---
category: features-images
menu-title: Resizing images
meta-title: Resizing images | CKEditor 5 Documentation
meta-description: All about various ways of resizing images to fit the content better.
order: 50
modified_at: 2021-06-17
badges: [ premium ]
---

# Resizing images

The image resize feature lets you change the width of images in your content. It is implemented by the {@link module:image/imageresize~ImageResize} plugin.

{@snippet getting-started/unlock-feature}

## Methods to resize images

The editor offers different ways to resize images either by using "resize handles" or by using dedicated UI components &ndash; either a dropdown or standalone buttons.

The {@link module:image/imageresize~ImageResize} plugin enables the four resize handles displayed over the selected image. The user can resize the image by dragging them. You can configure the feature to use either percentage (default) or pixel values.

The plugin also gives you the ability to change the size of the image through the on-click image toolbar. You can set an optional static configuration with {@link module:image/imageconfig~ImageConfig#resizeOptions} and choose whether you want to use a dropdown or a set of standalone buttons.

### Using resize handles

In this case, you can resize an image by dragging square handles displayed in each of its corners. After you enable image resizing, this option does not require any additional configuration.

Use the corner handles to resize the image and adjust it to the text as needed. You can also use the alignment options from the image toolbar {@icon @ckeditor/ckeditor5-icons/theme/icons/object-center.svg Image align} to achieve the desired effect.

Images can also be pre-resized using styling, as shown below (the last three images are hard-set to 28% for visual consistency).

{@snippet features/image-resize}

<info-box info>
	For clarity, all demos in this guide present a limited set of features. Visit the {@link examples/builds/full-featured-editor feature-rich editor example} to see more in action.
</info-box>

You can configure resizing images by handles in two different ways in the CKEditor&nbsp;5 WYSIWYG editor:

* By installing the {@link module:image/imageresize~ImageResize} plugin. It contains **all** needed features (`ImageResizeEditing`, `ImageResizeHandles`, `ImageResizeButtons`) as described in the {@link features/images-resizing#installation installation} of this guide.

* By installing the combination of {@link module:image/imageresize/imageresizeediting~ImageResizeEditing} and {@link module:image/imageresize/imageresizehandles~ImageResizeHandles} plugins. This will not load the unnecessary `ImageResizeButtons` plugin:

<code-switcher>
```js
import { ClassicEditor, Image, ImageResizeEditing, ImageResizeHandles } from 'ckeditor5';

ClassicEditor
	.create( document.querySelector( '#editor' ), {
		licenseKey: '<YOUR_LICENSE_KEY>', // Or 'GPL'.
		plugins: [ Image, ImageResizeEditing, ImageResizeHandles, /* ... */ ],
		image: {
			// Configuration.
		}
	} )
	.then( /* ... */ )
	.catch( /* ... */ );
```
</code-switcher>

Both ways enable resize handles by default.

### Using resize dropdown

In this case, the user can choose from a set of predefined options. You can display these options as a dropdown in the image toolbar available after the user clicks the image.

To use this option, you need to [enable image resizing](#installation) and configure the available {@link module:image/imageconfig~ImageConfig#resizeOptions resize options}. Then add the dropdown to the image toolbar configuration.

```js
const imageConfiguration = {
	resizeOptions: [
		{
			name: 'resizeImage:original',
			value: null,
			label: 'Original'
		},
		{
			name: 'resizeImage:custom',
			label: 'Custom',
			value: 'custom'
		},
		{
			name: 'resizeImage:40',
			value: '40',
			label: '40%'
		},
		{
			name: 'resizeImage:60',
			value: '60',
			label: '60%'
		}
	],
	toolbar: [ 'resizeImage', /* ... */ ]
}
```

Try out the live demo of the resize dropdown {@icon @ckeditor/ckeditor5-icons/theme/icons/object-size-medium.svg Image resize} available in the image toolbar:

{@snippet features/image-resize-buttons-dropdown}

<info-box hint>
Images in the example below were prepared to match the exact aspect ratios, so they can be displayed together, with equal heights.

If you want to define the possible aspect ratios of the inserted images, for example, allow the user to insert 1:1 and 40% width, and 1:2 and 20% width images, you should use the {@link features/images-styles#configuring-the-styles image style feature}.

The example of CSS fixing the image aspect ratio is in the [last example](#aspect-ratio-css) of this guide.
</info-box>

### Using standalone resize buttons

In this case, the resize options are displayed as separate buttons. The benefit of this solution is the smoothest UX as the user needs just one click to resize an image.

To use this option, you need to [enable image resizing](#installation) and configure the available {@link module:image/imageconfig~ImageConfig#resizeOptions resize options}. Then add appropriate buttons to the image toolbar configuration.

```js
const imageConfiguration = {
	resizeOptions: [
		{
			name: 'resizeImage:original',
			value: null,
			icon: 'original'
		},
		{
			name: 'resizeImage:custom',
			value: 'custom',
			icon: 'custom'
		},
		{
			name: 'resizeImage:50',
			value: '50',
			icon: 'medium'
		},
		{
			name: 'resizeImage:75',
			value: '75',
			icon: 'large'
		}
	],
	toolbar: [
		'resizeImage:50',
		'resizeImage:75',
		'resizeImage:original',
		'resizeImage:custom',
		// More toolbar options.
		// ...
	]
}
```

Try out the live demo of the individual resize buttons {@icon @ckeditor/ckeditor5-icons/theme/icons/object-size-large.svg Image resize} available in the image toolbar:

{@snippet features/image-resize-buttons}

## Disabling image resize handles

If you want to configure the editor in such a way that the user can only resize images by buttons, you can do so by omitting the {@link module:image/imageresize/imageresizehandles~ImageResizeHandles `ImageResizeHandles`} plugin.

As a result, your plugin setup should look like this: `plugins: [ 'ImageResizeEditing', 'ImageResizeButtons', /* ... */ ]` as opposed to `plugins: [ 'ImageResize', /* ... */ ]`.

This will enable the image resize feature only through the chosen UI: either a [dropdown](#using-resize-dropdown) or [standalone buttons](#using-standalone-resize-buttons) in the image toolbar.

<code-switcher>
```js
import { ClassicEditor, Image, ImageResizeButtons, ImageResizeEditing, ImageToolbar } from 'ckeditor5';

ClassicEditor
	.create( document.querySelector( '#editor' ), {
		plugins: [ Image, ImageResizeEditing, ImageResizeButtons, ImageToolbar, /* ... */ ],
		image: {
			resizeOptions: [
			{
				name: 'resizeImage:original',
				value: null,
				icon: 'original'
			},
			{
				name: 'resizeImage:custom',
				value: 'custom',
				icon: 'custom'
			},
			{
				name: 'resizeImage:50',
				value: '50',
				icon: 'medium'
			},
			{
				name: 'resizeImage:75',
				value: '75',
				icon: 'large'
			}
		],
		toolbar: [
			'resizeImage:50',
			'resizeImage:75',
			'resizeImage:original',
			'resizeImage:custom',
			// More toolbar options.
			// ...
		] }
	} )
	.then( /* ... */ )
	.catch( /* ... */ );
```
</code-switcher>

## Markup and styling

When you resize an image, the inline `width` style is used and the editor assigns the `image_resized` class to the `<figure>` element:

```html
<figure class="image image_resized" style="width: 75%;">
	<img src="..." alt="...">
</figure>
```

The `image_resized` class is used to disable `max-width` assigned by the {@link features/images-styles image styles} if one is applied to this image. For instance, the "side image" style is defined like this:

```css
.ck-content .image-style-side {
	max-width: 50%;
	float: right;
	margin-left: var(--ck-image-style-spacing);
}
```

And the `max-width` gets overridden by the following rule:

```css
.ck-content .image.image_resized {
	max-width: 100%;
}
```

Another concern when styling resized images is that by default, CKEditor&nbsp;5 uses `display: table` on `<figure class="image">` elements to make it take up the size of the `<img>` element inside it. Unfortunately, [browsers do not yet support using `max-width` and `width` on the same element if it is styled with `display: table`](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4019604/chrome-safari-ignoring-max-width-in-table/14420691#14420691). Therefore, `display: block` needs to be used when resizing the image:

```css
.ck-content .image.image_resized {
	display: block;
	box-sizing: border-box;
}

.ck-content .image.image_resized img {
	width: 100%;
}

.ck-content .image.image_resized > figcaption {
	display: block;
}
```

## Using pixel values instead of percentage width

Using percentage widths ensures that the content stays responsive when displayed in places other than the WYSIWYG editor. When the user makes an image take up, for example, 60% of the content's width in the editor, if you ever change the width of the target page (where this content is displayed), the image will still take up 60% of that space. The same is true if the page is responsive and adjusts to the viewport's width.

If you configured the editor to use pixel values, the image could take up, for example, too much space after you introduced a new layout for your website.

However, there are cases where you may prefer pixel values. You can thus configure the editor to use them by setting the {@link module:image/imageconfig~ImageConfig#resizeUnit `config.image.resizeUnit`} option:

```js
ClassicEditor
	.create( editorElement, {
		image: {
			resizeUnit: 'px',
			resizeOptions: [
				{
					name: 'resizeImage:original',
					label: 'Original',
					value: null
				},
				{
					name: 'resizeImage:custom',
					label: 'Custom',
					value: 'custom'
				},
				{
					name: 'resizeImage:100',
					label: '100px',
					value: '100'
				},
				{
					name: 'resizeImage:200',
					label: '200px',
					value: '200'
				}
			]
		}
	} )
	.then( /* ... */ )
	.catch( /* ... */ );
```

The following demo uses CSS to set up the fixed image aspect ratio, so a 200px wide image automatically gets the same height.

<div id="aspect-ratio-css"></div>

```css
.ck.ck-content .image {
	position: relative;
}
.ck.ck-content .image img {
	position: absolute;
	left: 0;
	top: 0;
	width: 100%;
	height: 100%;
	object-fit: cover;
	border-radius: 50%;
}
.ck.ck-content .image::before {
	content: '';
	padding-top: 100%;
	display: block;
}
```
Check out the difference in the live demo below:

{@snippet features/image-resize-px}

## Image optimization and responsive images

When using the {@link features/ckbox CKBox file manager} service, it produces sets of resized, optimized images. The users can invoke these resized versions if needed. To learn more about these capabilities, refer to the {@link features/images-responsive responsive images} guide and the [CKBox conversion](https://ckeditor.com/docs/ckbox/latest/features/images/conversion.html) guide.

## Installation

To enable it you need to install the {@link module:image/imageresize~ImageResize} plugin, which contains **all** needed features (`ImageResizeEditing`, `ImageResizeHandles`, `ImageResizeButtons`):

<code-switcher>
```js
import { ClassicEditor, Image, ImageResize } from 'ckeditor5';

ClassicEditor
	.create( document.querySelector( '#editor' ), {
		// ... Other configuration options ...
		plugins: [ Image, ImageResize, /* ... */ ]
	} )
	.then( /* ... */ )
	.catch( /* ... */ );
```
</code-switcher>

## Common API

The {@link module:image/imageresize~ImageResize} plugin registers:

* Image resize buttons (to use in the {@link features/images-overview#image-contextual-toolbar image toolbar}).
* The {@link module:image/imageresize/resizeimagecommand~ResizeImageCommand `'resizeImage'` command} that accepts the target width.

<info-box>
	We recommend using the official {@link framework/development-tools/inspector CKEditor&nbsp;5 inspector} for development and debugging. It will give you tons of useful information about the state of the editor such as internal data structures, selection, commands, and many more.
</info-box>

## Contribute

The source code of the feature is available on GitHub at [https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor5/tree/master/packages/ckeditor5-image](https://github.com/ckeditor/ckeditor5/tree/master/packages/ckeditor5-image).
