Pictures > Changing picture properties via the dialog box

The properties of an object can be edited centrally via the Object properties dialog box. An object's properties include, for example, its size, margins and numerous other settings options.

To change the properties of a picture, click on it first to select it. Then open the dialog box by clicking on the group arrow in the bottom right corner of any command group on the contextual ribbon tab Picture.

Tip: You can open this dialog box faster by double-clicking on the picture or by right-clicking on the picture and selecting Picture: Properties from the context menu.

The following options are available in this dialog box:

Layout, Format, Fill tabs, etc.

These tabs are available for almost all object types. They allow you to change the following settings:

▪Layout: On this tab, you can only change the outside margins of the picture. The other options are available only for picture frames. For more information, see Object properties, Layout tab.

▪Format: Here, you can resize the picture and rotate it. For more information, see Object properties, Format tab.

▪Fill: This option allows you to change the fill. It is only visible for pictures with transparent areas. For more information, see Object properties, Fill tab.

▪Lines: This option allows you to apply border lines. For more information, see Object properties, Lines tab.

▪Shadow: This option allows you to apply a shadow. For more information, see Object properties, Shadow tab.

▪3D: This option allows you to apply 3D effects. For more information, see Object properties, 3D tab.

▪Effects: This option allows you to apply different effects. For more information, see Object properties, Effects tab.

▪Properties: This option allows you to change general settings. It also displays information about the picture you are using. For more information, see Object properties, Properties tab.

▪AutoShapes: Here, you can assign a different shape from AutoShapes to the picture. For more information, see Object properties, AutoShapes tab.

For pictures, there is an additional tab with further options:

Picture tab

On the Picture tab, you can make settings that are specific to pictures:

Tip: Some of these options can also be found directly as commands on the contextual ribbon tab Picture | group Adjust.

▪Variants

This list offers some predefined variations of the picture – for example, different color modes (grayscale, black & white, etc.) as well as colored variants of the image.

Simply click on the desired variant. The options in the dialog box are then automatically set to the corresponding settings.

Tip: You will also find these variants via the command Recolor picture directly on the contextual ribbon tab Picture.

▪Options section

Here, you can change brightness, contrast, saturation and gamma (an alternative way to change brightness).

▪More button

This button opens a dialog box with the following additional options:

If you enable the option Mix with color and select a color below, the picture will be colored accordingly.

The options in the Cropping section can be used to crop the picture. This is useful if you only need part of the picture. If, for example, the upper quarter of the picture is to be truncated, first select Use relative values and enter the number "25" (percent) for Top.

If you select Use absolute values, the entries will be truncated in absolute units of length rather than as a percentage. If you enter negative values, the areas of the picture will not be truncated, but will be extended with a frame.

Tip: You will also find a corresponding command Cropping directly on the contextual ribbon tab Picture. For more information, see the previous section Changing picture properties via the ribbon tab.

▪Transparency section

Here, you can make settings for the transparency of the picture:

Use picture settings: Write reads from the picture file which parts of the picture have been marked as transparent and displays the picture accordingly. Note: Only pictures in GIF or PNG format contain such transparency information.

No transparency: The picture will not be displayed transparently, even if it is a picture file with transparency information.

Color: This option lets you select the color to be displayed transparently. If, for example, you select white, all white areas of the picture will become transparent.

▪Sample

In the small toolbar below the sample, you will find the option Pick transparent color (the pipette icon). You can use it to make certain colored parts of the picture transparent, for example, to remove a distracting background from the picture. To do so, use the pipette icon to click on an area of the thumbnail that you want to make transparent.

The other toolbar buttons help you to fine-tune the picture (Zoom in, Zoom out, Pan picture), but they do not affect the appearance of the picture in the document.

Note: You must first select a tool in the toolbar by clicking on it with the mouse. You can then work on the thumbnail with the enabled tool.

▪File button

You can use this button to replace the picture with another one and the formatting will be retained.

Tip: This corresponds to the command Change source on the contextual ribbon tab Picture.

▪Export button

This option is available only for pictures that are saved in the document. You can use this button to export the picture, that is, to save a copy of it on your hard disk under any name. The dialog box "Save as" appears for this purpose.

If you enable the option Create a link to file here, Write also replaces the picture saved in the document with a reference to the destination file. Thus, the picture is no longer saved within the document.

▪ Compress picture button

This button allows you to reduce the memory size of pictures in your document.

Tip: This corresponds to the command Compress pictures on the contextual ribbon tab Picture. For more information on this command, see Compressing pictures.