Group all shapes in word

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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

  1. 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.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Go to Picture Format or Picture Tools FormatThe Group icon. Group > Group.

    • Go to Shape Format or Drawing Tools Format > Group > Group.

    Group button under Picture Format

    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.

Group shapes, pictures, or objects

  1. 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.

  2. Go to Drawing Tools or Picture Tools, on the Format tab, in the Arrange group, select Group  Button image, and then select Group.

    Drawing tools Group Group buttons

    To work with an individual item in the group, select the group, and then select the item.

Group shapes, pictures, or other objects

  1. 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.

  2. Go to Shape Format or Picture Format, and then select Group  You might need to click Arrange to see Group on the Shape Format tab and on the Picture Format tab. > Group.

    If Group  You might need to click Arrange to see Group on the Shape Format tab and on the Picture Format tab. isn’t visible on the ribbon, select Arrange to display it.

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
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  • Why is the Group button grayed out?
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  • Q&A

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.
  1. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 1

    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.

  2. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 2

    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. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 3

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    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.

  4. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 4

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    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]
  5. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 5

    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.

  6. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 6

    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. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 7

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    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.

  2. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 8

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    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.

  3. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 9

    3

    Your selection includes a table or worksheet. Unfortunately, you cannot add these things to your group.

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Add New Question

  • Question

    How can I group text boxes in Word?

    Community Answer

    Click one after the other while holding Ctrl. Then do a right-click and press ‘Group’.

  • Question

    Microsoft Word wouldn’t allow me to group for some reason. Do you have any idea what I’m doing wrong?

    Community Answer

    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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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.

Select the shapes or objects you want to group

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.

Shapes and objects grouped in Word

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.

Move a group

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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To group objects:

Hold the Shift (or Ctrl) key and click the objects you want to group. Click the Group command on the Format tab, then select Group. The selected objects will now be grouped.

In respect to this, How do I select a group of shapes in Word?


Tips for selecting shapes and objects

  1. To select one object, click or tap the object.
  2. To select multiple shapes in a group, press and hold Shift or Ctrl while you click or tap the shapes.

Considering this, Why can’t I group things in Word? The Group button is unavailable

Make sure you have multiple shapes or pictures selected. If your selection includes a table, worksheet, or GIF image, the Group button will not be available.

Accordingly How do you add shapes to groups? Simply click on the group first, then select the object you’d like to duplicate. Hold down the control key, then click and drag the object to the desired position. You have now created an additional shape within the group.

How do you overlap shapes in Word? Select the shapes you want to merge: press and hold the Shift key while you select each shape in turn. (If you don’t select any shapes, then the Merge Shapes button in step 2 will be grayed out.) On the Drawing Tools Format tab, in the Insert Shapes group, select Merge Shapes, and then pick the option you want.

Why can’t I Group A picture and a shape in Word?

If your . docx Word file is in compatibility mode you can’t group pictures with shapes. Turn off compatibility mode and then grouping pictures with shapes will work so long as one changes the word wrapping to something other then in line with text.

How do you make an intersecting circle in Word?

On the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click SmartArt. In the Choose a SmartArt Graphic gallery, click Relationship, click a Venn diagram layout (such as Basic Venn), and then click OK.

How do you apply the subtle effect shape style in Word?

On the Format tab, in the Shape Styles group, click Shape Effects, and select an option from the list. To add or change a built-in combination of effects, point to Preset, and then click the effect that you want. To customize the built-in effect, click 3-D Options, and then choose the options that you want.

How do I group all shapes in Powerpoint?

Press and hold CTRL while you click the shapes, pictures, or other objects to group. You will need to select more than one shape, picture or object in order to enable the Group button. You can select all the objects on a slide by pressing CTRL+A. Select the Arrange button and choose Group.

How do you group objects in Word on a Mac?


Group shapes, pictures, or other objects

  1. Press and hold command while you use the mouse or touchpad to select the shapes, pictures, or other objects that you want to group.
  2. Click the Shape Format tab or the Picture Format tab, and then click Group > Group.

How do I anchor an image into a shape in Word?

From the start screen, click the Options command. This will display the Word Options dialog box. From the dialog box, navigate to the Display section and make sure to tick the Object Anchors checkbox. Apply your setting by clicking the OK button.

Why is the group option greyed out in Word?

Here are some reasons why the Group button is grayed out and the things you can do to get it back. Only one shape or picture is selected. Make sure you have multiple shapes or pictures selected. You can’t use the Group tool with SVG icons, so those don’t count.

How do you make a Venn diagram on Lucidchart?

Create a Venn diagram in Lucidchart

Start with a template to customize or begin by selecting the Venn diagram shape library and then drag circle shapes—or sets—to the canvas. You can duplicate or resize these shapes to be bigger, smaller, or even ovals.

How do I create a WPS Venn diagram in Word?


Insert Venn diagram in WPS Writer

  1. Open your word document and click the position where you want to insert a venn diagram.
  2. Click the Insert tab and click WPSArt to get a pop-up dialog.
  3. Select Radial Venn and click OK.
  4. After inserting the venn diagram, we can edit it as need.

How do you make a diagram on Microsoft Word?


To create a diagram in a document

  1. Position the cursor in the document where you want to insert the diagram.
  2. Do either of the following to open the Choose a SmartArt Graphic dialog box: …
  3. In the left pane, select a type of diagram. …
  4. Click OK to insert the selected diagram at the cursor.

How do you use shapes in Word?

To add a shape, click Insert, click Shapes, select a shape, and then click and drag to draw the shape. After you add one or more shapes, you can add text, bullets, and numbering to them, and you can change their fill, outline, and other effects on the Format tab.

How do I fill a shape with text in Word?


How to Format Text to Fit a Shape in Microsoft Word

  1. Click on the “Insert” tab at the top of Word and then click on “Shapes” under the Illustrations group. …
  2. Click on the shape you want, such as a square, circle or star.
  3. Click anywhere on the document to place the shape. …
  4. Right-click on the shape and select “Add Text.”

What is subtle effect?

What does subtle effect mean? adj. 1 not immediately obvious or comprehensible. 2 difficult to detect or analyse, often through being delicate or highly refined.

What is the shortcut for grouping in Word?

Hold the Shift (or Ctrl) key and click the objects you want to group. Click the Group command on the Format tab, then select Group. The selected objects will now be grouped.

How do I group together in PowerPoint?


To group objects in PowerPoint using a keyboard shortcut:

  1. In Normal View or Slide Master View, Shift-click or Ctrl-click the pictures, shapes or other objects you want to group.
  2. Press Ctrl + G. The selected objects will be grouped together and have a single set of selection and rotation handles.

How do you group and ungroup objects?

To group objects together, select them by clicking on them while holding down Shift, and choose Arrange > Group (Cmd-G) in the menu. To ungroup the the objects, select the group and choose Arrange > Ungroup (Cmd-Shift-G) in the menu.

How do you group objects on a Mac?

Group objects: Select multiple objects, then Control-click one of the objects and choose Group from the shortcut menu. Ungroup objects: Control-click the group, then choose Ungroup from the shortcut menu.

How do I create a group in Word 2013?


To group objects:

  1. Hold the Shift (or Ctrl) key and click the objects you want to group. Selecting multiple objects.
  2. From the Format tab, click the Group command and select Group. Grouping objects.
  3. The selected objects will now be grouped.

Why can’t I select multiple objects in Word?

By default, Word does not show Select Multiple Objects icon in the toolbar. We must include it in the Quick Access Toolbar. Click on the Customize Quick Access Toolbar icon.

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