How to get Images Back out of Microsoft Word
Filed Under: Graphic Design, Tutorial
One thing I run into somewhat frequently is content being provided to me in a Microsoft Word file with embedded images. I used to struggle with getting the highest quality version of those images back out of Word and into Photoshop. If you cut and paste into Photoshop, you often get it at the resolution it’s been scaled down to, and often, the colors are wrong or even the aspect ratio is messed up. The solution is simple and having stumbled upon it, it is going to save me plenty of time. Maybe it can save you some time too.
The Solution
File->Save as->HTML
(I know, *shudder* at the thought of Word’s HTML. But we don’t need that!)
Word generates an images folder and creates a gif and a jpeg of each image at the maximum resolution. I was able to pull full 300 dpi photos from word files with this technique with none of the image screw-ups that you get when you try copying and pasting.
It’s just that easy. Do you know of a better way to get those embedded images out of Microsoft Word? Let me know in the comments!
