Adjusting Picture Appearance

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated September 24, 2016)

Excel users can quickly and easily adjust the appearance of a picture once it is placed in a workbook. Adjustments are accomplished the easiest if you are using the Picture toolbar. This toolbar should become visible when you click on a graphic. If it does not, you can right-click on the graphic and choose Show Picture Toolbar from the Context menu.

The toolbar has several tools on it that control the appearance of the selected graphic. These tools include the following:

  • Image Control. This tool presents a menu of options you can use to specify how the graphic should be treated, i.e., as a black and white drawing or as a grayscale image.
  • More Contrast. Increases the contrast between light and dark in the image.
  • Less Contrast. Decreases the contrast between light and dark.
  • More Brightness. Turns up the overall brightness of the image.
  • Less Brightness. Makes the image more dark, overall.

In order to use the adjustment tools, simply click on them. (When using the Image Control tool you will need to select an option from a menu first.) Remember that if you mess things up you can always click on the Undo tool on the regular Excel toolbar. If you mess things up too bad, you can click on the Reset Picture tool on the Picture toolbar. This sets you image back to its pre-change settings.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (1998) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Understanding the Big Three Autos in Word

Three of the tools provided in Word are AutoText, AutoCorrect, and AutoComplete. It is easy to confuse what these tools ...

Discover More

Adjusting Your View of 3-D Graphs

Do you use Excel's charting capabilities to display three-dimensional views of your data? The program provides a way that ...

Discover More

Copying Found Items to a New Document

Word allows you to use its searching capabilities to easily find multiple items in a document. What if you want to copy ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Cropping Pictures

Excel allows you to easily add graphics to a worksheet. If you want to crop an image you previously added, here's how to ...

Discover More

Editing Graphic Objects

Want to change the way that a graphic object appears in your worksheet? You need to edit it, then, using the techniques ...

Discover More

Positioning a Graphic in a Macro

Macros are a great way to process information in a worksheet. Part of that processing may involve moving graphics around ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is nine minus 2?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2020 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.