What it does
Word Image Editor opens in a task pane beside your Word document. Select one inline JPG or PNG picture, annotate it, and choose Apply. The add-in replaces the picture in the document with a flattened copy containing your annotations.
Your original JPG or PNG file on your computer is not changed.
Install in Word for the web
- Download word-image-editor-beta.xml. If a normal click does not download it, right-click the link and choose Save link as.
- Open Word for the web and sign in.
- Create a new blank document.
- On the Home ribbon, choose Add-ins, then More Add-ins.
- Choose MY ADD-INS.
- Choose Manage My Add-ins → Upload My Add-in.
- Select the downloaded
word-image-editor-beta.xmlfile and choose Upload. - The Image Editor → Edit Image button should appear on the Home ribbon. If it does not, refresh Word in the browser.
Microsoft account help
You need a Microsoft account to use Word for the web. A personal Microsoft account is the simplest choice for beta testing. Some organization-managed work or school accounts block private add-ins.
Edit a picture
- Insert one JPG or PNG picture into the document and wait for Word to save.
- Select the picture.
- Choose Image Editor → Edit Image on the Home ribbon.
- The picture should load automatically. If it does not, keep the picture selected and choose Check Selection.
- Add any combination of rectangles, ellipses, lines, arrows, or text.
- Choose Apply.
- Wait until Word reports that the document is saved.
- Close and reopen the document and confirm that the annotations are still present.
Current beta limitations
- Works with one selected inline JPG or PNG picture at a time.
- The replacement picture may need to be resized manually.
- Alternative text, hyperlinks, and aspect-ratio-lock settings may not be preserved.
- Apply requires at least one annotation.
- Organization-managed Microsoft 365 accounts may block installation of a private add-in.
If something does not work
- Edit Image is missing: repeat the installation steps and make sure the XML file was uploaded in Word for the web.
- No picture is selected: select exactly one picture and choose Check Selection.
- The picture does not load automatically: keep the picture selected and choose Check Selection.
- Apply is unavailable: add at least one annotation first.
- The replacement is the wrong size: resize it manually in Word.
- Word shows a yellow save warning: stop using that document for important work, wait for Word to save, then close and reopen the test document to verify the result.
About this beta
This is intentionally a small, lightweight editor for quick annotations while working in Word. The current beta focuses on basic markup rather than replacing a full image-editing application.
Feedback
If you run into a problem or have an idea for an improvement, please open an issue in the project repository.