A picture that is rotated the wrong way is something that many Word users will encounter, especially when they use pictures from their own camera.
But a picture that is backward or upside down might be a little tougher because you need to use a specific image editing option to fix that.
The steps in this guide are going to show you how to flip a picture in Word documents.
We are going to cover the how to flip picture in Word steps involved in this process briefly at the start of this guide, and then we will continue below with additional information and pictures for each of the steps.
If you need to format some of the text in your document, then this article from sytguide.com can point you in the right direction.
How to Flip an Image in Word
- Open your document in Microsoft Word.
- Click on the picture that you wish to flip.
- Select the Picture Format tab at the top of the window.
- Click the Rotate button at the far-right of the ribbon.
- Select the Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical option.
Our how to flip picture in Word guide continues below with additional information on this topic, including pictures for these steps.
If you’ve been wondering about a good way to keep content in a document while indicating that it should be ignored, then our how to draw a line through text in Word guide has the answer for you.
Sometimes when you add a picture to a Microsoft Word document, that picture won’t be in the orientation that you require. You may need to rotate left or rotate right if it’s in portrait orientation or landscape orientation, or you might need a mirror image of the picture.
You may initially consider heading to Google and looking for a way to perform this action in an image editing program like Microsoft Paint or Adobe Photoshop, but you actually have some flip image picture tools in Word that you can use instead.
Our tutorial below is going to show you where to locate these rotation options.
Find out how to add line numbers in Word if you would like to be able to use them when referencing parts of the document.
How to Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical in a Microsoft Word Document (Guide with Pictures)
The steps in this guide were performed using the Microsoft Word for Office 365 version of Microsoft Office, but will work in many other versions of the application as well.
Step 1: Open the document containing the image that you would like to flip.
Step 2: Click on the image.
Step 3: Choose the Picture Format tab at the top of the window.
Step 4: Select the Rotate button in the Arrange section of the ribbon.
Step 5: Select the Flip Vertical or Flip Horizontal option from the dropdown menu.
Now that you have completed the how to flip picture in Word steps, you will be able to fix issues with images that are facing the wrong direction the next time you insert one of them into one of your Microsoft Word documents.
Our tutorial continues below with additional discussion about using the rotation tool in Microsoft Word so that you can use the various rotate shape options to get the exact angle you need for the image in your document.
You can make a lot of image edits in Google Docs as well. Check out our how to remove background from picture in Google Docs article that discusses using a free tool that can quickly make that type of edit.
Additional Information on Flipping Images in Microsoft Word
- The Arrange group in the Microsoft Word ribbon contains a lot of other useful options for manipulating images in your Word document as well. For example, you can use the Align button to choose how you would like to align the image on your document page. You could also choose the Wrap Text option to control how the text around the picture interacts with the image.
- Other Microsoft Office applications, such as Microsoft Powerpoint, contain options that let you flip horizontally or flip vertically as well. In fact, the step by step process in that application is identical to the one discussed in the article. So, essentially, once you know how to flip a picture in Word you also know how to flip an image in a slideshow.
- If you elect to use the Flip Vertical option for your image, then everything in the picture will be upside down relative to its original orientation. This includes any text that may be part of the picture.
- There are other Word objects that you can choose to flip as well. For example, both the text box and the Wordart items that you can add to your document contain these same rotation options. To flip a text box horizontally, simply click on the box to select it, then choose the Shape Format tab and use the Rotate button on there.
- If you need to rotate your picture in a manner other than the ones offered on the dropdown menu, select the More Rotation Options instead. Here you will see a menu that lets you resize the image, scale the image, or rotate it by a specific number of degrees.
Related Topic: If you would like to be able to have text message conversations with multiple people, then our how to add someone to a group text tutorial can show you how.
The rotate menu that you see when you click the Rotate button to spin or flip an object in your document includes the following options:
- Rotate Right 90 degrees
- Rotate left 90 degrees
- Flip Vertical – if you want a vertical mirror, then use this option
- Flip Horizontal – if you want a horizontal mirror, then use this option. You may also want to use this if you are using iron on transfer paper to make a t shirt.
- More Rotation Options
Selecting the “More Rotation Options” item from the drop down menu lets you make x rotation choices and format shape rotations by specifying an exact amount of degrees that you would like to rotate the image.
It you use some of the drawing tools, such as to draw text box objects, you can also use the handle to rotate those. Simply select the object, click and hold on the handle, then drag it to the desired rotation.
Have you been collaborating on a document with a group? Find out how to hide comments in the document if you either need to print it, or if you want to show it to someone without all of the distracting comments and markup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have a reversed version of a picture in my document?
Yes, the steps for how to reverse image in Word documents are very similar to the method we discussed above for creating a flipped image in your document.
Click on the picture, then choose Picture Format.
You can then click the Rotate button in the Arrange group and select the Flip Vertical or Flip Horizontal option based on how you want to reverse the image.
Is there a way to flip photo files inside of a document?
Once you have added a picture to your document from the Insert menu, you are able to modify the image in a couple of ways, including flip image horizontally and flip image vertically options.
Simply click on the picture that you want to flip, select the Picture Format tab at the top of the window, click Rotate, then choose the desired image flipping option from the dropdown menu.
Does Microsoft Word have a way to invert images?
While there isn’t an option to specifically invert a picture on the menu where you go to flip images or rotate images, you can achieve effectively the same thing with those options.
If you are trying to figure out how to invert picture in Word documents, then you can select the picture and choose the Picture Format tab that appears at the top of the screen.
You can then click the Rotate button and choose an option if you want to invert the layout of the image, or you can click the Color or Artistic Effects button if you want to invert the color of the image.
When you need to put a picture like a company logo in the background of a document, then follow our Google Docs background image steps.
Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.
His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.