Add Images to a Microsoft Word Document

Although adding pictures to text is often thought of more with desktop publishing programs such as Microsoft Publisher, you can also insert photos into your Microsoft Word documents. Putting photos in a Word document makes it more interesting and highlights points raised in the text, whether it's a news release about a new product or a vacation photo in a Christmas letter. Adding photos to a Word document is an easy process, with the command locations differing only by the version of Word you are using. Following are instructions in how to put photos in a Microsoft Word document for Word 2003, 2007, and 2010.

Steps

1. Open the Word document that you want to insert a photo in.
2. Click the place in your document where you want the picture to appear. Word's insertion cursor, a vertical blinking bar, will appear at this point. When inserted, the picture's bottom left corner will be at this point.
   • If you do not select a point, the picture will be inserted wherever the cursor is currently located.
3. Access the "Insert Picture" dialog box. The "Insert Picture" dialog is where you will select the photo you wish to insert in your Word document. The method differs in versions of Word that use the older toolbar and menu interface, such as Word 2003, and the newer ribbon interface, such as Word 2007 and 2010.
   • In Word 2003, select "Picture" from the "Insert" menu and then select "From File" from the "Picture" submenu.
   • In Word 2007 and 2010, select "Picture" from the "Illustrations" group in the "Insert" menu ribbon.
4. Browse to the photo you want to insert.
5. Click the file, then click "Insert."
6. Modify the picture as necessary. Newer versions of Word offer more options for modifying your photographs than do older versions, bordering on the options available in Microsoft Publisher. The 2 most likely modifications you will want to make to a photo in a Word document are resizing and cropping.
   • To resize a photo, click it to display sizing handle dots. Move your cursor over 1 of the dots, so that it changes to a 2-headed arrow. Drag the handle toward the center of the picture to make it smaller and away from the center to make it larger.
   • To crop a photo, click it to display the sizing handle dots, then select the cropping feature from the "Picture" toolbar in Word 2003 or from the "Size" group in the "Picture Tools Format" ribbon in Word 2007 and 2010. The cropping handles change shape, and your cursor changes shape to a cropping tool. Place the cropping tool over one of the handles and drag the handle inward until the area you wish to crop disappears.

Tips

• Adding photos to your Word document increases its size. You can reduce the sizes of any and all photos you add by using the compression options in the "Compress Pictures" dialog box to keep the overall file as compact as possible.
• Other photo modification features available in newer versions of Microsoft Word include the ability to add borders, cutout styles, shadows, beveled edges, glows, and drop shadows.

Warnings

• When you crop a picture, the actual cropped part of the picture is hidden, not removed, unless you check the "Delete Cropped Areas of Pictures" box in the "Compression Settings" dialog box. Any compressed pictures with their cropped areas deleted cannot be restored to their original appearance.

Related Articles

• Add Clip Art to Microsoft Word
• Rotate Images in Microsoft Word
• Add a Photo to a Document Using Microsoft Publisher
• Edit Pictures and Objects in MS Office

Sources and Citations

• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/312799
• http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms178792(v=vs.80).aspx
• http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/add-and-format-images-in-professional-word-2007-documents-HA010234133.aspx
• Rodney Ruff, Omaha, NE; Microsoft Word user (Word 2007 on laptop, Word 2010 on desktop)

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