Microsoft Office provides all the tools that one needs to create documents, make spreadsheets, presentations, design posters, write articles, etc. The users get to experience smooth and professional functioning with the help of the built-in tools and the range of customization made possible. Users could also format images and crop a picture in Microsoft word as just easily.
Also, read about: Learn How To Make A Word Document Uneditable
In this article, we will focus on the crop feature used in Microsoft Word that is usually used to make and edit write-ups accordingly with pictures, different styles, and fonts. To crop a picture in MS Word can be done in different simple but efficient techniques.
How To Crop A Picture In Microsoft Word?
Cropping a picture can mean two things – cut off the background or reduce the size of the actual picture. This is a main part of the editing as not all pictures or photos fit in the available space and one might not need every component visible on that picture.
Note: In Word, when a picture is cropped, the cropped part is not removed from the file permanently instead it is edited for the particular instance keeping the original file source unaltered.
Let us first look at a simple example and understand the use of cropping a picture. The picture below illustrates an original picture and a modified one with a cropped background.
Steps To Crop A Picture
This is an extremely simple but efficient technique to deliver the focal point which we want to present to others. To crop the background of a picture follows these steps:
- Open Microsoft Word on your device. Choose the desired document if already created or choose the ‘New’ document option to create a new one.
- Add the desired picture to the document. To insert a picture, choose the ‘Picture’ option from the Insert main menu on the tab. You can either use a pre-existing picture, previously downloaded, shared on your device, or get one directly online.
- Once the image is inserted, click on the image. Once the image is selected, a Format Menu tab would appear on the Ribbon menu.
- Click on the Crop option to open the drop-down menu and finally choose to crop.
- The Aspect Ratio option can be used from the drop-down menu where the dimensions can be entered to which the particular image would be cropped. The length and breadth of the image can be altered as required.
Once the option is selected the crop handles would appear on the image that can be used to adjust the cropped area in freestyle instead of using a particular dimension. Then click on the Crop icon from the Size group and to remove the unwanted portion.
Crop To Shape
This is yet another interesting tool that allows the user to adjust or crop an image into a shape instead of the typical rectangle or square shapes with straight lines. This makes the document more creative and interesting such that it can be fit correctly into the provided space.
For this, insert the image as mentioned earlier by either inserting it from the device or the internet. Choose the image from the Word document to open the Picture format Tab.
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Now, go to the Size group of options under the Picture Format Tab. Click on the Crop option to access the drop-down menu and scroll to the ‘Crop to shape’ option. Now, a dialogue box or library with almost all the basic shapes would open. Choose the desired shape in which the particular image would be cropped. Check out this example where the original image is cropped into the ‘Star’ shape.
Tricks To Crop A Picture
Now that we know how to crop a picture to remove the unwanted background and give it the desired shape, let’s check out a few tricks that would make this process quick and simple.
- To crop just one side of the picture, drag the cropping handle inwards on that side.
- To crop two adjacent sides at the same time simply drag the cropping handle inwards on the corner connecting the adjacent sides.
Finally, to crop equally on two parallel sides at the same time, press and hold the Ctrl button while dragging the cropping handle inward on the side.
The user can also reposition the image’s cropped area by either changing the selected area by dragging the edges or corners of the crop rectangle or just move the picture within the crop frame. One can even add a margin or border to the newly cropped image or picture to add a clean look to the image.
Crop To Fill Or Fit A particular Shape
Unlike the earlier technique to crop an image into a required shape, this method can be used to fit a particular picture to a prefixed or predefined shape, hence the name, crop to fit shape. Follow the steps to make an image fit to a shape by cropping the rest of the background.
- Open Microsoft Word on your device. Choose the desired document if already created or choose the ‘New’ document option to create a new one.
- Add the desired picture to the document. To insert a picture, choose the ‘Picture’ option from the Insert main menu on the tab. You can either use a pre-existing picture, previously downloaded, shared on your device, or get one directly online.
- Once the image is inserted, click on the image. Once the image is selected, a Format Menu tab would appear on the Ribbon menu.
- Click on the Crop option to open the drop-down menu and finally choose to crop. Now click on the Fit or the Fill option to crop according to the shape.
Also, read about: Learn How To Add Check Boxes In MS-Word
Point To Be Noted
The Fit option will keep the dimension ratio intact and adjust the image into the shape by altering the size hence keeping the originality of the picture. Whereas the Fill option can be used, in which the image would be stretched and filled into the shape’s outline.
In this article, all the techniques, and tricks to crop a picture in Microsoft Word. Hope this was useful for you to design your document with unique pictures!
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