This article originally appeared in the December 2012 issue of The Office Professional and is reprinted here with permission.
Have you ever needed to create a graphic from a screenshot or optimize a large image down to a smaller size for email or a presentation? You don’t need to
be a graphic designer to create and edit simple graphics. Microsoft Office Picture
Manager is a free tool already installed on your computer that makes it simple to create, edit, resize, crop and more.
You can find Picture Manager by searching in your Windows search bar or by navigating on your Start menu to All Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Tools
To create an image from a screenshot, capture the screenshot (“Alt” and “PrtScn” or just “PrtScn”). Next, click anywhere in the open Picture Manager window (outlined in yellow), then click “Paste.” Your image should appear somewhere in the highlighted window.
To edit an existing image on your computer, choose “File,” then “Locate Pictures” to navigate to the desired file location.
Once your image is visible in the window, click “Edit Pictures” on the top toolbar to continue working with your image.
You’ll see a sidebar appear on the right side of your screen that gives you additional image editing options. Using the various icons, you can adjust the image’s color, brightness and contrast. You can crop, rotate and flip. Play with these options on a sample graphic, and you’ll see how quick and easy this program is to learn.
When you’ve finished modifying your images, compress them for document or presentation use. This removes some of the image megapixel size so the final file size won’t take up so much room on your computer or in emails.
Click “Compress Pictures.” Select the option next to “Documents,” then “OK.”
Once you’ve edited your image, choose “Save As” or “Export” if you want to preserve your original image files for other uses later. Picture Manager will allow you to export the image as a JPEG or GIF, which you can insert into your document as a graphic.
With a few simple clicks of the mouse, you can create and edit images to the exact specifications you need anytime you need them.
