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How can I convert or insert an Inkscape SVG file to a Microsoft Word document?

Note: It has to be editable. The resulting exported PDF has selectable text.

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  • 2
    Why .doc or .pub? .pdf would be more appropriate I think.
    – iglvzx
    Mar 6, 2012 at 19:18
  • Its a requirement from my employer to be able to repurpose my resume. I'm editing the question since it has to be in doc. Its not preferable, but it is what it is. [Edit, the link to the resume was for an example of what it should look like in the word doc]
    – monksy
    Mar 6, 2012 at 19:29
  • Do you have access to both Inkscape and Microsoft Word?
    – iglvzx
    Mar 6, 2012 at 19:31
  • I think I'm missing something here. SVG is a graphic format, You could export it in any graphic format (let's say, as a GIF, PNG, JPG, BMP) and put it inside any Word document. It would be a graphic inside a .DOC document, the same way you would do with any picture...
    – woliveirajr
    Mar 6, 2012 at 19:36
  • It has to be editable. The resulting exported PDF has selectable text.
    – monksy
    Mar 6, 2012 at 19:37

5 Answers 5

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To embed an Inkscape drawing into a Word document:

  1. Open the file in Inkscape.

    open

  2. Save the file as an Enhanced Metafile (.emf).

    save as

  3. Be sure to untick Convert text to paths

    text to paths

  4. Insert the .emf file as a picture in a Word document.

    insert picture

To edit the drawing and text:

  1. Right-click the picture and select Edit Picture.

    edit

  2. Click Yes to convert to a drawing object.

    object

  3. Tada!

    complete

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  • 6
    EMF export is only supported on Windows: wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/Release_notes/0.45#EMF_export
    – domen
    Mar 14, 2013 at 15:16
  • This works also for OpenOffice/LibreOffice Draw ODG files. Thanks.
    – Greg
    Jun 12, 2014 at 1:02
  • 2
    You can, if you want to import arbitrary SVG files platform-independent, convert them online
    – randers
    Feb 3, 2016 at 15:57
  • Mac supports only wmf types, not emf. At least there is a solution.
    – chmike
    Oct 8, 2016 at 7:18
  • 4
    Export to EMF worked in Inkscape-0.91 on Ubuntu-16.04/Linux. (not MS-Windows-only feature now - may have been at the time of the prior comment.)
    – Randall Whitman
    Sep 19, 2017 at 19:45
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2016 Update

Note: This feature is only available if you have an Office 365 subscription. If you are an Office 365 subscriber, make sure you have the latest version of Office.

Microsoft Word 2016 can now directly import SVG:

  1. Place your cursor where you'd like the image to be inserted.
  2. Go to the Insert tab of the Ribbon.

  3. Click Pictures

    enter image description here

  4. Navigate to where the SVG file you wish to insert is located and select it. Click Insert.

Source: Insert SVG images in Microsoft Office

What's particularly cool is that looking under the covers reveals that SVG is being stored natively within the OOXML. This is much better for image quality preservation than importing to a raster format would be, and is more interoperable than EMF/WMF.

Platforms: SVG import unfortunately does not appear to be supported on the Mac platform or on Word Online as of this writing (August 2017).

2019 Update

SVG import is now supported on Mac, confirmed with an Office 365 subscription at least.

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  • 8
    This does not work for me although I have the latest updates installed on my Word 2016 (64Bit).
    – Devid
    Feb 11, 2017 at 10:26
  • 10
    I have Office 2016 64Bit (16.07668.7101). When I try to insert a SVG image I get the message: "An error occurred while importing this file.". I have Windows 10 and I did file a report on Feedback Hub App, the title is: Word 2016 does not Insert SVG images
    – Devid
    Feb 11, 2017 at 17:24
  • 3
    @Devid, ever heard anything from them? I have Office 2016 on Windows 10, and my effort to import a SVG produces only a gray picture frame icon.
    – katriel
    Aug 16, 2017 at 13:23
  • 3
    @katriel I have know the version 1707 (Build 8326.2073) of Office 2016. I tested it with this SVG image: s.cdpn.io/3/kiwi.svg and it works. I tested it by drag and drop.
    – Devid
    Aug 16, 2017 at 13:55
  • 3
    According to the support.office.com article linked to in this answer - "This feature is only available if you have an Office 365 subscription". I don't have an Office 365 subscription, so this doesn't work for me, even though I'm using Office Professional Plus 2016 on Windows 10.
    – Daniel Schilling
    Sep 27, 2017 at 21:09
4

I am using word 2013 and thus I cannot import svg directly. However, LibreOffice is capable of doing that. I am using LibreOffice 5 and I could import the svg file with 

insert -> image -> choose your file

After that I just copied the imported svg from LibreOffice to Office. It seems like quality changed a bit, but for purposes that was fine.

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-2

How to copy and paste a diagram from Inkscape into Microsoft Word

There is another simpler method which works all the time with all software, whatever age, including Mac OS.

  1. Select the diagram in Inkscape. Click on/select Black Arrow at top left of the page. Click on corner of the diagram you wish to move, then pull the cursor around the diagram so a black box surrounds the diagram.

  2. Select "Edit" → "Make a Bitmap copy". (This is halfway down the list with something like a camera next to it.) Click on it. A lot of dotted lines appear around your Inkscape diagram.

Now this is the trick.

  1. Select "Edit" → "Copy". (Not "Make Bitmap copy". Doing this twice confuses some people.) Click.

  2. Then open your Word document.

  3. Click your cursor where you want to put the diagram.

  4. In the Word document go to "Edit" → "Paste". Click.

  5. Voila! Your diagram appears in the Word document with a box and handles around it.

  6. Resize if necessary by selecting and dragging the bottom right corner, and move by selecting box and dragging.

  7. Click. Box disappears. All done. Save.

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2
  • The image looks blurred. Does word still handle the image as vector graphic ? How come Word 2016 still doesn't support SVG ?
    – chmike
    Jun 13, 2016 at 15:19
  • 2
    @chmike The "Make Bitmap copy" step would give this away as exporting raster, not vector. I have no answer to your second question, even 3 years later. :)
    – Aaron Campbell
    Oct 7, 2016 at 21:05
-2

Another solution is to use Gimp, it can read SVG files and export them in PNG format.

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  • 2
    This would work, but will produce a rasterized image, and may not print well.
    – Stephen McAteer
    Aug 16, 2016 at 1:11

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