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I can't open a pdf in Word.

Anonymous
2011-04-28T13:42:49+00:00

I get a file conversion in letters, numbers and symbols, but cannot read the document that was emailed.  What to do?  Thank you!

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Suzanne S Barnhill 277.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2011-04-28T17:42:43+00:00

    Although Word 2007 and 2010 do have native support for creating PDFs, no version of Word until Word 2013 can open or edit them. For that you need the free Adobe Reader; in the unlikely event that you don't have it already, you can get it at http://get.adobe.com/reader/.

    If you're trying to open the PDFs from inside Word, then Word will try to open them. You can still open them from Word, but not by just double-clicking on the filename or selecting the file and clicking Open. Instead, you must right-click on the filename and choose Open with Adobe Reader X.

    If you're trying to open the PDFs from an Explorer window (Computer) and they're trying to open in Word, then there is a problem with the file association. Right-click on any PDF file, choose Open With, then Choose Program, and select Adobe Reader, being sure to check the box for "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file."

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  1. Anonymous
    2011-04-28T14:28:04+00:00

    Of course you can't open it. Word has no compatibility with PDF format. You need Adobe Reader to view it (a free download if you don't already have it).

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-01-18T05:58:57+00:00

    Unfortunately, this is not entirely true.  I use Microsoft word 2003 and I was able to download and open my bank statement in PDF format and open them while working within word it self.  However, something has changed within the past several months that has prevented this from happening.  From June, where I was able to open PDF files while in MS Word, to July where I am now asked to selected a code for the conversion.

    I am not entirely sure what has taken place, but I find it very strange that I was able to do this for many years and then it is not allowed.  In fact, I have two save documents from the same company which were downloaded and saved.  They are actually my bank statements.  I am able to open the PDF saved document which was saved in June while working in Word, and now I am unable to open the following months which were also downloaded and saved as a PDF but now it's inaccessible.

    Although, no one can tell me why this is occurring with the exception that Word was using an add-on converter at the time.  However, if this same add-on worked for the June saved document, then I don't understand why it can not work for the saved July document.

    4 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Anonymous
    2013-01-18T18:04:41+00:00

    June’s statement and Julys statements are both PDF's but I have noticed something strange.   All statements from June and prior, their file size are 24 kb or smaller.  However, all statements from July and after are 280 kb or higher.  Not sure if this makes a difference or not.  But that's the only thing that I have noticed between these two files.  Both downloaded from the same site, monthly.

    2 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2013-01-18T11:00:25+00:00

    What add-on converter?

    Word 2003 cannot open PDF files. A converter would have to convert the PDF file to Word format before Word could open it. Word does not have such a converter.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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