In this tutorial, we will show you how to extract embedded images from PDF documents on your Mac or iPhone using one of multiple free methods like apps, websites, or good old screenshots.
If you receive a PDF document and want to hold onto one of the photos or images from it, it’s a little more difficult than doing so with a Pages or Word document. PDF documents are intended to be more secure than others. So for editing a PDF, you normally need special software, an app, or an online tool.
If you’ve invested in something like Adobe Acrobat, then things like image extractions are easy. But if you don’t create or edit PDFs regularly, what tool can you use to save an image from a document?
Here are five quick and free ways to extract a photo or image from a PDF file on your computer or phone.
1. Use Adobe Acrobat Reader
Different than the paid Adobe Acrobat for creating and editing PDFs, Adobe Acrobat Reader is exactly what the name implies. It allows you to view (read) PDF files. It’s a free application and does offer some extra features if you review PDFs regularly. Plus, you can copy image from it.
To save an image from a PDF with Adobe Acrobat Reader, open your document with it, right-click the picture and select Copy Image or click the image and choose Copy Image from the shortcut toolbar.
After you copy the image, you can then paste it into another application or open it in Preview with File > New from Clipboard.
If, for some reason, you don’t have the option to right-click and choose Copy Image, do the following:
1) Select Edit > Take a Snapshot from the menu bar.
2) Click the image, which will actually select part or all of the text as well.
3) Right-click and pick Copy Selected Graphic.
If you use a different brand of PDF reader on your Mac, give it a try! The copy feature should work with similar applications in most cases.
2. Check out online tools
If you have a PDF with multiple images you want to extract, an online tool is your best bet. There are a ton of websites for this purpose, but one recommendation is PDF Candy. The tool is easy to use and gives you a nice and neat ZIP file with all images from your PDF document.
1) Use this link for the PDF Candy Extract Images tool or visit PDF Candy and select Extract Images.
2) Either click Add file, upload your PDF from Google Drive or Dropbox, or drag and drop your file into the space.
3) The process begins automatically and takes only a few moments. You’ll see a “Done!” message and an option to download the ZIP file or send it to Google Drive or Dropbox.
Open your file and do as you wish with the images!
In addition to that, you can also use ilovepdf.com/pdf_to_jpg, upload the PDF, and then use the extract images option.
3. Use iOS apps
1) Download UPDF on your iPhone or iPad and tap the plus button to add a PDF to it from the Apple Files app or elsewhere.
2) Tap the photo text icon from the top.
3) Now tap the image in the PDF, hit the arrow icon, and choose Extract > Save to Files. This image is now extracted from the PDF and saved inside this app.
4) Go to the first screen of UPDF, tap the extracted image > share icon > Save Image to get it into the Photos app.
In addition to UPDF, you can also use the iLovePDF app, but it is limited to 3 conversions per day on the free version.
4. Capture the photo or image with Preview
Although not ideal, you can capture an image in a PDF using Preview on your Mac. Using the selection tool, you can zoom in grab the exact dimensions for the image, and open it in its own window to save it.
1) Open the PDF in Preview.
2) Click File > Take Screenshot and choose From Selection.
3) When the crosshairs appear, drag to capture the image as the selection.
Once you release your cursor, the image will open in a new window immediately. From there, you can pick a file format, give it a name, and select a location to save it.
On Windows, you can do something similar by using the Snipping Tool.
5. Grab a photo or image from anywhere with a screenshot
If, for some reason, the above options don’t work for you, there’s always one last option, and that’s to take a screenshot.
- On Mac, you can access the screenshot tool with the keyboard shortcut Command + Shift + 5. Then capture the image in the selected area to save it.
- On iPhone and iPad, use the device buttons to capture your screenshot as you normally would. Then use the Markup tool to crop or resize the image if needed and save it to Photos or Files.
It’s not the best solution, but if it’s a one-time occurrence, taking a screenshot of the image may be enough for your situation.
Do more with PDFs: