Why is it that clients think Microsoft Word is a graphics program? I’m not sure we’ll ever get an answer to that question, we just have a find a way to deal with it. A few days ago, Jeff Harrison gave you a solution for getting the graphics out using the freeware Open Office suite.
There is another way and you don’t need any extra software if you are provided with a DOCX file generated from either Microsoft Word 2007 or Microsoft Word 2010. Just like CorelDRAW X4 and X5 files, the DOCX files are simply a zip file in disguise. First, make a backup copy of the DOCX file in case something goes wrong. Now rename the file to have a ZIP extension. Once you’ve done that, open it in your favorite unzipping software and look for the /media folder. You’ll find all the graphics in that folder in their original format and quality.
Foster,
There is an even SIMPLER way. Right click on the image. Select “Save as an image” from the shortcut menu that pops up. And save as a png or jpg.
No messy saves, reopens, zips, unzips, etc. Just do it live. The same feature will also save SmartArt as a jpg or png. Sometimes you may have to select “Edit in Word” and then save, but my experience is 95% of the time, just right click, click and save.
Foster,
I don’t know if my original made it through all the sign-on screens.
The simplest way to excise an image or smart art from Word 2007 or 2010 is to select the image, right click and select “Save as an image” from the popup menu. Sometimes your choice will be “Edit in Word,” you can select that and then “Save As” from the Word internal image editor.
1. Select image
2. Right click
3. Select “Save as Image”
4. Rename and Save.
Ta-da! Works about 95% of the time.
Eric,
You’re right, that is a good choice in many cases. The one place it isn’t as good is when a vector file is involved. By unzipping you can get the WMF or EMF file as vector. Thanks for adding your tip!