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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.
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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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If you work with several objects and have to move them or apply shared formatting to them, you must select
these objects every time. Apply formal grouping and you will be able to operate those objects quickly as a
unit.
To group several objects, select all objects you want to group by pressing Ctrl or
Shift and clicking every of these objects:
Then do one of the following:
- On the Format tab, in the Arrange group, click the Group command:
- Right-click one of the objects and choose Grouping -> Group from the popup menu:
Word puts a single box around the objects instead of a separate box around each object:
To ungroup grouped objects, do one of the following:
- On the Format tab, in the Arrange group, click Ungroup:
- Right-click a grouped object, and then choose Grouping -> Ungroup from the popup menu:
To regroup objects, do one of the following:
- On the Format tab, in the Arrange group, click Regroup.
- Right-click a grouped objects, and then choose Grouping -> Regroup from the popup menu.
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Have some text or pictures in your Word document, and you do not want anyone to make changes to it easily? There is a feature in Word called Group or Ungroup text range; the purpose of this feature is to Group or Ungroup a selected range of text. Once the text is Grouped, the text range cannot be edited, except in areas containing editable content controls.
To Group a selected range of text in Word, follow these steps:
- Launch Word
- Enter text or use an existing document.
- Highlight the text
- Click on the Developer tab
- Click the Group or Ungroup text range button
- The selected range of text in the document is Grouped.
Launch Microsoft Word.
Enter text or use an existing document.
Now highlight the text in the document.
Then click the Developer tab on the menu bar.
If you do not see the Developer tab on the menu bar, you need to select it from Customize the Ribbon.
On the Developer tab in the Controls group, select the Group or Ungroup text range button.
Select the Group option from the drop-down menu.
The selected range of text in the document is Grouped.
Notice when you try to type between the text or create space between the words; notice that nothing is not changing; this is because the highlighted text cannot be edited.
Try typing below the text once highlighted; you will notice that you can enter text in the area outside the range of the text; this is because it is in an area on the document containing editable content controls.
We hope this tutorial helps you understand how to group a selected range of text in Microsoft Word.
Related: How to Insert an Online Video into a Word Document.
Shantel has studied Data Operations, Records Management, and Computer Information Systems. She is quite proficient in using Office software. Her goal is to become a Database Administrator or a System Administrator.