Formatting Issues

How to Fix Word Showing Only Part of an Inline Image

Maira Mehtab Sep 22, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user inserted a screenshot into a Word document using the 'In Line with Text' layout, but only the bottom portion of the image is visible while the upper part appears hidden or cut off.

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Pasting or inserting an inline image into an existing document's paragraph.
Observed behavior: The upper portion of the inserted image is hidden or appears behind the text, even though pasting the identical image into a brand new document works perfectly.

Before you start

Verify that your image's text wrapping is indeed set to 'In Line with Text' by clicking the image and checking the layout options icon that appears next to it.

Solution 1Recommended

Change Paragraph Line Spacing to Single or At Least

Adjust the paragraph spacing settings, as using an 'Exactly' line spacing restricts the vertical height of the line, causing tall inline images to be severely cut off.

When an image is set to 'In Line with Text', Word treats it like a single, large text character. If the paragraph containing this image has a fixed line height (set to 'Exactly'), Word will enforce that height, obscuring any part of the image that exceeds it.

Select the affected image

Click on the partially hidden image in your document so that it is highlighted, which also selects its surrounding paragraph.

Open Paragraph Settings

Right-click the selected area and choose 'Paragraph' from the context menu, or go to the 'Home' tab and click the small dialog box launcher arrow in the bottom-right corner of the Paragraph group.

Adjust the Line Spacing

In the Paragraph dialog box, locate the 'Spacing' section. Click the 'Line spacing' dropdown menu and change it from 'Exactly' to 'Single' or 'At least'.

Apply your changes

Click 'OK' to save the settings. The line height will now expand automatically to accommodate the size of your picture, making the entire image visible.

Pro Tip for Repeated Use: If you frequently paste images into documents that require strict line spacing, consider creating a dedicated 'Picture Style' or paragraph style with 'Single' line spacing specifically assigned to hold your inline images.

Effortless Document Formatting

Use WPS Office to Easily Manage Image and Text Layouts

WPS Office offers intuitive paragraph and layout controls, ensuring your pasted screenshots and inline images display perfectly without complex formatting conflicts.

1. Open your document in WPS Writer: Launch WPS Office and open the document containing the partially hidden image.
2. Select the image paragraph: Click directly on the inline image that is cut off to select it.
3. Modify Line Spacing: Go to the 'Home' tab on the top ribbon, click the 'Line Spacing' icon, and select '1.0' (Single) or navigate to 'Settings' to ensure it is not fixed to an exact point size.

Easily insert and format inline images without them getting cut off.Fully compatible with Microsoft Word (.docx) formats and strict styles.Intuitive paragraph settings interface for quick line spacing adjustments.Lightweight architecture ensures fast performance even with image-heavy files.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my image get cut off only in certain Word documents?

This happens because the specific document or template you are pasting into has its default paragraph style set with 'Exactly' line spacing (e.g., Exactly 12 pt). This forces the line height to remain fixed regardless of the image's height. New, blank documents usually default to 'Single' or 'Multiple' spacing, which is why the image works fine there.

Can I keep exact line spacing for my text but still show the whole inline image?

Yes. If your document formatting strictly requires 'Exactly' line spacing, you should place your images in separate, dedicated paragraphs and apply 'Single' line spacing only to those specific image paragraphs. Alternatively, you can change the image's text wrapping from 'In Line with Text' to 'Top and Bottom' or 'Square'.

How do I change the default paste behavior for pictures in Word?

You can adjust how pictures are formatted when pasted by going to File > Options > Advanced. Scroll down to the 'Cut, copy, and paste' section, look for the 'Insert/paste pictures as' dropdown menu, and choose your preferred default wrapping style, such as 'Square' or 'Top and bottom'.

Document & File Issues