After you scan a document, you can open the document in Word to edit it. How you do this depends on the version of Office that you have installed.
Scan a document as a PDF file and edit it in Word
Tip: The conversion works best with documents that are mostly text.
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Scan your document according to the instructions for your scanner, and save it to your computer as a .pdf file.
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In Word, click File > Open.
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Browse to the location of the PDF file on your computer and click Open.
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A message appears, stating that Word will convert the PDF file into an editable Word document. Click OK.
The converted document might not have a perfect page-to-page correspondence with the original. For example, lines and pages may break at different locations. For more information, see Opening PDFs in Word.
See also
Important:
Office 2010 is no longer supported. Upgrade to Microsoft 365 to work anywhere from any device and continue to receive support.
Upgrade now
The From Scanner or Camera option for scanning documents and pictures is not available in Word 2010. Instead, you can use your scanner to scan the document, and then you can save the file on your computer.
Step 1: Install Microsoft Office Document Imaging
Microsoft Office Document Imaging has been removed from Office 2010; however, you can use one of the options described in Install MODI for use with Microsoft Office 2010 to install it on your computer.
Step 2: Create a document that you can edit
Scan your document according to the instructions for your scanner.
Before you continue Convert the file that the scanner created to TIFF format. You can use Paint or another program to convert the file.
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Open Microsoft Office Document Imaging by searching for Microsoft Office Document Imaging on the Windows Start menu.
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On the File menu, click Open.
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Locate the document that you scanned, and then click Open.
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After Microsoft Office Document Imaging runs, press CTRL+A to select the entire document, and then press CTRL+C.
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Start Microsoft Word.
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On the File tab, click New.
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Double-click Blank document.
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Press CTRL+V to paste the contents of the scanned document into the new file.
You now have a document that you can edit. Be sure to save the new file so that you don't lose your changes.
Important:
Office 2007 is no longer supported. Upgrade to Microsoft 365 to work anywhere from any device and continue to receive support.
Upgrade now
The From Scanner or Camera option for scanning documents and pictures is not available in Microsoft Office Word 2007. Instead, you can use your scanner to scan the document, and then you can save the file on your computer.
Step 1: Install Microsoft Office Document Imaging
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Exit all programs.
Tip: You may want to print this topic before you exit all programs.
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Open Control Panel: Right-click the Windows Start button, and then click Control Panel, or type Control Panel in the Windows Search box.
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In Control Panel, click Programs, and then click Programs and Features.
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Right-click the name of the Microsoft Office edition that you have installed, or right-click Microsoft Office Word 2007 (depending on whether you installed Word as part of Office or as an individual program), and then click Change.
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Click Add or Remove Features, and then click Continue.
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Under Installation Options, click the plus sign (+) next to Office Tools.
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Click the arrow next to Microsoft Office Document Imaging, click Run all from my Computer, and then click Continue.
Step 2: Create a document that you can edit
Scan your document according to the instructions for your scanner.
Before you continue Convert the file that the scanner created to TIFF format. You can use Paint or another program to convert the file.
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Open Microsoft Office Document Imaging by searching for Microsoft Office Document Imaging on the Windows Start menu.
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On the File menu, click Open.
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Locate the document that you scanned, and then click Open.
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After Microsoft Office Document Imaging runs, press CTRL+A to select the entire document, and then press CTRL+C.
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Start Microsoft Office Word.
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Click the Microsoft Office Button
, and then click New. -
Click Blank document, and then click Create.
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Press CTRL+V to paste the contents of the scanned document into the new file.
You now have a document that you can edit. Be sure to save the new file so that you don't lose your changes.
