might work better for you.

Also read: Get File Names from a Folder into Excel

Inserting an Excel File into Word as an Embedded Object

An alternative way to insert an Excel file into Word is by inserting it as an embedded object.

An embedded object is an object that is created with one application and then embedded into a document that is created by another application. 

For example when you embed an object or file created in Excel into a document created in Microsoft Word.

This is made possible by the Windows OLE technology (Object Linking and Embedding).

Embedding the object, rather than just pasting it, ensures that the object retains its original format.

Moreover, you get to alter the embedded object using the original program. This means that you can open the embedded Excel file from Word itself and make changes in it.

To embed an Excel file into a Word file, follow the steps below:

1. Select the part of the Excel file that you want to insert into your Word file
2. Press CTRL+C to copy (or right-click on the selection and then click on Copy)
3. Open the Word file where you want to insert this data
4. Place your cursor where you want to insert the Excel table.
5. Under the Home tab, click on the dropdown of the Paste button (in the Clipboard group).
6. Select the ‘Paste Special’ option.

1. This will open the Paste Special dialog box. From this box, select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object (in the group of options under ‘As’).

1. Click OK

This will insert the copied cells into your Word doc.

The size of the embedded object might not fit correctly to your Word doc’s margins. So you can go ahead and resize it as required.

Note: The inserted table is not a regular Word table. It is, in fact, an Excel table. So you can apply formulas and work on it as a regular excel table. 

If you want to edit the table, simply double-click inside the object. It will open the spreadsheet in an Excel interface (felt like pure magic when I first used it). 

You can come out of edit mode when you click outside the object window.

It is important to note, however, that any changes you make to the object will not get reflected to the original Excel file. Similarly, any changes you make to the original Excel file will not get reflected in this object.

This is because the object is basically just a copy of the original file. It is not linked to it. If you want even more flexibility, the next method may be helpful for you.

Inserting an Excel File into Word as a Linked Object

You will get the most flexibility if you insert your Excel data into Word as a linked object.

A linked object is different from an embedded object in that the embedded object is like a snapshot or copy of the original file, while a linked object maintains an active connection between both files. 

This means that editing the source file will cause the changes to also get reflected in the target file and vice-versa, provided that both documents are open.

So if I use this method and then change anything in the original Excel file, it would be reflected in the Word data as well.

To insert an Excel file into a Word file as a linked object, follow the steps below:

1. Select the part of the Excel file that you want to insert into your Word file.
2. Press CTRL+C to copy (or right-click on the selection and then click on Copy)
3. Open the Word file where you want to insert this data
4. Place your cursor where you want to insert the Excel table.
5. Under the Home tab, click on the dropdown of the Paste button (in the Clipboard group).
6. Select the ‘Paste Special’ option.
7. This will open the Paste Special Dialog box. From this box, select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object (in the group of options under ‘As’).
8. Make sure that the ‘Paste link’ radio button (on the left side of the window) is checked.

1. Click OK.
2. This will insert the copied cells from MS Excel as a linked object into your MS Word document.
3. Once again, resize the object in your Word doc as required.

You will notice that other than the addition of step 8, the procedure is more or less the same as inserting an embedded object.

The linked object works more or less like an embedded object, with an important difference.

When you double click the table in Word, the file will open in Excel. 

If you make a change to the original file in Excel, the changes get updated to the table in Word, even if you don’t save the changes in the Excel file.

In case the changes are not updating automatically, right click on the table in Word and then click on Update Link.

Also, remember that for this method to work, it’s important that the source Excel file is also open. If you make any changes to the Excel file and close it, and it doesn’t get updated in the Word file, trying to update it by right-clicking and using the Update Link option wouldn’t work.

In this way, the linked object works almost like a live view of the Excel file from Word.

This method is especially useful if you’re trying to create something like a real-time dashboard in Word, displaying important tables from multiple Excel files.

These are three different ways in which you can insert an Excel file into Word.

As you must have noticed, all these methods have their pros and cons. Personally, if like the second method where we embedded Excel as an object into Word. That allows me to be a lot more flexible and use all the functionality of Excel from within the Word document.

Also, the methods covered here can also be used to insert an Excel file into other MS applications such as PowerPoint.

I hope this tutorial was useful and easy to follow.

Other Excel tutorials you may also like:

• How to Move a Chart to a New Sheet in Excel
• How to Start Excel in Safe Mode (3 Easy Ways)
• How to Find out What Version of Excel You Have (Easy Way)
• How to Open Excel File [xls, xlsx] Online (for FREE)
• Why does Excel Open on Startup (and How to Stop It)
• How to Convert a Text File to Excel?
• How to Merge Two Excel Files?
• How to Insert Sheet Name into Header or Footer in Excel?
• How to Convert PDF to Excel without Software?

As our software converts the file to Word format, we’ll also extract the content from the original PDF to a Microsoft Word document. Then, you can easily copy, remove, or add additional content to the document. You can also work on the file as it is, or merge the content with another Word file.

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