Although the task of adding images to text is generally performed by users of desktop publishing programs, such as Microsoft Publisher, you can also insert photos into Microsoft Word documents. No matter what document you're working on, images will make the document more interesting. Moreover, with the help of images, you can also highlight certain points in the text. You can easily insert an image into a Word document, although the method will vary slightly depending on the version of Word you're using. In this article, you will be guided to insert images in Word 2003, 2007, and 2010 documents.
Step
Step 1. Open the Word document that you want to insert the image into
Step 2. Click a specific part of the document to place an image in that section
You will see a vertical cursor flashing on the screen. The bottom left corner of the image will appear in the section you selected.
If you do not select a specific part of the document, the image will be inserted at the cursor location
Step 3. Open the Insert Picture dialog box to select the picture you want to insert in the document
The way to access this dialog box varies, depending on the Word interface you are using. The menu-based interface in Word 2003 will be different from the ribbon-based interface in Word 2007 and 2010.
- In Word 2003, click Insert > Picture, then select the From File option.
- In Word 2007 and 2010, select the Picture option in the Illustrations group on the Insert menu.
Step 4. Select the photos you want to insert
Step 5. Click the photo file, then click Insert.
Step 6. Edit the image as needed
The new version of Word provides more options for editing images, even approaching the number of image editing options available in Microsoft Publisher. Two common image editing operations performed on Word documents are cropping and resizing images.
- To resize an image, click on the image. The resized cursor will appear in the image. Move a point on the cursor into the image to reduce the image, or move outside the image to enlarge it.
- To crop the image, click on the image. The resized cursor will appear in the image. After that, click Crop on the Picture toolbar in Word 2003, or in the Size section of the Picture Tools Format menu in Word 2007/2010. The cursor on the screen will change shape to a cropping cursor. Place the cursor at one end of the image, then drag until you get the right shape for the image.
Tips
- The size of the Word file will swell after you add an image to it. You can reduce the file size of images in a document by selecting the compression options available in the Compress Pictures dialog box. Compression will help you keep the file size light.
- Other photo editing features available in the new version of Word include adding frames, cutout styles, shadows, beveled edges, sparkles, and drop shadows.
