Word treats pictures and clip art
illustrations (and clip art photos) the same. You can select and modify
them in many different ways to get just the look you want. The
following sections show you simple methods for resizing, moving,
cropping, and adding effects to a graphic, among other things.
|
Throughout this section, we use the generic term
“graphic” instead of the specific terms “picture” or “illustration.”
This is because pictures and clip art illustrations are both graphics;
Word lets you modify them in essentially the same ways.
|
1. Resizing a Graphic
To resize a graphic, you change its width, height,
or both. You can resize a graphic in three ways: by dragging, by using
the resizing tools on the Format tab, or by opening the Layout dialog
box and using the tools on the Size tab.
When changing a graphic’s size, you’ll probably want to preserve its original aspect ratio—that
is, its original width-to-height proportions. If you don’t maintain the
aspect ratio, you will stretch the image vertically and/or
horizontally, causing it to look distorted.
Resizing a Graphic by Dragging
When you click a graphic to select it, Word displays the graphic’s frame,
which is the container for an inserted object; the frame appears as a
thin blue border around the image. On the frame’s sides and corners is
a set of squares and circles, called selection handles or sizing handles, as shown in Figure 1. To resize a graphic by dragging, do one of the following:
- Drag the top or bottom (square) handle to stretch or squash the picture vertically.
- Drag the right or left (square) handle to stretch or squash the picture horizontally.
- Drag any of the corner (circular) handles to resize the picture diagonally.
When you drag a side, top, or bottom handle, the
picture is stretched or squashed in the direction you drag. To preserve
the graphic’s aspect ratio, drag one of the corner handles. If an
image’s aspect ratio changes when you drag one of its corner handles,
undo the change; then hold down the Shift key while dragging.
Resizing a Graphic from the Format Tab
When you select a graphic, the Format tab appears on
the Ribbon. The Size group contains tools for resizing a graphic, as
shown in Figure 2. Here’s how to use them:
1. | Select the image. The Format tab appears on the Ribbon.
|
2. | Click
the Shape Height spin control’s up- or down-arrow button to increase or
decrease the image’s height. Alternatively, you can select the
dimension in the control’s text box and type a new value in its place.
|
3. | Click
the Shape Width spin control’s up- or down-arrow button to increase or
decrease the graphic’s width. Alternatively, you can select the
dimension in the control’s text box and type a new value in its place.
|
Note that as you change the value in one control,
the other control’s value updates automatically. These two tools are
associated so that the image’s aspect ratio always stays the same.
Resizing a Graphic in the Layout Dialog Box
The Layout dialog box’s Size tab gives you precise
control over a graphic’s dimensions. The following steps show you how
to use this tab:
1. | Select the image. The Format tab appears on the Ribbon.
|
2. | Click the dialog box launcher in the Size group. The Layout dialog box opens with its Size tab visible, as shown in Figure 3.
|
3. | Click
the Lock Aspect Ratio check box, if necessary, to place a check mark in
it. This setting ensures that the graphic’s aspect ratio stays the same
as you resize it.
|
4. | Click
the Relative to Original Picture Size check box, if necessary, to place
a check mark in it. If you resize the image by changing its scale, this
setting ensures that scaling is done in proportion to the graphic’s
original dimensions.
|
5. | Do one of the following:
- To set exact dimensions for the graphic, use the Absolute spin
controls in the Height and Width areas to set them. (If the Lock Aspect
Ratio check box is selected, the value in one control updates
automatically as you change the other.)
- To resize the
graphic by scaling it, use the Height and Width spin controls in the
Scale area to resize the image as a percentage of its current size. For
example, if you want to reduce its size by one-half, set both spin
controls to 50%.
|
6. | Click OK. |
