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Error when saving files with cropped image on Mac

Phuong Ha Nguyen 0 Reputation points
2026-05-12T04:47:09.85+00:00

I paste images into Word documents and crop them here without any problems, but when I save/export the file as .docx, the cropped picture always appears as the original, uncropped. How to fix this error? TY.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For education | MacOS
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  1. Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 435.7K Reputation points
    2026-05-12T13:37:54.71+00:00

    Despite all the other ancillary information the primary cause of such issues is a need to update macOS, Office, or both. Contrary to the specs cited by Hani-NG 26.4.1 is the current release of macOS Tahoe. However, you've provided no version information so the status cannot be confirmed for you.

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  2. Hani-Ng 11,315 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-05-12T06:02:43.9766667+00:00

    Hi Phuong Ha Nguyen

    Based on your description, I also tested this on my device - macOS Tahoe 26.3.1(a) with Word version 16.108.3 (26050324) and the cropped images remain cropped after saving the document as .docx. However, this behavior may occur in certain situations depending on image handling and compression settings.

    According to my research and testing, you can first try checking whether Word is removing crop data automatically:

    • Click the image in your document (you can click to selected pictures only, so the change applies just to those images)
    • Go to Picture Format > Select Compress Pictures

    User's image

    • Make sure Delete cropped areas of pictures is not selected

    User's image

    • Apply the change and save the document again

    This helps ensure Word keeps the cropped areas instead of reverting to the original image when saving.

    Additionally, please note:

    • If you used Reduce File Size, Word may discard crop data
    • Pasted images (from clipboard or screenshots) are more affected than images inserted via Insert > Picture
    • This is expected behavior when Word is set to optimize document size rather than preserve edits

    If the issue still occurs, to better understand your situation, please share some information:

    • Your Word version (desktop, web, or mobile).
    • Whether the images were pasted directly or added using Insert > Picture.
    • Whether the issue occurs in new documents or only in this specific file.
    • Try opening the document in Word on the web to confirm if the same behavior occurs there.

    I hope this information helps and I look forward to your response!


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