A common question I’ve been getting as of late is about how to embed a PDF into a WordPress page/post so that it’s actually viewable inside the post. If you use the Upload/Insert button to add your .pdf in the same way that you would an image, you get only a text link to download the file which isn’t particularly exciting.
The best and easiest solution I’ve come across is a plugin called “Google Doc Embedder“. Don’t let the name fool you, you don’t have to upload your files to Google Docs – everything is done through your WordPress admin.
After installing and activating the plugin these are the steps to take:
- When editing the post you want the .pdf in, use the usual Upload/Insert button to upload your .pdf file
- Instead of clicking “Insert Into Post” make sure you copy the File Url, then you can close the media upload window
- Click the “G” icon on your toolbar. Paste the url into the field and configure any of the options such as dimensions and whether you want your readers to have the ability to download the file itself.
- Click Insert and the plugin will generate and insert a shortcode into your post. When you Publish the post you will see the pdf in all its glory on your site!
You can use this same process to embed other types of documents as well, such as Word docs, PowerPoints, Excel files and more.
