Our workplaces are getting smarter and smarter, thanks greatly to the prevalence of digital documents like PDF. We can edit text, image, url, add buttons, execute actions, embed media file…And it is common to find an audio inserted in a PDF that serves as background music, audio comments or others.

But without an appropriate tool or adequate set-up, it is challenging to insert audio file into a PDF. Here, we will show you 5 tested ways to add audio to PDF, and play the sound easily.

  1. Can We Add Audio to PDF?
  2. How to Insert Audio File in PDF (As Embedded Object)
  3. How to Add Audio to PDF Online Free (As Link)
  4. How to Play Embedded Audio in PDF and Why Sometimes Cannot Play?

Can We Add Audio to PDF?

Yes, we can, because PDF is designed to be versatile and it welcomes all kinds of contents, users can bring texts, static images, 3D objects, and playable video or audio to a PDF. Instead of clicking on external links that navigate you to the outside sources, PDF allows embedding media files directly in it.

You can add music, voice, sound, or any kind of audio file to a PDF. As long as we have the right tools, we can insert audio in PDF easily, set up the audio playback as we like.

However, only 5% of the PDF editors on the market support embedding audio file in a PDF and play directly. Most of them help users add audio to PDF by just adding as attachment or placing a link of the audio file. If you want to add audio to PDF online free, you should be mentally prepared that the audio can be only inserted into the PDF via a link, which navigates you to another web page and plays the audio for you.

How to Insert Audio File in PDF (As Embedded Object)

We’ll start with 3 practical ways to insert your audio file into a PDF, as an embedded object that you can click and play with ease.

1# Adobe Acrobat

I understand that there’s something about Acrobat you don’t like, muck likely the pricing. But trust me, Acrobat is surely the best option for working on your PDFs, it comes with a comfortable feel and full features to get your PDFs under control. Especially regarding embedding audio in your PDF, it can insert MP3 music or sound, and play it automatically under 3 activation settings. Also the embedded audio can be played on page or in a floating window.

Acrobat Pro does all PDF tasks:

  • Create PDF from docx, xlsx, txt, jpg, png, html, scanner, blank page, clipboard and so on
  • Combine and split PDFs
  • Edit: change text, add text, add image, embed link, add header & footer, watermark with wanted format and options
  • Insert media files: audio, music, flash, etc.
  • E-sign files and send files for signature
  • Fill out forms and auto create fillable form
  • Export PDF to standard popular document formats
  • Scan and OCR files
  • Protect and add certificate to PDF
  • Add comment, draw on PDF, markup, etc
  • Compare
  • Flatten PDF layers

About the pricing, which may be standing in the way of your subscription, changes have made for you. Adobe offers a more flexible tier now, from $12.99 to $29.99, you can install Adobe Acrobat alone or enjoy all Adobe apps in one place via Adobe Document Cloud, and there is great discount to get an Adobe bundle.

How to Insert Audio File to PDF with Acrobat?

  1. Get a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Pro on your Windows PC or Mac. Install and fire up the app on your machine.
  2. Open the PDF in Acrobat, head to Edit> Sound.add audio to pdf adobe 1
  3. Hold the mouse pointer to drag a sound box, click Choose to add the music or audio file.add audio to pdf adobe 2
  4. Show Advanced Options and configure the settings, and click OK to continue.add audio to pdf adobe 3
  5. Click to Activate the audio.add audio to pdf adobe 4
  6. Play the audio to see if it can play or not. Hit Save button to apply the changes.

Remarks: You can also go to Edit> Attach file to insert the audio file as an attachment in your PDF with Acrobat.

add audio to pdf adobe 5

Also, you can check the video on our YouTube channel, starting from 01:55:

2# Foxit PhantomPDF Editor

When it comes to insert audio file to PDF without Adobe Acrobat, you will be much likely to be recommended with Foxit PhantomPDF Editor.

Foxit PDF Editor looks like Microsoft Office Word, it has a fresh feel and workflow that differ from Acrobat. If Acrobat is not what you like, Foxit may sound more appealing to you. It can edit, sign, collaborate and share, scan and OCR, fill and recognize PDF form, protect PDF with ease. When inserting video or audio files to a PDF using Foxit, you can embed files that saved in mp3, aiff, wav, mov, mp4…

How to Insert Audio File to PDF without Acrobat?

  1. Get a free copy of Foxit PhantomPDF editor on your Mac or Windows machine, install and fire up the app. Open PDF with the app.add pdf audio foxit 1
  2. Head to Edit> Insert> Audio & Video.add pdf audio foxit 2
  3. Hold the mouse button and drag an area to embed the music or sound file, then upload the audio file and configure the settings as follows..add pdf audio foxit 3
  4. Lastly, save the file in Foxit.

3# LibreOffice

Life is not tough these days, and we’ve all been there on a tight budget. Don’t worry, we have another free yet reliable way to embed audio file in a PDF, by using LibreOffice.

It is an open source file editor to deal with documents like PDF, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, it is rich in features, but requires a learning curve. And one thing you should be aware about using this free tool is, unlike Adobe Acrobat or Foxit, the audio file that you’ve inserted with LibreOffice can be only played in LibreOffice, because other tools won’t play.

How to Embed Audio File into PDF without Acrobat and Free?

  1. Grab this free tool from its official website, open your PDF in LibreOffice.insert audio libreoffice 1
  2. Head to Insert> Media> Audio or Video.insert audio libreoffice 2
  3. Navigate to the audio file you want to add, and click Open to import.
  4. Embed the audio file into the PDF page as you like.insert audio libreoffice 3
  5. Click on the Play button to check the result.
  6. Finally, hit Save button.insert audio libreoffice 4

How to Add Audio to PDF Online Free (As Link)

First of all, we are all wondering if we can add audio to PDF free via online tools. The answer is yes, but you can only insert an audio link, instead of embedding an individual audio file and placing a playback button in the file. In other words, when clicking the audio link, you will be redirected to a new page playing the embedded audio. Why?

One of the main reasons is that online PDF editors only offers limited features, advanced features like embed media file, edit scans, is not available in such web tools. The other cause is that media files are larger in file size than documents, they would eat up more space on a 3rd-party server, which means higher cost.

But it is still worth a try if you want an online free solution, with following solution.

4# Google Docs

When you get used to editing files in Google Docs, it feels convenient and trusty to embed audio in PDF with this tool. However, it harms the formatting of your PDF, you need to use the available format options to adjust.

How to embed audio in PDF online free

  1. Upload the audio to your Google Drive, then you will get a link of the audio file.
  2. Log into your Google account, head to Google Drive.
  3. Upload the file and open with Google Docs.add pdf audio google 1
  4. Place your mouse pointer where you want to embed the audio, right click and choose Insert Link.add pdf audio google 2
  5. Input the audio link.
  6. Save the file or download the file as PDF.

5# PDFescape

If you want to add music to PDF without loss of formatting, PDFescape is a good alternative. It is a dedicated online PDF editor that handles your files in original formatting. It isn’t nearly as powerful as Acrobat on editing, but works well enough for simple things like inserting objects, annotation and organizing pages.

How to add audio to PDF online free

  1. Upload the audio or music to your website, social account or any platform that stores and creates an audio link for you.
  2. Navigate to pdfescape.com, upload the PDF.
  3. Head to Insert> Link.add pdf audio free 1
  4. Place the pointer where you want to embed a music, drag the crosshair to bring up the Link Properties, enter the audio link and click OK.add pdf audio free 2
  5. Save the file to your Windows or Mac.

How to Play Embedded Audio in PDF and Why Sometimes Cannot Play?

To play an embedded audio in PDF, you just need to click the playback button.

But cannot play the embedded audio in your PDF? It can be caused by following reasons:

  • Your PDF reader cannot play audio files that created in another PDF editor.
  • Your PDF reader is not compatible with the audio format in the PDF.
  • Your PDF tool or audio playing extension is outdated.
  • Your device doesn’t have the necessary audio playing capabilities.
  • Your PDF is partially corrupted.
  • Your PDF is protected.
  • The audio file is not fully embedded, or wrongly configured.

To play audio normally in a PDF, we need to find out the reason first, then seek a specific solution. But all in all, you are always recommended to use a robust PDF editor that is highly compatible across platforms, devices, extensions, Acrobat is a good choice.

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