Getting Images Out of Word

There are occasions when clients want to give graphic designers images to work with. And they place the images in programs such as Word or PowerPoint. This can be frustrating. But there are ways around the obvious problems. I’ve discussed before my method for getting vectors out of PowerPoint. Now I want to show you how to get inages out of Word.

There are basically two methods to do this that are very effective. Remember, you can’t just copy and paste it, or pull the image to the desktop, because you will get an unusable low-res image. So, here a way to get those images out effectively.

Method #1: Make a ZIP file and extract the image

I’ve found this first method to be the most effective, because you end up with the original version image, rather than a lower-res copy. And you don’t even need Word to do it.

All you have to do is rename the DOCX extension to ZIP. This will turn the file into a ZIP archive. Then just extract it (MAC) or open it (PC). Look for the folder called “Word” and then for the folder called “Media” (Word > Media). In this folder your images reside in their original formats and sizes. Does drag out what you want. Easy-peasy.

Method #2: Convert the document into HTML

Word has a function where you can convert an open document into HTML. Just open the file in Word. Go to “File” and select “Save as Web Page (*.htm; *.html).” This results in an HTML file and a folder of the same name. Open the folder and you will see two of each image. One will be small, while the other is larger. Pick the larger version, because this will be closest to the original size.

Let me know if this was helpful. Do you have a better method? Let me know that too.

Photo courtesy Ambro of freedigitalphotos.net