Select and Copy Text and Graphics in Acrobat – Instructions

Select and Copy Text and Graphics in Acrobat: Video Lesson

This video lesson, titled “ Selecting and Copying Text and Graphics ,” shows how to select and copy text and graphics in Acrobat Pro DC. This video lesson is from our complete Adobe Acrobat tutorial , titled “ Mastering Acrobat Made Easy v.Pro DC .”

Select and Copy Text and Graphics in Acrobat: Overview

You can easily select and copy text and graphics in Acrobat. You can then paste the copied content into other software applications. You can also use it to create other PDF files. When you first open a PDF, the Selection tool is selected and active, by default tool. The Selection tool appears in the Page Controls toolbar in the Document view of Acrobat.

You can use the Selection tool to select either images or text. When you hover the Selection tool over text, the tool becomes an I-beam selector. You can then click and drag to select the text to copy. The Selection tool highlights the selected text. To copy this text, select “Edit| Copy” from the Menu Bar. Once copied, you can paste the text into another software application, like Microsoft Word, for example.

Select and Copy Text and Graphics in Acrobat – Instructions: A picture of a user copying selected text within a PDF in Acrobat Pro DC.

Select and Copy Text and Graphics in Acrobat – Instructions: A picture of a user copying selected text within a PDF in Acrobat Pro DC.

When selecting images using Acrobat’s selection tool, you have two choices. With the Selection tool active, you can click an image to select the whole image. Acrobat then highlights the image. You can then copy and paste the image into another application, like you did with text.

To only select a portion of the image, instead, click and drag across the image using the Selection tool. Then release the mouse button. Doing this lets you choose a portion of the image to copy. To de-select a selection, click once into the blank, or empty, area in the PDF.

Select and Copy Text and Graphics in Acrobat: Instructions

  1. To select and copy text and graphics in Acrobat, activate the Selection tool in the Page Controls toolbar in the Document view of Acrobat.
  2. To select text, hover the Selection tool over the text until the tool becomes an I-beam selector.
  3. Click and drag over the text to select it.
  4. If you want to copy selected text, choose “Edit| Copy” from the Menu Bar.
  5. To select an entire image, click the image.
  6. To select a portion of an image, click and drag across the part of the image you want to select.
  7. Release the mouse button.
  8. To copy selected graphics, select “Edit| Copy” from the Menu Bar.
  9. To de-select a selection, click once into the blank, or empty, area in the PDF.

About Joseph Brownell

Joseph Brownell is founder and Vice President of TeachUcomp, Inc. He is the author of dozens of titles across the TeachUcomp, Inc. product line.