Symmetric Resizing of Graphics

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 30, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

When you click on a graphic placed in your worksheet, eight selection handles appear around the object. These handles allow you to resize and crop the graphic in ways previously detailed in ExcelTips.

One cool resizing feature is implemented if you hold down the Ctrl key while dragging one of the handles. Doing so causes Excel to symmetrically resize the image, adjusting not only the handle selected, but the handle opposite the one selected.

For instance, if you hold down the Ctrl key and drag the handle at the center of the right edge of the graphic inward by a half inch, then Excel also moves the left edge of the graphic inward by a half inch.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2493) 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

Creating a Numbered List

Numbered lists provide a 1-2-3 way of organizing your document. You can create numbered lists very easily using the ...

Discover More

Using Call to Run VBA Macros

An elegant way to run macros from within macros is to use the Call statement. In order to use it, you need to provide a ...

Discover More

Unhiding a Single Column

In a worksheet with lots of hidden columns it is a real pain to try to unhide just one or two columns. The best solution ...

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)

Sizing Text Boxes and Cells the Same

Adding a text box to a worksheet is easy. Making sure that text box is the exact size of a cell in the worksheet may not ...

Discover More

Changing an AutoShape

Need to change a shape you previously added to your worksheet? It's easy to do using the graphics tools provided by ...

Discover More

Deleting Graphics when Deleting a Row

If you use Excel to keep a graphic with each row of data you amass, you may wonder if there is a way to easily delete the ...

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}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) 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 5 - 0?

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 SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.