A picture fill may unexpectedly stretch to fill a shape in 2007 Office programs

In one of the 2007 Microsoft Office programs that are listed in the "Applies to" section, when you work with a shape that contains a picture fill, one of the following symptoms may occur:

• When you add a picture fill to a shape, the picture fill may unexpectedly stretch to fill the shape. Additionally, the Lock picture aspect ratio option is unavailable when you insert the picture fill.
• When you resize the shape in a file that was created in an earlier version of the program, the aspect ratio of the picture fill is not retained. And, the picture fill may unexpectedly stretch to fill the shape.

To work around this issue, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Adjust the picture aspect ratio of the picture fill in Microsoft Office Excel 2007 and in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007

1. Right-click the selected shape, and then click Format Picture.
2. Click Fill.
3. Under Stretch options, adjust the offset values to eliminate the stretching effect in the picture fill. For example, under Offsets, adjust the values in the following boxes:
   • Top
   • Bottom
   • Left
   • Right
   When you adjust these values, you can see the results dynamically in the picture fill.

Method 2: Lock the picture aspect ratio of the picture fill in Microsoft Office Word 2007

1. Right-click the selected shape, and then click Format AutoShape.
2. On the Colors and Lines tab, click Fill Effects.
3. Click the Picture tab.
4. Click Select Picture.
5. Click the picture that you want as the picture fill for the shape, and then click Insert.
6. On the Picture tab, click to select the Lock picture aspect ratio check box.
7. Click OK to close the Fill Effects dialog box.
8. Click OK to close the Format AutoShape dialog box.