How to Mirror Image on Microsoft Word

Have you ever needed to flip or mirror an image in a Word document? Whether you’re designing a brochure layout or formatting a scientific paper, being able to quickly mirror images can come in handy. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the easy steps to flip horizontal and vertical images in Word on both Windows and Mac.

Why Would You Want to Mirror an Image?

There are a few key reasons you may need to mirror or flip images in Word:

Laying out print designs: When designing brochures, magazines, or other print projects in Word, you may want to flip images to balance the layout.

Presenting scientific data: In academic papers, scientific images often need to be mirrored versions of the original data. This allows the images to conform to standard scientific conventions.
Flipping selfies or portraits: If you insert a selfie or photo in Word but realize it’s backwards, mirroring lets you quickly flip it horizontally.
Making abstract backgrounds: Creating mirrored kaleidoscope effects by duplicating and flipping images can make cool textured backgrounds.

Horizontal Mirror Image on Windows

Flipping an image horizontally mirrors it left-to-right. Here’s how to do it in the Windows version of Word:

Insert your image into the Word document and select it to activate the Picture Tools formatting tab.
On the Picture Tools Format tab, find the Rotate button group. Click the bottom half of the Flip Horizontal button. Flip Horizontal Button

The image will now mirror horizontally! Feel free to undo and redo flipping to compare the original and mirrored versions.

And that’s all there is to it! The process is the same whether you’re using an older version of Word like 2016 or a newer edition such as Word 365.

Vertical Mirror Image on Windows

To flip an image vertically in Word for Windows, mirroring it upside down, use these steps:

Insert and select the image you want to flip vertically.
On the Picture Tools Format tab, find the Rotate button group and click the bottom half of the Flip Vertical button. Flip Vertical Button
The image will immediately mirror upside down! Vertical mirroring is just as easy as horizontal flipping.

Now you can mirror images vertically or horizontally with a single click in the Windows version of Word. Next let’s look at how to pull off the same tricks on Mac.

Horizontal Mirror Image on Mac

When using Microsoft Word for Mac, the steps to mirror an image horizontally are very similar:

Add and select the image you want to flip in your document.

In the Format Picture toolbar, click the Rotate icon to expand rotation and flipping options. Mac Rotate Icon
Click the Flip Horizontal icon, which mirrors the image left-to-right. Mac Flip Horizontal

Just like that, your image will mirror horizontally! It works the same for any recent versions of Word for Mac.

Vertical Mirror Image on Mac

And here is how to flip an image vertically to mirror it upside down in Word for Mac:

Insert and select the image you want to mirror vertically.
Expand the rotation options by clicking the Rotate icon in the Format Picture toolbar.

Click the Flip Vertical button to immediately mirror the image upside down. Mac Flip Vertical

It couldn’t be easier to vertically flip images in the Mac version of Word!

Mirror Entire Documents

One last handy trick related to mirror images in Word is to mirror an entire multi-page document horizontally or vertically. Here’s how:

Go to the Layout tab and click Orientation.
Choose Landscape to mirror horizontally or Portrait to mirror vertically.
The entire document will now mirror, including images, text boxes, and other elements!