Picture Cropping in Office
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I know that I do and, more often than not, I'm trying to crop the picture to get just the portion of the picture I need to use.
I'm sure that you've found the cropping tools (found on the Picture toolbar or the Format tab of the Picture Tools section of the Ribbon) and have played around with the dragging of the handles. You've drug them this way and than trying to get not only just the part you need but many times you're also looking for a picture that fits into a specific space.
It can seem quite painfull at times… there are times when you just can't seem to release the crop handle at just the right position so you end up dragging it back and forth just the smallest amount. It can really be quite maddening!
If this is a frustration you've dealt with then here's a possible solution:
Office gives you the option to enter exactly how far from the left, right, top and/or bottom of the picture the program should crop.
No dragging a handle and guessing. If you need an inch off of the bottom then tell it to crop and inch up from the bottom.
It's that easy.
Where do we find this alternative to our usual cropping methods?
Well, it depends upon the program's version… as usual.
Anyway, if you're using an older Office program or a program like Publisher 2007 that still uses toolbars and menus then you start with a right-click on the picture.
Choose Format Picture from the menu that opens.
In the Format Picture dialog box you need to be on the Picture tab.
The top section is labeled at "Crop from" and has a field for each direction. Enter the amount that should be removed in each direction and click OK.
If you need to know the picture's current size then the Size tab will be helpful in the Size and Rotate section. (The original size listed is only useful if you have not resized the picture since it was inserted.)
Poof - your cropped picture is exactly the size you need.
If you're using an Office 2007 program with the Ribbon then you start by selecting the picture and navigating to the Picture Tools Format tab.
On the far right you'll find the Size section, click the dialog launcher to the right of the section name.
The Size and Position dialog box will open where you need to be on the Size tab.
The "Crop from" section is towards the bottom in this version and it's where you need to enter the amount the program should crop from each side.
Notice that the picture's current size is displayed at the top of this tab (Size and rotate section) so that may be of assisstance when trying to aim for a specific picture size.
When using one of these programs you'll see how the picture is altered as you change the cropping values. It's an advantage I highly recommend you utilize - move the dialog box off of the picture and give yourself the room to see what it is that you're creating. This feature of the new programs can be really helpful when it comes to efficient work.
Click Close when you're done.
Voila! Pictures that "measure up" perfectly to specifications.
~ April
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