2 Easy Ways to Open a Scanned Doc in MS Word

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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 Method 1 of 2:

Opening PDF in Word

Step 1 Open Word.

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Step 2 Click File and Open.

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Step 3 Double-click your PDF.

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\n"> Double-click your PDF. Double-clicking the file once you find it will open it.

Step 4 Click OK.

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Step 5 Clean up your document.

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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.

Step 6 Save the document.

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Scanning With & Using Microsoft Lens

Step 1 Open Microsoft Lens.

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Step 2 Allow Microsoft Lens access to your phone.

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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.

Step 3 Tap DOCUMENT.

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Step 4 Point your phone

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Step 5 Tap the

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Step 6 Tap Done.

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Step 7 Tap Word.

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Step 8 Sign into your Microsoft account.

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Step 9 Open Word on your computer.

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\n"> Open Word on your computer. It's the blue app with a white document and the letter "W" in the icon.

Step 10 Click Open.

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Step 11 Click OneDrive - Personal.

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Step 12 Go to the Microsoft Lens folder.

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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.

Step 13 Double-<a href=click your Word document." width="460" height="345" />

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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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Community Q&A

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.

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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.

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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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Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

Ask a Question 200 characters left Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Advertisement 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.

If you're unable to edit the document, you can try other methods to convert images and PDFs to editable text.

Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published Please provide your name and last initial Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

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