If it's just some overlay text then you can actually do it quite easily with MS Word 2010 I find.

I've just opened a blank document and:-
1. Inserted a PDF as an object.
2. Overlaid it with a filled box (insert shape). This to hide what you don't want showing.
3. Overlaid some text, I did it as Word Art but a text box would work as well.

You can manipulate the order of the layers by sending backwards/forwards.

I like that, neat!

Hmm, I must be missing something here. On my Word 2010, Insert / Object doesn't list a PDF document as an object that can be inserted. Taking the Create from File approach, despite not ticking any of the boxes, it just displays the file as an icon. Though this article seems to suggest it should display the PDF file's first page.

I'm selecting the option to :-

"Insert/Object/Adobe Acrobat PDFXML Document"

and when I do that the pdf is opened in Adobe Reader but I just close that and the pdf has been inserted into my Word Document.

p.s. Just tested a multi page pdf and I only got the first page. Are you working with multi page documents?

Edited by longedge (Mon 25-May-15 22:56:39)

Odd, that object type is not listed in my Insert/Object dialog box.

I wonder, do you have Adobe Reader installed or another PDF reader? I use an alternative reader.

In reply to a post by cheshire_man:

do you have Adobe Reader installed or another PDF reader

Yes just Adobe Reader and I use Cute PDF to create pdf's.
p.s. My Word version details read:-
"MS Word 2010 (14.0.7149.5000) SP2MSO (14.0.7149.5000)
Part of Microsoft Professional Plus 2010"

Edited by longedge (Tue 26-May-15 08:35:51)

Make sure that Adobe Reader is associated with the PDF file type (use Control Panel > Default Programs). irrc, if a file type is not associated with a program that supports ActiveX (Object Linking and Embedding), that file type will not be displayed in the list.

If he downloads the current Adobe Reader that automatically sets the file associations. I got it recently and it over-rode the previous settting.

I've a feeling Word then gets the Import option as well.

If he's installed another PDF reader, the file associations may be overridden and if the new application doesn't support OLE, the file type won't be in the list.

But it is nearly always the most recently installed product that wins, until the new setting is reversed by the user with the route you supplied. I find the losing application normally complains next time it is used and asks if it should reset the association in favour of itself.