WordPress 2.9 features a built-in Image Editor which provides basic image editing features. Now it’s not rocket science to use the Image Editor in WordPress 2.9 but somehow the image cropping feature didn’t work out for me initially. What happened was I didn’t know to use it properly. Apart from the other functions such as flipping images, scaling etc. the image crop in the editor works differently. Once you go through this tiny article you’ll discover how silly you and I have been not being able to use image cropping in the WordPress 2.9 editor.
Here’s how it’s done;
There you go, you weren’t supposed to click save and rather click on the crop tool again to crop the image. This is different from the way you work with other tools in the image editor in WordPress 2.9.
How lame?! 
Article by Harry
Harry has written 407 awesome articles on HarryJerry.com.
About: ...an engineering student, a freelancer, a professional blogger, a loving lover, too shy, an Internet freak....and everything I shouldn't be.
Tags: blogging, features, how-to, image cropping, image editor, troubleshoot, wordpress 2.9
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I must be really silly because my crop tool is not highlighted to click on.
When you first open up the image editor the crop tool is selected by default. You can choose to crop the image or select another tool.
Yes I got as far as dragging the mouse to select the crop area as stated in your #3 but still no highlighted crop tool. (Can’t click on it.)
This step is not working for me:
“Now again press the crop tool this will crop your image.”
I tried this also but nothing. “now press the save to store the cropped image.”
Brett,
I hear ya. I had the EXACT same problem as you. I drag the cursor and highlight the area I want to crop, but the crop tool is still not highlighted. Ridiculously enough, the following worked for me.
1. open the image in the image editor window
2. click on one of the OTHER tools–such as rotate. Rotate the pic once and then rotate it back.
SOMEHOW, after I did this, the crop tool became highlighted. I know it sound stupid but any port in a storm. Now my crop tool works properly and I don’t have to do that trick anymore. Go Figure.
Crop tool icon is disabled for me. Impossible to click. Do you have any idea of why it could be? I used scissors before and it worked like a charm.
Same problem here.
Seems like the the crop icon is shaded until I select an area large enough.
I want to crop a picture to 100×57 pixels to create a thumb image, but Wordpress think it’s too small.
If I select a larger area the crop tool is highlighted = clickable.
Very strange. I would call it a bug.
Thanks for the tutorial. I thought mine wasn’t working, but your tutorial cleared it all up.
Glad it worked for you!
Harry,
I tried cropping an image for the first time today, and spent 20 minutes trying to figure it out!
I am so happy I’ve found you. It was so simple.
Thanks for the great tutorial.
Diane
You’re most welcome Diane!
Cheers! This was driving me insane as well
Mette
A good example of bad usability design. The crop is counterintuitive to what almost everyone is used to. When something this basic confounds so many and has to be explained, the design is at fault. I hope we see this bug fixed in a near future release of Wordpress.