Crop Pictures in PowerPoint

Crop Pictures to Reduce File Size and Remove Unwanted Features

The example photo shown is much larger than the actual slide. In fact, you cannot even see the slide any longer. This photo was inserted into PowerPoint just as it was downloaded from the camera. It has not been optimized in any way.

See also ~

• Add Photos or Clip Art to PowerPoint 2007 Slides
• Add Pictures or Clip Art to PowerPoint Slides

In order to crop pictures in PowerPoint, you must first select the picture.

PowerPoint 2007

1. Click on the picture to select it.
2. Click on the Crop button on the ribbon.
   • Note - If the Crop button does not appear, click the Picture Tools button above the ribbon.

PowerPoint 2003

1. Click on the picture to select it.
2. Click on the Crop button on the Picture toolbar.
   • Note - If the Picture toolbar does not appear, select View > Toolbars > Picture.

1. Remove an unwanted area from the sides of the picture by dragging the cropping selection handle in the center of the picture on that side. Likewise, drag the center selection handle on the top or bottom of the picture to crop those areas.
2. Remove unwanted areas from the sides and the top/bottom at the same time by dragging the corner selection handle.
3. Once you have finished cropping the picture, move the picture to the desired location on the slide by placing the mouse in the center of the picture and dragging it. The mouse pointer becomes a four-headed arrow indicating that this is a "move" arrow.

See also ~

• Aligning Graphic Objects in PowerPoint 2007
• Aligning Graphic Objects in PowerPoint

If you realize that you have cropped something out of the picture by mistake, you can easily restore the cropped area.

1. Click on the picture to select it.
2. Click on the Crop tool to activate that feature.
3. Drag the cropping selection handle to reveal the area that had been previously cropped from the picture.

Cropping pictures in PowerPoint does not reduce the overall file size of the presentation. Although the cropped areas are not seen, they are still present, but hidden. One further step can be taken -- to delete the unwanted portions of the original photo. This is done when you compress the photos in the presentation, which also reduces file size.

1. Select the picture.
2. Click the Compress button on the ribbon.
3. In the Compress Pictures dialog box, leave the box unchecked to apply settings to all pictures.
4. Click the Options... button.
5. In the Compression Settings dialog box, select the option Delete cropped areas of pictures.
6. Select the Target output size -- Email or Screen options are the best choices.
7. Click OK twice, to complete.

Cropping pictures in PowerPoint does not reduce the overall file size of the presentation. Although the cropped areas are not seen, they are still present, but hidden. One further step can be taken -- to delete the unwanted portions of the original photo. This is done when you compress the photos in the presentation, which also reduces file size.

1. Select the picture.
2. Click the Compress Pictures button on the Picture toolbar .
3. In the Compress Pictures dialog box, choose to apply to all pictures or selected pictures only.
4. Select Web/Screen for resolution.
5. Select to compress pictures and to delete cropped areas of pictures.
6. Click OK followed by Apply.

The cropped picture is now ready and placed in the desired location on the slide. Add a title and the slide is complete.