Flip and Rotate Picture Fills for Shapes in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows

In PowerPoint 2010 for Windows, it is easy to flip and rotate a picture on your slide, as shown in Figure 1, below.

Figure 1: Picture flipping is easy and quick in PowerPoint

However, this same flipping process can be a little tricky when it comes to using a Picture fill within a shape. Look at the examples, shown in Figure 2, below. The shape on the left is the original Teardrop shape with a picture fill. In our attempt to flip the picture, we tried flipping the container shape. The result is that the picture does get flipped, but so does the shape, as shown on the right.

Figure 2: Original and flipped versions of shape with a picture fill

However, what if we wanted to just flip the picture within the shape to end up with a result, as shown towards the right in Figure 3, below? How do you achieve this result?

Figure 3: Original and flipped versions of just the picture fill

Follow these steps to learn how to flip and rotate picture fills for shapes in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows:

1. We assume that you already have a shape with a picture fill, as shown towards the left within Figure 3 above. Select the entire shape and copy it to the Clipboard by pressing the Ctrl + C keyboard shortcut.


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2. Now, paste the copied shape. You can press Ctrl + V anywhere within the slide or even on a new slide. Then change the copied shape (in our case, that's a Teardrop) to a Rectangle by applying the Crop to Shape option. You'll end up with something like what's shown in Figure 4.
3. 
   Figure 4: Copy of the shape changed to a rectangle
3. Flip the rectangle horizontally to end up with what you see in Figure 5, below. Compare with Figure 4, above.
4. 
   Figure 5: Rectangle flipped horizontally
4. Copy the flipped rectangle (press Ctrl+C) so that it is now available on your Clipboard.
5. Now, right-click the Teardrop shape, within which you want to use the flipped picture fill. From the contextual menu that appears, choose the Format Picture option, as shown in Figure 6, below.
6. 
   Figure 6: Format Picture option
6. Doing so brings up the Format Picture dialog box, as shown in Figure 7, below. Here, select the Fill option, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 7, in the sidebar, and click the Picture or texture fill radio button, as shown highlighted in blue within Figure 7. Now, click the Clipboard button, as shown highlighted in green within Figure 7.
7. 
   Figure 7: Format Picture dialog box
7. This action fills the Teardrop shape with the content on the Clipboard, i.e. the flipped picture, as shown in Figure 8, below.
8. 
   Figure 8: Shape filled with flipped picture
8. Use the Crop to Fill option so that the picture sets properly within the shape, as shown in Figure 9, below.
9. 
   Figure 9: Picture fill flipped within the shape
9. Compare the picture shown in Figure 9, with the before and after states of the same picture shown within Figure 3, previously on this page.
10. Save your presentation often.