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You can group shapes, pictures, or other objects. Grouping lets you rotate, flip, move, or resize multiple shapes or objects as though they’re a single shape or object.
Group shapes, pictures, or other objects
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Press and hold CTRL and select shapes, pictures, or other objects to group.
The Wrap Text option for each object must be other than In line with Text. For more info, see Wrap Text.
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Do one of the following:
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Go to Picture Format or Picture Tools Format >
Group > Group. -
Go to Shape Format or Drawing Tools Format > Group > Group.
To still work with an individual item in the group, select the group, and then select the item.
The Group button is enabled for two or more selected objects.
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Group > Group.
Group shapes, pictures, or objects
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Press and hold CTRL while you select the shapes, pictures, or objects that you want to group.
The Wrap Text option for each object must be other than In line with Text. For more info, see Wrap Text.
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Go to Drawing Tools or Picture Tools, on the Format tab, in the Arrange group, select Group
, and then select Group.
To work with an individual item in the group, select the group, and then select the item.
, and then select Group.
Group shapes, pictures, or other objects
-
Press and hold command while selecting the shapes, pictures, or other objects to group.
The Wrap Text option for each object must be other than In line with Text. For more info, see Wrap Text.
-
Go to Shape Format or Picture Format, and then select Group
> Group.If Group
isn’t visible on the ribbon, select Arrange to display it.
> Group.To work with an individual item in the group, select the group, and then select the item.
If the Group button is unavailable, verify that you have more than one object selected.
See also
For more info selecting shapes or pictures, see Select a shape or other object in Word.
SVG icons must converted to shapes before grouping. For more info, see Convert an SVG image to an Office shape.
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- Grouping Objects in Word
- Why is the Group button grayed out?
- Q&A
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Do you want to move or resize multiple pictures, shapes, or other objects in your document at the same time? Grouping objects in Microsoft Word is an efficient way to manipulate them to act as a whole instead of individual pieces. You can group shapes, pictures, and other objects so that if you wish to relocate them but not change the distance between them, they will move as one. This wikiHow article teaches you step-by-step how to group and ungroup shapes, pictures, and other objects in Word on your PC or Mac.
Things You Should Know
- Group items by selecting them and then going to «Layout > Group».
- Make sure none of the objects have the «In Line with Text» wrap setting before creating a group.
- If the Group option is grayed out, make sure you have more than one object selected & that none of the objects is a SVG, table, or worksheet.
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1
Open your document in Word. You can either double-click the file in your file manager (Finder for Mac and File Explorer for Windows) or you can click the Word app icon and go to File > Open.
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2
Make sure none of your objects are set to «In Line with Text.» If a picture or object you want to add to the group has its text wrapping set to «In Line with Text,» you won’t be able to select it while creating your group.[1]
Here’s how to check and change the text wrap settings:- Click any object you want to add to the group.
- Click the «Layout Options» icon that appears at the top-right corner.
- If the «In Line with Text» option is selected, choose any of the other text wrapping options.
- Repeat for all objects you want to group.
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3
Select the objects you want to group. If you’re using Windows, press and hold Ctrl as you click each object. If you’re on a Mac, press and hold Cmd instead.
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4
Click the Shape Format or Picture Format tab. You’ll see one or both of these tabs at the top of Word, depending on which objects you’ve selected. The option to group objects appears on both of these tabs.
- If you don’t see either of these tabs, click the Layout tab instead. You’ll also find the option to group here.
- If you’re using Office 2010, click the Drawing Tools or Picture Tools tab, then click the Format tab.[2]
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5
Click Group on the toolbar. You’ll see this on the Arrange panel near the top-right corner of Word. If you don’t see this option, click Arrange to make it visible. A brief menu will expand.
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6
Click Group again to group the selected objects. The objects are now grouped together, which allows you to rotate,
- To ungroup objects, click your group to select it, click the Layout tab, then select Ungroup.
- Once you’ve grouped, then separated a group, you can regroup it. Go to Layout > Regroup.
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1
You can’t include SVG icons in your groups. If there are SVG icons in your selection, you’ll first have to convert the SVG icons to shapes, which is a feature that only Windows 365 subscribers have access to. There will be a «Convert to Shape» button under Graphics Tools > Format.
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2
You only have one shape, picture, or object selected. Since you can’t create a group with only 1 item, you’ll need to add more items. Press and hold Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) as you click to add other objects.
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3
Your selection includes a table or worksheet. Unfortunately, you cannot add these things to your group.
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Add New Question
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Question
How can I group text boxes in Word?
Click one after the other while holding Ctrl. Then do a right-click and press ‘Group’.
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Question
Microsoft Word wouldn’t allow me to group for some reason. Do you have any idea what I’m doing wrong?
Objects with «In Line» text wrapping and GIFs cannot be grouped. Since wrapping is difficult in a text box, it is best to move any items out of a text box, change the word wrap setting, and then group. You can then copy the group and paste it back into a text box and finish by deleting the group outside the box.
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How to Group Objects in Word
It is often easier to work with a single object than it is to work with several smaller objects that belong together. A group is a collection of objects that Word treats as a single object.
Group
By grouping several objects together, you can format multiple objects at once rather than formatting each object individually.
- Select all the objects you want to group together.
- Click the Layout tab on the ribbon.
- Click the Group button.
- Select Group.
Press and hold down Shift as you select multiple objects.
You can also click the Format tab on the ribbon — the Arrange group on either tab includes the Group button.
The selected objects are grouped together.
Now that the objects are grouped, you can apply effects to all three objects at once and move the grouped objects around the document together.
You can also right-click selected items and select Group from the contextual menu to group objects.
If you need to apply some formatting to just a single object in the group, or move something around within the group, first select the group, then click the object you want to format within the group. Just that object is selected, but it remains part of the group.
Ungroup
If you no longer need to keep a group of objects together, you can ungroup them so they’re all independent objects again.
- Select the object group.
- Click the Layout tab.
- Click the Group button.
- Select Ungroup.
When a group is selected, the Group command is no longer available, but the Ungroup command is.
The objects can now be manipulated individually.
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When you work with shapes and objects in Microsoft Word, one of the most convenient features is Grouping. By grouping these types of elements together, they become one. This makes moving, resizing, and formatting them easier.
Maybe you’re making a flowchart or creating instructions using arrows in Word. You can group them to control them at the same time.
Select all of the shapes or objects that you want to group. You can do this by holding Ctrl (Windows) or Command (Mac) and clicking each one. If you want to group all elements in your document, you can use Ctrl+A (Windows) or Command+A (Mac) to speed things up.
When you have the shapes or objects selected, you’ll see a border indicator for each. This is a good way to make sure that you have them all selected.
Go to the Layout tab and the Arrange section of the ribbon. Click “Group” and select “Group.” Alternatively, you can right-click, move your cursor to Grouping, and pick “Group.”
You’ll then see all of those shapes or objects within one border area. It’s now a single element.
Then, you can drag to move the group, resize it using one of the corners, add color to the elements, or perform whatever action you need.
In the screenshot below, we’re moving the group upward. You can see the outline of each element in the group, but they stay together.
How to Ungroup Objects in Word
Once you group your shapes or objects together, they don’t have to stay that way forever. You might only group them to execute a few actions and then want to work with them individually again.
Select the group and go back to the Layout tab. Click “Group” and select “Ungroup.”
Alternatively, you can right-click, move your cursor to Grouping, and pick “Ungroup.”
You’ll then see all elements in the group within their own borders like before you grouped them initially.
How to Regroup Objects
A super handy trick after you’ve grouped and then ungrouped your objects is that you can easily regroup them. The best part is that you don’t have to click each one.
Simply select one of the objects that was in the group and go to the Layout tab once more. Click “Group” and select “Regroup.”
Or, you can right-click, move to Grouping, and pick “Regroup.”
Like magic, Word remembers the shapes and objects that were in the group and regroups them for you!
For additional tips, check out our tutorial on working with shapes, pictures, and other graphics in Microsoft Word.
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