But when you open a PDF file in Word, it might not look exactly the way it looked as a PDF. If the PDF contains mostly charts or other graphics, the whole page might show up as an image. When that happens, the text can't be edited. Sometimes, Word doesn't detect an element, and so the Word version doesn't match the original PDF. To open a PDF linked to an open web page, click the PDF file link. The PDF usually opens in the web browser. Double-click the PDF file icon in your file system. Note: In Mac OS, you sometimes cannot open a PDF created in Windows by double-clicking the icon. Instead, choose File Open.
Note that you cannot repair a damaged PDF itself. However, if you have the source file, you can re-create the PDF using an Adobe product, such as Acrobat or Photoshop Elements.
Most modern web browsers can easily open PDFs. If you're having trouble opening a specific PDF on a web page, try the suggestion below.
Right-click (Windows) or control-click (Mac OS) the link to the PDF file.
Choose the appropriate save or download option for your browser:
- (Google Chrome) Save Link As
- (Internet Explorer) Save Target As
- (Firefox) Save Link As
- (Safari) Download Linked File
Make sure Adobe Acrobat Document is selected for the file type, and save the file.
Note:
If you don't see a Save As dialog box, your browser may have downloaded the file automatically, possibly in a separate downloads window.
Locate the saved PDF, and double-click the file to open it. If your browser opened a downloads window, double-click the PDF in the downloads list.
If you can't open a PDF on your computer, try the suggestions below in the order they appear.
If you have Acrobat Reader DC or Acrobat DC installed on your computer, skip to the next step.
Acrobat Reader DC is the only free PDF viewer that can open and interact with all types of PDF content – including forms and multimedia.
Go to the Adobe Acrobat Reader download page, and then click Install Now. For step-by-step instructions, see Download and install Adobe Acrobat Reader DC for Windows or Mac OS.
After the installation is complete, follow the steps in the next section.
Your system may not be set up to automatically open PDFs from the desktop with Acrobat Reader DC or Acrobat DC. Here's how to set it up:
Right-click the PDF, choose Open With > Choose default program (or Choose another app in Windows 10).
Choose Adobe Acrobat Reader DC or Adobe Acrobat DC in the list of programs, and then do one of the following:
- (Windows 7 and earlier) Select Always use the selected program to open this kind of file.
- (Windows 8) Select Use this app for all .pdf files.
- (Windows 10) Select Always use this app to open .pdf files.
Note:
If you have both Adobe Acrobat DC and Adobe Acrobat Reader DC installed on your computer, choose Adobe Acrobat DC.
Click the PDF file's icon in the Finder to select it.
Click the triangle next to Open With, and choose Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat from the pop-up list (if your preference is not on the list, choose Other to select it).
Adobe releases regular security updates for Acrobat Reader DC and Acrobat DC. Installing the latest updates might solve the issue.
If the Updater dialog box appears, click Yes. The update will automatically install.
Acrobat Reader DC or Acrobat DC—or the resources they depend upon—could be damaged. Try repairing the product using the step below.
Run repair from within Acrobat Reader DC or Acrobat DC: Choose Help > Repair Installation.
| Symptom or error | TechNote or solution |
| Can't open a password-protected PDF | Opening secured PDFs |
| Opening suspicious PDFs: Reader and Acrobat block PDFs that do not conform to certain industry-specific PDF standards, or may contain potentially harmful content. | Be cautious. These PDFs can pose a security risk to your system. Double-check with the source of the doc, such as the person who sent it to you or the website you downloaded it from, to make sure the document is safe to open. |
| You get an error message when trying to open a PDF created in InDesign or Illustrator. |
Preview User Guide
You can open PDFs and images in Preview, change how documents are shown in the Preview window, and get information about the files.
Open PDFs and images
How Can I Open Pdf In Word
Acrobat Reader DC or Acrobat DC—or the resources they depend upon—could be damaged. Try repairing the product using the step below.
Run repair from within Acrobat Reader DC or Acrobat DC: Choose Help > Repair Installation.
| Symptom or error | TechNote or solution |
| Can't open a password-protected PDF | Opening secured PDFs |
| Opening suspicious PDFs: Reader and Acrobat block PDFs that do not conform to certain industry-specific PDF standards, or may contain potentially harmful content. | Be cautious. These PDFs can pose a security risk to your system. Double-check with the source of the doc, such as the person who sent it to you or the website you downloaded it from, to make sure the document is safe to open. |
| You get an error message when trying to open a PDF created in InDesign or Illustrator. |
Preview User Guide
You can open PDFs and images in Preview, change how documents are shown in the Preview window, and get information about the files.
Open PDFs and images
How Can I Open Pdf In Word
How Can I Open Pdf File
You can double-click a PDF or image file to open it by default in Preview. You can also open Preview and select the files you want to view.
In the Preview app on your Mac, choose File > Open.
Locate and select the file or files you want to open, then click Open.
Tip: To open a file you've worked on recently, choose File > Open Recent.
To open a document in iCloud Drive, click iCloud Drive in the Finder sidebar, then double-click the PDF to open it. See Use iCloud Drive to store documents.
From the desktop, you can also select a file or files, then choose File > Open With > Preview.
If you open multiple files at the same time, you can set them to open in the same Preview window or open in tabs.
View PDFs or images
When you open a PDF with multiple pages, you can view thumbnails of all the pages in the sidebar.
In the Preview app on your Mac, open a PDF or image that you want to view.
Do any of the following:
Show thumbnails: Choose View > Thumbnails or View > Contact Sheet.
Show a document's table of contents (if it has one): Choose View > Table of Contents.
Close the sidebar: Choose View > Hide Sidebar.
Show pages in a continuous scroll: Choose View > Continuous Scroll.
Show one page at a time: Choose View > Single Page.
Show two pages side by side: Choose View > Two Pages.
Scroll pages: Swipe up or down on the trackpad using two fingers.
Go to a specific page: Click a thumbnail, or choose Go > Go to Page.
Go to the previous or next page: Click the Previous button or the Next button in the Preview toolbar. (If you don't see the buttons, choose View > Customize Toolbar, then add them.) If your Mac has a Force Touch trackpad, you can accelerate through the previous or next pages by pressing and holding the button, then adding pressure; the more firmly you press, the faster you move through the pages.
Change how thumbnails are shown
If a window sidebar contains multiple PDFs, you may have trouble finding a particular document. You can collapse a PDF's page thumbnails so you see only the PDF's filename.
In the Preview app on your Mac, open a PDF or image that you want to view.
Do any of the following:
View thumbnails: Choose View > Thumbnails or View > Contact Sheet.
Sort thumbnails: Control-click a thumbnail, then choose an item from the Sort By submenu in the shortcut menu. How do i download safari.
The thumbnails are sorted by file. You can't sort PDF page thumbnails within a PDF.
Change the size of the thumbnails: Choose View > Thumbnails, then drag the sidebar's separator to the left or right to change the width of the sidebar.
Collapse or expand PDF thumbnails: Click the arrow next to the PDF's filename in the sidebar.
View information about PDFs or images
You can use the inspector to view information about a document or image, such as file size, the author's name, and the image resolution.
In the Preview app on your Mac, open a PDF or image that you want to view.
Choose Tools > Show Inspector, then do any of the following:
Get general file information: Click the General Info Inspector button .
View keywords: Click the Keywords Inspector button . See Assign keywords to a PDF or image.
View a list of annotations: Click the Annotations Inspector button . To display an annotation, double-click it. See Annotate a PDF or Annotate an image.
View encryption and permission information in a PDF: Click the Encryption Inspector button . See Password-protect a PDF.
View cropping information in a PDF: When using a selection tool, click the Crop Inspector button to view the dimensions of the content you're selecting, then choose a unit of measurement that's displayed in the Crop Inspector window. See Crop or rotate a PDF in Preview on Mac.
View information about an image: Click the More Info Inspector button . See See where a photo was taken.
Zoom in or out
In the Preview app on your Mac, open a PDF or image that you want to view.
Do any of the following:
Zoom in or out: Choose View > Zoom In or View > Zoom Out. On some trackpads, you can pinch your thumb and index finger closed or open on the trackpad. See Use trackpad and mouse gestures.
View the original size of a page or image: Choose View > Actual Size.
Zoom to a particular section of a PDF or image: Choose Tools > Rectangular Selection, select the section, then choose View > Zoom to Selection. To see the document at actual size again, choose View > Actual Size.
View a page at a specific percentage of its original size: Type a percentage in the Scale field in the toolbar.
If you don't see the Scale field, choose View > Customize Toolbar, then drag the Scale field to the toolbar.
Magnify an area in a PDF or image: Choose Tools > Show Magnifier, then move the pointer over the area you want to magnify. To stop magnifying, choose Tools > Hide Magnifier or press the Esc key.
