Resize Images and Objects in Microsoft Word

If your Microsoft Word documents contain anything other than straight text, there may be times when a certain component (such as an image or a text box) needs to be a different size. Word makes it easy to change the size of objects.

Resize an Image by Clicking and Dragging

Resize an image to shrink it down to fit in a tight spot in a document or to make it larger to fill up more space. Any type of object can be resized, including images, shapes, SmartArt, WordArt, charts, and text boxes.

1. In the Word document, select the object you want to resize.

2. Use the mouse or touchpad to select and drag a Sizing handle. The Sizing handles are located on each corner of the object, as well as on the top, bottom, left, and right borders.

   Once you've resized the object, you may also need to reposition it.

3. To keep the proportions of the object the same, press and hold the Shift key while you select and drag. To keep the object centered in its current location, press and hold the Ctrl key while you select and drag. Press and hold both keys together to perform both functions.

Resize an Image by Setting an Exact Height and Width

Resize an object based on an exact size if you need to make two or more images the same size or if images must be a certain size to fit a template or other requirement.

1. In the Word document, select the object you want to resize. Then, on the ribbon, select Picture Format.

   When resizing something other than an image, the name of the tab will differ. For example, for WordArt, text boxes, or shapes, go to the Shape Format tab. For SmartArt or charts, go to the Format tab.

2. To resize the object to an exact size, go to the Size group and enter the values you want in the Height and Width boxes. Or, use the arrows to change the height and width of the object.

3. To resize the object to an exact proporation, select the dialog box launcher.

4. In the Layout dialog box, select the Size tab.

5. In the Scale section, select Lock Aspect Ratio. In the Height or Width section, use the controls to change the height or width. The other dimension automatically changes to maintain the ratio.

6. Select OK.

Crop an Image

Crop an image to remove a portion of it, which is helpful if you don't need all the content within the image.

1. In the Word document, select the image you want to crop. Then, on the ribbon, select Picture Format.

2. In the Size group, select Crop. The image displays crop handles around the outside border.

3. Select and drag a handle to crop the image.

4. As with resizing an image, press Shift while you crop to maintain the size ratio. Press Ctrl to keep the images centered. Press both Shift and Ctrl to do both.