Every now and then I’ll come across a tip that makes me slap my forehead and ask “How did I miss that one?”

Photoshop CS3 and CS2 both let you easily extract images that are embedded in PDF documents. Next time you open a PDF file in Photoshop CS3, look at the top of the import window that normally displays a preview of all the available pages in your PDF. Click on the Images radio button and you’ll be presented with a list of all the images embedded in that PDF.

Tip: In Photoshop CS2, the Images option is hidden under a pop-up menu.

Choose the image you want and click the OK button to open it. You can then save it in any file format you like.

Source: This tip indirectly inspired by Jason Hoppe’s upcoming September 26 mini-workshop Acrobat: Interactive PDFs. The actual tip comes from this month’s issue of Design Tools Monthly. Members of a Creativetechs support plan receive a subscription to Design Tools Monthly in their monthly care package.