Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 2, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
Word keeps quite a bit of information together about the images that you insert in your documents. This information is necessary so that Word knows how to size, position, and display images. If you want to find out more information about the images in your document, then you need to know something about how Word stores the information.
Images are stored as either of two types of graphic objects: regular shapes or inline shapes. Regular shapes are those that reside on the drawing layer, as opposed to inline shapes, which reside in the text layer. Both types of objects are stored with different object collections. Regular shapes are in the Shapes collection, and inline shapes are stored in the InlineShapes collection. To access information about the objects, you just need to use a little VBA.
The following VBA macro creates a document that displays the size of all the graphics objects within a document, in both points and pixels:
Sub FigureInfo() Dim iShapeCount As Integer Dim iILShapeCount As Integer Dim DocThis As Document Dim J As Integer Dim sTemp As String Set DocThis = ActiveDocument Documents.Add iShapeCount = DocThis.Shapes.Count If iShapeCount > 0 Then Selection.TypeText Text:="Regular Shapes" Selection.TypeParagraph End If For J = 1 To iShapeCount Selection.TypeText Text:=DocThis.Shapes(J).Name Selection.TypeParagraph sTemp = " Height (points): " sTemp = sTemp & DocThis.Shapes(J).Height Selection.TypeText Text:=sTemp Selection.TypeParagraph sTemp = " Width (points): " sTemp = sTemp & DocThis.Shapes(J).Width Selection.TypeText Text:=sTemp Selection.TypeParagraph sTemp = " Height (pixels): " sTemp = sTemp & PointsToPixels(DocThis.Shapes(J).Height, True) Selection.TypeText Text:=sTemp Selection.TypeParagraph sTemp = " Width (pixels): " sTemp = sTemp & PointsToPixels(DocThis.Shapes(J).Width, False) Selection.TypeText Text:=sTemp Selection.TypeParagraph Selection.TypeParagraph Next J iILShapeCount = DocThis.InlineShapes.Count If iILShapeCount > 0 Then Selection.TypeText Text:="Inline Shapes" Selection.TypeParagraph End If For J = 1 To iILShapeCount Selection.TypeText Text:="Shape " & J Selection.TypeParagraph sTemp = " Height (points): " sTemp = sTemp & DocThis.InlineShapes(J).Height Selection.TypeText Text:=sTemp Selection.TypeParagraph sTemp = " Width (points): " sTemp = sTemp & DocThis.InlineShapes(J).Width Selection.TypeText Text:=sTemp Selection.TypeParagraph sTemp = " Height (pixels): " sTemp = sTemp & PointsToPixels(DocThis.InlineShapes(J).Height, True) Selection.TypeText Text:=sTemp Selection.TypeParagraph sTemp = " Width (pixels): " sTemp = sTemp & PointsToPixels(DocThis.InlineShapes(J).Width, False) Selection.TypeText Text:=sTemp Selection.TypeParagraph Selection.TypeParagraph Next J End Sub
Note that the macro returns the names of regular shapes, but not the names of inline shapes. The reason for this is that Word doesn't maintain the names of inline shapes. When you insert a regular shape in your document (again, on the drawing layer), then Word assigns a name to the shape, such as Rectangle 2 or Oval 3.
Note:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8343) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Determining Picture Size in a Macro.
Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!
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