Only with autoshapes is the "lock aspect ratio" not on by default, with pictures it
is. Might copy and paste your autoshape as a wmf. Do a "detect and repair" if the
aspect is not on by default when formatting pictures.
I suspect the reason the "Apply settings to new objects" is dimmed is because the
dialogue appears on the Colors and Lines page not on the picture page.

--
Mary Sauer MSFT MVP
http://office.microsoft.com/
http://msauer.mvps.org/
news://msnews.microsoft.com
"soccerj" wrote in message
...
I need to set the default/startup setting for a picture's lock aspect ratio
to ON (checked). I can manually set it to on but the Apply Settings to new
Objects box is greyed out so I can't save it as the default setting. I want
all my photos to stay in proportion and now I have to fix every one as I use
it. I have another machine where it is defaulted to On.