Tip of the week # 513
8 May 2017


Resize and position photos in SmartArt (Microsoft PowerPoint) *

Not so long ago I was helping a client update her PowerPoint presentation. We had used one of the SmartArt Graphics that can contain pictures, but wanted to reposition the photo ... more head, less body. The right-clickers amongst you might intuitively try Size and Position, but that applies to the placeholder, not the picture itself. But don't despair - you can get access to the photo.

Here's how:

  1. Click on the picture in the SmartArt.
  2. Click on the Picture Tools Format tab.
  3. Click on the Crop button.
  4. To resize the picture, drag any of the corner sizing handles, so that both the height and width change and you won't end up with a distorted photo.
  5. To reposition the picture, make sure you have a 4-headed arrow cursor and drag the picture to the desired location. Hold down the SHIFT key to "snap" the picture to a perfect horizontal or vertical "grid".
  6. Click anywhere outside the placeholder to "confirm" the change.

With thanks for Miranda for this week's tip inspiration.

That's it for this week! If there are topics that you'd like to see covered in future emails, please let me know.

Related tips:
Tip 501: Change the emphasis of a SmartArt graphic by changing its direction (tip_501.php)
Tip 355: Tweak your SmartArt graphics (tip_355.php)
Tip 268: convert an existing bulleted list to a SmartArt graphic (tip_268.php)


* Unless stated otherwise, these tips were written for Microsoft Office 2010.