Insert Pictures and Clip Art in Microsoft Word

Give your work a more polished look

By
Rebecca Johnson
Rebecca Johnson
Freelance Contributor
Rebecca Johnson is a former freelance contributor to Lifewire and a Microsoft Office Certified Master Instructor who specializes in Microsoft Office products.
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Updated on January 6, 2020

Using images with a consistent look and feel makes documents look professional and polished. There are some things to keep in mind when choosing clip art. The image should correspond with the theme of the document. It should also have a similar style to other images used in the document. Here's how to insert clip art into a Word document.

Lifewire / Lisa Fasol

Instructions in this article apply to Word for Microsoft 365, Word Online, Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2013, Word 2010, Word 2007, Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac, and Word 2019 for Mac.

Insert an Image With Microsoft 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, or Word 2013

Newer versions of Office don't have a clip art library, but you can insert images found online.

  1. Select Insert > Online Pictures.

    Word with the Online Pictures option highlighted

  2. Go to the search bar and type a word or phrase. Or, select a category.

    The Online Pictures window in Word with the search bar highlighted

  3. Select Filter, go to the Type section, then choose Clipart.

    Online Pictures search results in Word with the Clipart filter highlighted

  4. Choose a picture, then select Insert to place the clipart image in your document.

    Online Pictures window in Word with the Insert button highlighted

Word searches for Creative Commons images by default. These are free to use by the public. While you can clear the Creative Commons check box to search for more images, this isn't recommended because using copyrighted images could cause you legal trouble with the copyright holders.

Insert an Image With Word 2010

Here's how to insert clip art using Word 2010:

  1. Go to Insert > Images > Clip Art.

  2. Type your search terms into the box.

  3. In the Under Results area, select what types of media you want to include.

  4. Select the Include Bing Content check box if you're connected to the internet and want to search for online images.

  5. Select Go to start the search.

  6. Once you've found an image you want to use, right-click its thumbnail and select Insert.

Insert an Image With Word 2007

Unlike newer versions, Word 2007 comes with a built-in library of clip art.

  1. Go to Insert > Images > Clip Art.

  2. Open Search and choose where you want to look for images. Choose from My Collections, Office Collections, or Web Collections.

  3. Type your keywords into the search bar.

  4. Select what types of media you want to include in the Under Results area.

  5. Select Go to start the search.

  6. Once you've found an image you want to use, right-click its thumbnail and select Insert.

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