Word resizes my pictures when I insert them - HELP!

[karl.brown]

Hi,

I've got a number of photos to insert into a document. I'd like to
resize them in photoshop and then insert them in Word and have them
show up as the right size. But they don't!

For example, I created the a JPG in photoshop:
480x368 at 96dpi, thus 5"x3.833".

Every other program I open up this file in displays it at the correct
size.

However, when I insert the file into word, it makes the image smaller.
I have tried playing with the settings in Tools->Options->Web
Options->Pictures and changing the setting there, but the result is
always the same - the physical size of the image is 2.67" x 2.04".

If I change the dpi, that only seems to change the number of pixels
(displayed by clicking on Tools->Options->Show Pixels for HTML
features)

96 dpi -> 256x196px
120 dpi -> 320x245px
240 dpi -> 640x491px

So as the dpi changes, Word seems to understand that more pixels need
to be placed in the same area. But, the initial size when I insert the
file is always wrong (and always the same): w: 2.67"x2.04".

If anyone could explain what I'm doing wrong, and especially how to
generate a 5x3 @96dpi image in photoshop and have it be 5x3 @96 dpi in
Word, I would very much appreciate it.

Note: I am inserting using Insert->File, and using Word 2003.

thanks,
karl

 

[karl.brown]

Ok, I think I sort of figured this out, but I'd still love to know WHY.

If I take my original image in photoshop, set the dpi to 180, then
resample down to the size I want (i.e. 5" x 3"), then when inserting in
Word, the size is correct! Any other dpi does not work - only 180.

For some reason, Word is ignoring the embedded dpi information in the
jpg file. It assumes the file is 180 dpi, and from that assumption it
generates the image size in the document.

If anyone could explain to me why Word 2003 is doing this I would be
eternally grateful.

thanks,
karl

 

[karl.brown]

I have figured it out!!

For some reason, MS Word uses the EXIF XResolution/YResolution, if
present, to determine the size of the image, instead of the JPEG
XDensity/YDensity that most image processing programs (such as
photoshop) manipulate.

So, the solution is to strip all of the EXIF crap from the image using
irfanview, and then photoshop's dpi setting will be read and used by
Word correctly.

The images I was using had XResolution = 180, YResolution = 180 in the
EXIF data, but
XDensity = 96, YDensity = 96. MS Word was ignoring the XDensity and
YDensity tags and reading the XResolution/YResolution from the EXIF
tags instead. This seems to me to be a bug, but who knows. In any
case, it is something that should be documented.

cheers,
karl