To Clear All Formatting From a Picture: Use the Format Painter Tool

I remember the first time I tried to strip formatting from an image in Word. It took me 20 minutes of clicking through menus before realizing the solution was simpler than I thought.

The Format Painter tool does more than copy styles—it can reset an image to its original state in one click. No need for complex menus or third-party software. Just select your picture, then use the painter to clear all formatting.

You’ll end up with a clean, unaltered image ready for new adjustments. The process works the same in Word, PowerPoint, or Excel, saving time across all your Office projects.

Works on any modern Office version. Here’s exactly how to do it.

What Youll Need

Instructions

Here’s the procedure I use to strip all styling and start fresh with any image.

Launch your document in Microsoft Word or a similar application that supports the Format Painter tool. I always make sure the image is on a visible page so I can see the changes immediately.

Click directly on the picture to select it. You’ll notice a border appears around the image with small squares at the corners and edges—this confirms it’s selected and ready for formatting adjustments.

Look for the Format Painter icon in the ribbon, typically located in the Home tab under the Clipboard group. It looks like a paintbrush and is often grouped with copy, cut, and paste options.

If you don’t see it, check if your application has a different name for this tool, such as Clear Formatting or Reset Picture. In some versions, it might be tucked under the Format menu.

Click the Format Painter icon once. Your cursor will change to a paintbrush shape, indicating the tool is active. Now, click directly on the selected image.

This action will remove all applied formatting, including borders, shadows, color adjustments, and any other stylistic changes, reverting the picture to its original inserted state.

Check the image to ensure all custom formatting has been removed. The picture should now appear in its default state, without any added borders, effects, or color alterations.

If some formatting persists, repeat the Format Painter process. In rare cases, the image might have been embedded with styles that require a second pass to fully clear.

Once satisfied, save your document to preserve the changes. I recommend using Save As to create a new version, just in case you need to revert later.

This ensures you don’t accidentally overwrite the original file while testing different formats or edits.

Tips and Common Mistakes

Small oversights can derail this process, but these adjustments will keep you on track.

Selection Confirmation: In Step 1, always double-check that you see the small squares at the corners and edges of your image. If these don’t appear, the image isn’t properly selected, and the Format Painter won’t work. I’ve seen many people miss this and wonder why their formatting persists.

Tool Location Tip: For Step 2, if you can’t find the Format Painter in the Home tab, try right-clicking the image first. Some Word versions add formatting options to the context menu, which can be a faster route than hunting through the ribbon.

Visual Verification: In Step 4, don’t just glance at the image—zoom in to 100% or more to check for subtle formatting like thin borders or slight color shifts. I learned this after missing a faint shadow effect that only appeared at certain zoom levels.

Safety Net Strategy: When you reach Step 5, always use Save As rather than Save. This creates a backup version while you’re testing the formatting changes. Trust me, you’ll be grateful for this when you realize you need to revert.

Frequently Asked Questions

Clearing all formatting from a picture is simple—just use the Format Painter tool to reset it to its original state. 💡 This quick trick saves time and ensures consistency across your documents. Ready to try it? Open your project and experiment with the tool to see the difference for yourself!