Microsoft Word logo on a gray background

While Microsoft Word isn't known for its photo-editing abilities, it does have some basic features you can use such as image mirroring. If you want to flip a picture in Microsoft Word, here's what you'll need to do.

These steps should work for any recent version of Microsoft Word that you have, include Office Online and Microsoft 365.

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If you want to flip a picture in Word, you'll need to first open the document containing the image you want to manipulate. This can be any image inserted into your document. You can also do this to shapes or other drawings you insert into Word.

An example image in a Microsoft Word document.

To flip the image, make sure the image is selected by clicking on it. From the ribbon bar, select the "Format" tab under the "Picture Tools" section (or "Drawing Tools" section for other types of images or objects).

From there, click the "Rotate Objects" icon in the "Arrange" section. This icon may appear bigger or smaller, depending on your available screen resolution and the size of the Microsoft Word window itself.

Press Format > Rotate Objects to begin the process of flipping an image in Microsoft Word.

A drop-down menu will appear below the icon, with various options to rotate and flip your image.

To flip the image so that it appears upside down, click the "Flip Vertical" option. If you want to mirror the image horizontally, select the "Flip Horizontal" option instead.

Click "Flip Vertical" to turn an image upside down, or "Flip Horizontal" to mirror the image horizontally in Word.

The image effect you selected will be applied to your image automatically.

An example image in Microsoft Word, flipped vertically.

You can then reposition your image, or make further changes to it using the "Picture Tools" (or "Drawing Tools") menu. For instance, you can remove the background from an image using the built-in removal tool offered in Microsoft Word.

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If you want to reverse a flipped image, select the "Undo" icon found in the top-left of the window immediately after applying the effect, or press Ctrl+Z (Cmd+Z on Mac) on your keyboard.

Alternatively, repeat the steps above to cancel out the effect. For instance, if you use the "Flip Vertically" effect twice, this will return your image to its previous state.

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