In this article, you’ll learn how the Freeform, Ratio, and Template cropping options work, so you can choose the right one for your image.
Opening the crop tool
Click an image to open the asset panel, then select the Cropping tab. You’ll see three cropping options: Freeform, Ratio, and Template.
1. Freeform
Best for: quick, one-off crops where exact proportions don’t matter.
- Drag the handles on the crop box to frame the area you want, or type an exact width and height.
- Turn on the 3x3 grid to help position your subject.
2. Ratio
Best for: keeping consistent proportions (for example 1:1, 4:5 or 16:9) at the highest possible resolution.
- Pick a standard aspect ratio or enter a custom one.
- When you resize the crop box, the ratio stays locked.
- Use the invert option to switch between landscape and portrait.
- Works on any image, whatever its size.
3. Template
Best for: getting exact pixel dimensions for a specific channel, such as social media.
- Choose a default template (for example Instagram Photo Post, 1080 x 1080) or a custom template your team has saved.
- You can enlarge the crop box to fit more of the image in. MediaValet then scales the result down to the template’s exact dimensions. Template is the only option that scales.
- A dimension template that’s larger than the original image is unavailable for that image.
- Anyone with crop access can use templates. Only users with the Crop Templates permission can create, edit or delete custom templates.
When your selection looks right, crop and download. Each crop is recorded in the asset’s History tab.
Don’t see the Cropping tab? Cropping needs both Download and Cropping permissions. Contact your MediaValet administrator for access.