How to Insert a Word Document into Another Word Document

Use which method works best for you

Providing a reference for your readers or adding one for yourself is a convenient way to link related documents together. Luckily, you can insert a Microsoft Word document into another Word document in a few different ways.

Depending on how you want to display your referenced document, you can link to it using an object or an icon, or simply embed the content from the other Word document. We’ll show you how to do each one, so you can use whichever works best for you.

Note: Keep in mind that if you share the document with others, they’ll also need access to the referenced document.

Insert a Word Document as a Linked Object

One way to insert the document is to use a linked object. This adds the content from the other document to the current one as an object, a text box.

On Mac, follow the same steps to open the Object box and selectFrom File. Find and choose the file, pickInsert, and selectOK.

If you select the embedded text, you’ll notice a border around it. This is because it’s a text box which allows you to move or resize it as needed.

Using this method, you can double-click the object to open the source document. Make your changes there, save the document, and you’ll see those edits in your current document.

If you want to remove the object later, select it and use yourDeletekey.

Insert a Word Document as a Linked Icon

If you want tolink to the Word documentusing an icon, this is another option. You then simply select the icon to open the document.

On Mac, follow the same steps to open the Object box and optionally choose the file type. SelectFrom File, find and choose the file, and pickInsert. Mark theDisplay as Iconcheckbox and selectOK.

If you want to remove the icon later, select it and use yourDeletekey.

Embed the Text From a Word Document

One more way to insert your Word document is to pull in the text itself. This doesn’t link the documents together but gives you all of the content withoutcopying and pastingfrom one to the next. The steps are the same for both Windows and Mac.

You’ll then see the content from the document inserted in the current one.

Different from the first method above, if you make changes to the source file, you won’t see them reflected in the current document. If you use this option, you can simply edit, format, and delete the text as if you typed it directly into the document.

Inserting one Word document into another is a handy way to reference related content. For more Microsoft Office tutorials, look at how touse the Compare and Combine Document features in Word.

Sandy Writtenhouse is a freelance technology writer and former Project, Department, and Program Manager. She turned her education, job experience, and love of technology into a full-time writing career. With all sorts of gadgets in her home and her hands, she seeks to help others make life easier through technology.Read Sandy’s Full Bio

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How to Insert a Word Document into Another Word Document#

Insert a Word Document as a Linked Object#

Insert a Word Document as a Linked Icon#

Embed the Text From a Word Document#