Reducing Picture Size in Outlook

Modified on Wed, 26 Apr, 2023 at 9:59 AM

Reduce the size of pictures in Outlook email messages

Photos and other types of attachments can vary in size. Many email systems, including Gmail, Yahoo, and Exchange limit the size of email messages you can send. If you're concerned about the size of your email messages or if you've received a message that your email is too large to send, there are several steps you can take to reduce the size of the attached pictures and other documents.

In addition to restricting the size of individual messages, some email systems put a cap on the total size of your mailbox. Since each message you send is stored in your Sent Items folder, reducing the size of attachments can also help keep your mailbox size small.

Newer versions Office 2010 - 2013 Office 2007

What would you like to do?

Insert and resize pictures in the body of an email message

Insert a picture

To insert a picture in the body of your email message, place your cursor in the body of the email message, select the Insert menu, and then choose Pictures from the Illustrations group on the Ribbon.

If the picture looks too big (or too small), you can use the sizing handles on the picture to resize the image.

Resize a picture

You can change the visible size of the picture; for example, how much of the screen it takes up, without changing the file size or resolution of the picture. This, however, will not shrink the total size of the email message you're sending.

Click or tap the picture to display a small circular sizing handle at each corner of the picture.
Click (or press and hold) one of handles, then drag the sizing handle toward the center to reduce the size of the image or away from the center to increase the size of the image.

Tip: There are additional sizing handles in the center of each side of the picture. If you want to maintain the picture's proportions, only use the sizing handles in the corners. Using the handles in the center of each side will distort the picture.

Resize a picture to exact dimensions

Select the picture you want to resize.
On the Format tab, in the Size group, enter the required height. The width changes automatically to stay in proportion to the height.

If you want to change the height and width separately, select the Dialog launcher button Size dialog launcher and clear the Lock aspect ratio check box before you change the required height or width in step 2.

Compress pictures to reduce file size

Compressing a picture maintains the height and width of the picture, but reduces the resolution. Lower resolution pictures have a smaller file size.

Select the picture or pictures you need to reduce.
Under Picture Tools on the Format tab, select Compress Pictures from the Adjust group. Depending on your screen resolution, you may only see the Compress Pictures icon.
Select the compression and resolution options and then select OK. For pictures that won't be printed, Web (150 ppi) is the most common resolution.

Important: Compressing a picture to reduce the size of the file changes the amount of detail retained in the source picture. This means that after compression, the picture can look different than before it was compressed.

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