How to Convert a Word Document into a JPG or GIF Image

Evan Gower August 10, 2023

While Microsoft Word documents are compatible with other word processors, you may need to save them as JPG or GIF images. While you can’t export your document as a picture file, there are several ways to do it. All of them are free and straightforward, so you can use whichever is most convenient.

How to Convert a Word Document into a JPG or GIF Image

Follow this article to learn how to convert a Word Document to a JPG or GIF.

Turning Word Documents into JPG/GIF Images Using Online Converters

The main advantage of online converters is that they are simple to use and work on every platform as long as you have a modern browser. You can use an online tool like TinyWow to first convert your Word document to PDF, and then to the image format of your choice.

Navigate to the TinyWow Word to PDF tool.
Click Upload from PC or Mobile button or drag the files your want to convert.
Choose your .DOC file, then click Open.
Wait for it to generate. After it generates, you can download your file in pdf form.
Go back to TinyWow’s homepage.
Find and choose the PDF to JPG option.
Then click the Upload from PC or Mobile button.
Choose your converted file, then click Open.
Wait for it to generate. Then an image will be shown to you with a download button.
You can click the Download button to save your JPEG output.
You can see all your download files in your PC’s Downloads Folder.

Windows: Converting the Documents to Images Using Paste Special

Starting with Office 2007, Word added the Paste Special function, which can convert documents into png, jpg, gif, and other image formats. Here are the steps:

Open the document that you want to save as JPG or GIF.
To select the entire content, press Ctrl + A in Windows (or Command + A on a Mac).
Alternately, go to the Edit menu and choose Select All. Be aware that this method will save only a single page. You will need to go through these steps for each page separately.
Copy your selection. On a PC use Ctrl + C (or Command + C on a Mac). You can also right-click on the selected content and choose Copy.
Open a New Document and select Paste Special from the Paste menu; you can also find Paste Special in the Edit menu.
Select Picture (Enhanced Metafile) and click OK; the image of the single page you selected will be pasted into the document.
Right-click on the content and choose Save as Picture. Select the desired image format, including JPG, GIF, PNG, and a few others. The final result should look like this passage from “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe.

If you get a picture with a black background, you can try these solutions:

Save the image again, but this time using another format.
If you have secondary displays, disable them before converting the documents.

Windows: Using Image Viewers/Editors

You can use Microsoft Paint or other image viewers and editors to save Word Documents as JPG or GIF.

Open the document that you wish to convert.
Use the Windows + Shift + S keyboard command to capture the part of your document you’d like to convert. Or… Using a zoom tool, size the document so that it’s entirely on the screen.

Press Print Screen.
Now, open Microsoft Paint or a similar app, like IrfanView or FastStone Image Viewer.
Press Ctrl + V, and the copied image will appear on the screen.
Use the crop tool to remove the unwanted parts of the screenshot.
Click on Save as and name your file.
Choose JPG or GIF as a format.

Windows & Mac: Convert Word Documents into PDF Files

The latest versions of Microsoft Word will allow you to save your documents as PDF files, which are easier to convert into image files.

Word to PDF Document Conversion on Windows

Open the document you wish to convert to jpg.
Click on File > Save As and save as PDF.
Open Microsoft Store and download the PDF to JPEG app.
Open the program and click on Select File.
Find your PDF and select it.
Select where to store the new file.
Click on Convert.

Note that the PDF to JPEG app will convert multiple pages, which should work better if you need to convert a lengthy document to images. The limitation is that there is no support for saving to GIF or other image formats. Also, you can’t set the quality of the pictures.

Word to PDF Document Conversion on a Mac

Converting a PDF document to an image is just as easy on Mac, and the process is very similar. Simply follow these steps:

Open the document you wish to convert to jpg or gif.
Go to File > Save As and save as PDF in Word. Exit the app.
Click on the PDF file.
Now, select Open With > Preview.
Click File > Export from the dropdown menu.
Click on the format and select to save the document as a JPEG file.
Use the slider to choose the JPEG quality.
Click Save to confirm the conversion.

Converting Word Documents to Images as You Prefer

Every one of the approaches described has its advantages and drawbacks. If you need to convert a single page to JPG or GIF, using Print Screen and Microsoft Paint or Paste Special is the quickest way to do it.

However, if you work with multiple pages, there are better solutions. We recommend saving the documents as PDF before converting them using a third-party app on Windows or Preview tool. Alternatively, you can turn to online converters.

Which of these conversion methods best suits your needs? How often do you need to convert Word documents into images? Share your thoughts in the comments.