Position graphics and text

Microsoft Office Word 2003

  1. Click the AutoShape or text box whose margins you want to change.
  2. On the Format menu, click AutoShape or Text Box, and then click the Text Box tab.
  3. Under Internal margin, adjust the measurements to increase or decrease the distance between the text and the object.

Note  If text is clipped or not visible after you adjust the spacing, you can make the text box or AutoShape larger by dragging a sizing handle.

ShowAlign text in an AutoShape or text box

You use the Text Direction command ( Format menu) to orient text vertically (top to bottom) in an AutoShape or a text box.

  1. Click the AutoShape or text box that contains text you want to align.

    The AutoShape must contain text before you can change the text alignment.

  2. Do one of the following:
    • To align horizontally oriented text within the left and right edges of the AutoShape or text box, use the Align Left Button image, Center Button image, Align Right Button image, and Justify Button image buttons on the Formatting toolbar.
    • To align vertically oriented text within the top and bottom edges of the AutoShape or text box, use the Align Top Button image, Center Button image, Align Bottom Button image, and Justify Button image buttons on the Formatting toolbar.

ShowChange the text-wrapping style for a picture or drawing object

You can change this setting for a floating drawing canvas or a drawing object that is not on a drawing canvas. You cannot change this setting for an object that is on a drawing canvas.
  1. Select the picture, drawing object, or drawing canvas.
  2. On the Format menu, click the command for the type of object you selected— for example, AutoShape or Picture, and then click the Layout tab.
  3. Click the text-wrapping style you want.
  4. For more text-wrapping options, click Advanced, and then click the Text Wrapping tab.

Note  To determine whether text wraps inside of a drawing object, right-click the object, click the command for the type of object you selected— for example, Format AutoShape or Format Text Box, and then click the Text Box tab. Select or clear the Word wrap text in AutoShape check box.

ShowMove a drawing object in front of or behind text

  1. You can change this setting for a drawing canvas or a floating object that is not on a drawing canvas. You cannot change this setting for an inline object or an object that is on a drawing canvas.
  2. Select the picture, drawing object, or drawing canvas.
  3. On the Drawing toolbar, click Draw, point to Order, and then click Bring in Front of Text or Send Behind Text.

ShowPosition a drawing object in relation to page, text, or other anchor

You can change this setting for a drawing canvas or a floating object that is not on a drawing canvas. You cannot change this setting for an inline object or an object that is on a drawing canvas.
  1. On the Format menu, click the command for the type of object you selected— for example, AutoShape, Text Box, Picture, or Drawing Canvas— click the Layout tab, and then click Advanced.
  2. In the Advanced Layout dialog box, click the Picture Position tab, and then select the options you want for your horizontal and vertical anchors— for example, margin, page, or paragraph. You can align the object relative to the anchor, or you can enter a precise numeric position for the object relative to the anchor.

ShowTip

You can attach an object to a paragraph so that they move together:

  • To ensure that the selected object moves up or down with the paragraph it's anchored to, select the Move object with text check box.
  • To ensure that an object remains anchored to the same paragraph when you move the object, select the Lock anchor check box.
  • To enable objects with the same wrapping style to overlap, select the Allow overlap check box.

ShowPosition a frame

You can position, or place, a frame by dragging it, or you can align it with a reference point, such as a paragraph, page, margin, or newspaper column. A frame pushes the surrounding text aside. The frame is always anchored to the closest paragraph and appears on the same page as the paragraph it's anchored to.

  1. Select the frame, right-click, and then click Format Frame.
  2. In the Horizontal and Vertical sections, click the options you want.

Notes

  • To ensure that the selected frame moves up or down with the paragraph it's anchored to, select the Move with text check box. To ensure that a frame remains anchored to the same paragraph when you move the frame, select the Lock anchor check box.
  • You can also position the frame by dragging it. Select the frame by moving the pointer over the frame's border until the pointer becomes a four-headed arrow. Then drag the frame to a new location.

ShowResize a text box to fit the text

You can resize a text box or an AutoShape that contains text so that it is as long or as short as the text that it contains. This setting does not apply to linked text boxes.

  1. Select the text box. To do this, move the pointer over the border of the text box until the pointer becomes a four-headed arrow, and then click the border.
  2. On the Format menu, click the command for the type of object you selected— for example, AutoShape or Text Box— and then click the Text Box tab.
  3. Select the Resize AutoShape to fit text check box.