Understanding Graphic Linking

You already know that when you insert a picture into your document, you can either place it inline (in the text) or in a frame or text box. You can also control how Word manages that graphic. You can either have the graphic file added to your document, as an integral part of it, or you can have it simply linked to your document.

The next time you insert a graphic, take a look at the Insert Picture dialog box. At the right side of the dialog box are a couple of check boxes. The first is entitled Link to File. If this check box is selected, then an active link is retained between the graphic in your document and the original graphic file. This allows you to automatically or manually update the graphic in your document by having Word recopy it into your document.

The next check box is entitled Save With Document. By default, this check box is selected. When selected, this results in the entire graphic being integrated into your document file. This selection can significantly increase the size of your document file. If you clear the Save With Document check box, then Word does not insert the graphic file contents in your document, but reloads it from the original graphics file every time you need to display or print the graphic.

An interesting side effect of clearing the Save With Document check box is that if it is not selected, your picture sizing can get messed up. Since the graphic is not saved with your document, it is reloaded from the original graphics file each time you open your document. When this happens, Word automatically reverts the image to its full 100% size. Thus, any sizing settings you had applied to the graphic before are automatically lost. It seems, unfortunately, that there is no way around this other than to select the Save With Document check box.