Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Changing the Size of a Graphic.

Changing the Size of a Graphic

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 28, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


2

Once you place a graphic in your document, you can resize it using a very simple technique:

  1. Click on the graphic. A box appears around the object (this is designated by eight squares, or handles, around the outside of the graphic).
  2. Use the mouse to point to one of the handles. Click on the left mouse button.
  3. Drag the handle to resize the graphic.
  4. Release the mouse button when the graphic is the size you want.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (392) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Changing the Size of a Graphic.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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What is 6 + 9?

2019-08-19 15:31:52

Bill

Re Changing the Size of a Graphic. The hint suggests inserting the graphic into the document, then grabbing a corner handle and dragging it to make the graphic the desired size. Easy, and I do it a lot. However, I am under the impression (correct me if I am wrong) that when you do this, Word stores the original graphic, along with the resize factor. That way it can resize the graphic properly each time the file is opened, and can even make a reduced-size graphic larger if you choose to do so later. However, if you put several LARGE graphics (such as the ones that come directly out of your camera), into your Word file, and then reduce them., the Word file can become huge. In this case, it might be wise to use an IMAGE RESIZER program to bring the graphic down to nearly the desired size, then insert the reduced graphic and tweak it to the final size.

Word has a command to compress the graphics after they have been inserted, but I never found it to work wonderfully well.


2019-08-19 15:14:48

Bill

Re Changing the Size of a Graphic. The hint suggests inserting the graphic into the document, then grabbing a corner handle and dragging it to make the graphic the desired size. Easy, and I do it a lot. However, I am under the impression (correct me if I am wrong) that when you do this, Word stores the original graphic, along with the resize factor. That way it can resize the graphic properly each time the file is opened, and can even make a reduced-size graphic larger if you choose to do so later. However, if you put several LARGE graphics (such as the ones that come directly out of your camera), into your Word file, and then reduce them., the Word file can become huge. In this case, it might be wise to use an IMAGE RESIZER program to bring the graphic down to nearly the desired size, then insert the reduced graphic and tweak it to the final size.

Word has a command to compress the graphics after they have been inserted, but I never found it to work wonderfully well.


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