7 Best Ways to Crop a Picture in Word Document

ByJim Miller

Do you often find yourself needing to crop images in your Word documents? Well, you're in luck! Microsoft Word offers multiple ways to crop pictures, allowing you to remove unwanted portions and enhance the visual appeal of your documents. In this article, we will explore seven different methods to crop a picture in Word, including the ability to crop in various shapes and aspect ratios.

1. Using Right-Click

The easiest way to crop a picture in MS Word is by using the right-click menu. Simply follow these steps:

  1. Right-click on the image you want to crop.
  2. Click on the “Crop” option.
  3. Black bars or handles will appear on the image, allowing you to crop it from different sides. You can drag the image using the handles to crop one side, two adjacent sides, or even all sides simultaneously.

To apply the crop, press the “Enter” key or click anywhere outside the image. And if you want to reposition the crop area, you can move the picture inside the crop selection before finalizing the crop.

2. Using the Picture Format Toolbar

If you don't see the Crop button after right-clicking the image, don't worry. You can also crop the picture from the Picture Format toolbar. Here's how:

  1. Double-click on the image to open the Picture Format toolbar.
  2. Click on the “Crop” button. This will enable the black handles on the image, allowing you to crop it by dragging the handles inward.

3. Crop the Picture by Manually Adding Width and Height

If you want to crop your image to a specific height and width, you can manually enter the parameters. Follow these steps:

  1. Right-click on the image and select “Format Picture” from the menu.
  2. In the Format Picture sidebar, click on the “Image” tab.
  3. Enter the desired width and height values in the provided fields.

4. Crop According to Aspect Ratio

Sometimes, you may want to crop your picture according to a specific aspect ratio. Word offers a native feature for that too. Here's how you can do it:

  1. Double-click on your picture to open the Picture Format toolbar.
  2. Click on the down arrow under the Crop option.
  3. Select “Aspect Ratio” and choose the preferred aspect ratio size.

5. Crop a Picture According to the Shape

Word allows you to crop your picture in various shapes, such as circles or triangles. You can achieve this in two different ways:

Method 1: Using Crop to Shape

  1. Double-click on the image in your document.
  2. Click on the down arrow under the Crop button in the Picture Format toolbar.
  3. Select “Crop to shape” and choose the desired shape from the menu.

Method 2: Using Shapes

If you're not satisfied with the result of cropping according to shape, you can draw the shape first and then insert the image into it. Here's how:

  1. Click on “Insert” followed by “Shapes” in your Word document.
  2. Select the shape you want to use.
  3. Draw the shape on the document by holding the mouse button.
  4. Right-click on the shape and select “Fill” > “Picture.”
  5. Choose the picture you want to crop according to the selected shape. The picture will be inserted into the shape and cropped accordingly.

6. How to Crop a Picture in Word Into a Circle

To crop a picture into a perfect circle, you need to follow these steps:

  1. Add the image to your Word document.
  2. Double-click on the image and click on the down arrow under the Crop button.
  3. Go to “Aspect Ratio” and select “1:1.”
  4. Move the picture and keep the portion you want to retain in the final image. Then, press the “Enter” key.
  5. Double-click on the image again, click on the down arrow under Crop, and select “Crop to shape” followed by the Circle shape.

Congratulations! You have successfully cropped a picture into a circle in Microsoft Word.

7. Crop a Picture in Word and Save it to Your PC

To save the cropped picture to your computer, follow these steps:

  1. Crop the picture using any of the above methods.
  2. Double-click on the cropped picture and click on “Compress picture” in the Picture Format toolbar.
  3. In the Compress Pictures pop-up window, make sure “Delete cropped areas of picture” is selected. If you want to delete the cropped area from only the selected image, check the box next to “Apply only to this picture.” Use the default resolution. Finally, click “OK.”
  4. Right-click on the image and select “Save as picture” to download the cropped picture to your PC.

Bonus: Add Margin to a Picture Using Crop Tool in Word

If you want to add a margin around a picture, you can achieve that by outcropping it. Follow these steps:

  1. Right-click on the image and select “Crop.”
  2. Using any of the black handles, drag the image outward to add a margin from the selected side.

Put Pictures Side by Side

Now that you know how to crop pictures in Word, you can enhance your documents with visually appealing images. If you want to explore more ways to manipulate images, check out our articles on cropping pictures on Windows computers and putting two pictures side by side in Word.