Perfect Pictures in MS Word

Dennis Faas's picture

I am sure that more than a few of my subscribers have used lots of pictures and graphics in their MS Word documents.

How often have you spent a load of time resizing your pictures so that they will fit perfectly in the space where you wanted them? I am sure that you have fiddled with them only to find that they just didn't look right any longer because they are now distorted.

Now what? How do you get the picture back to its original size?

Well, you could use the Reset Picture button from the Picture toolbar (or the Picture Tools ribbon in Office 2007), but that one resets everything, including the color, contract, etc.

To simply reset the picture to its original size, try this:

In MS Word versions prior to 2007, hold down the CTRL key and double click your picture.

All of the size changes have now disappeared and you are back to the original size of the picture with everything else still intact.

If you are using the newest version of MS Word, 2007, try this:

  1. On the Picture Tools ribbon, look for the Size section found on the far right.
     
  2. In the bottom right corner, locate the little arrow.
     
  3. Click the arrow and the Size dialogue box will open.
     
  4. You should now see a Reset button.
     
  5. Click the Reset button.
     
  6. Click the Close button.

Your picture should now be back to its original size.

Now that we have covered that, let's say a word or two about the right way to resize our pictures.

If you want to resize your picture but still keep its original proportions, use a corner handle. A corner handle is the little black box you will see at the top, sides and bottom of the picture.

This will allow you to quickly change the picture size, but it will not leave the picture looking as if it has been stretched out.

If you want to resize the picture in only one direction, to make it taller or wider, use a center handle.

Now you know how to save yourself a lot of time and frustration right? I can hear you saying it....Less time and less keystrokes!

Come visit my corner office at http://www.carolscorneroffice.com and see the screen shots for this article and learn lots of new things!

When you become a member at CarolsCornerOffice.com, you have access to this and many, many more articles that include screenshots. Don't delay: visit us today!

Rate this article: 
No votes yet