Moving picture box in word

Move a picture, shape, text box, or WordArt

1. Click the border of the WordArt, text box, or shape that you want to move. To move multiple text boxes or shapes, press and hold Ctrl while you click the borders.
2. When the cursor changes to the four headed arrow, drag it to the new location.

How do I move a text box in Word using the keyboard?

To move in small increments, press and hold Ctrl while pressing an arrow key. And to move the object horizontally or vertically only, press and hold Shift while you drag it. Depending on how far you’re moving the WordArt, shape, or text box, it might be easier to cut and paste it.

How do you adjust text boxes in Word?

Adjust the text box margins

1. Click the outer edge of the text box to select it.
2. On the Shape Format tab, click Format Pane.
3. Click the Shape Options tab if it isn’t already selected.
4. Click the text box icon. , and then click Text Box.
5. You can adjust the left, right, top, and bottom margins.

Why can’t I move textbox in Word?

If the text box is In Line With Text, it’s constrained by the margins. With any other text wrapping, you should be able to drag it anywhere. But it may be that all you need to do is change the internal margin of the text box: Right-click on the edge of the text box and choose Format Shape…

How do you move objects freely in Word?

First, confirm that the object is not set to In Line with Text: With the object selected click the Arrange button on the Shape Format contextual tab. From the Wrap Text choices select the method you prefer. You then should be able to freely drag the object to any location.

How do I resize a text box?

To change the size of an existing text box, follow these steps:

1. Click once on the information within the text box.
2. Use the mouse to point to one of the handles.
3. Drag the handle to resize the text box.
4. Release the mouse button when the text box is the size you want.

How do I stretch a text box in Word?

Stretch Text Horizontally

1. Highlight the text you want to stretch.
2. Select the “Home” tab, then click the small arrow in the Font section to open the Font dialog box.
3. Select the “Advanced” tab.
4. Increase the percentage value in the “Scale” field.
5. Highlight the text you want to stretch.

How do I fix the size of a text box in Word?

Follow these general steps.

1. Place the text box in your document.
2. Adjust the width of your text box to reflect what you need.
3. Right-click the text box and choose Format Text Box from the resulting Context menu.
4. Make sure the Text Box tab is displayed.
5. Make sure the Resize AutoShape to Fit Text check box is selected.

How do I move a text box anywhere in Word?

To move a text box:

1. Click the text box you want to move.
2. Hover the mouse over one of the edges of the text box. The mouse will change into a cross with arrows.
3. Click and drag the text box to the desired location.

How do I move a text box outside the margin?

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

1. Click the Insert menu and Click Text Box in the Text group.
2. Use the mouse to drag and drop a text box of the approximate size in the margin.
3. Enter the text “Use Quick Styles.”
4. On the Contextual Format ribbon, choose Middle from the Align Text dropdown in the Text group.

How do I move a text box horizontally in Word?

Enter the text in the shape or text box or table cell, and then select the text. Ctrl+Click the selected text, and then select Format Shape. On the Text Box tab in the dialog box, choose a direction from the Text Direction box.

Why can’t I move images in Word?

You must set the layout to something other than ‘in-line‘ before you can drag it around. You can only move them around if their layout property is set to something other than in-line, otherwise you can cut and paste to a new position, just like a font character.

How do I move objects in small increments in Word for Mac?

To move an object up, down, or sideways in small increments, click the object, hold down OPTION, and then press an arrow key.

How do I remove a text box but keep the text in Word?

Follow these steps:

1. In your document, press Ctrl+A.
2. Press Ctrl+C.
3. Open a new, blank document.
4. Make sure the Home tab of the ribbon is displayed.
5. Click the down-arrow under the Paste tool (at the left side of the ribbon) and choose Paste Special.
6. In the list of formats, choose Unformatted Text.
7. Click on OK.

Can I stretch text in Word?

Stretch or scale the text horizontally
On the Home tab, click the Font Dialog Box Launcher, and then click the Advanced tab. Note: If you’re using Word 2007 the tab is called Character Spacing. In the Scale box, enter the percentage that you want. Percentages above 100 percent stretch the text.

How do I fit text to page width in Word?

To fit the columns to the text (or page margins if cells are empty), click [AutoFit] > select “AutoFit Contents.” To fit the table to the text, click [AutoFit] > select “AutoFit Window.” To keep Word from automatically adjusting your column size, click [AutoFit] > select “Fixed Column Width.”

How do I make my font taller?

Changing the Height of a Font

1. Select the text you want to affect.
2. Enlarge the font size to 15 points. (12 times 1.25 is 15.)
3. Display the Advanced tab of the Font dialog box.
4. Using the Scale control, specify a scaling of 80%.

Position images, text boxes, shapes on the page

Word attaches the figure to the paragraph at the current cursor position when you insert a figure. However, you can move the visual object independently of the text and place it anywhere on the page.

To change the position, on the Picture Format (Graphics Format, Shape Format) tab, in the Arrange group, click the Position button:

• In Line with Text places an object in the paragraph on the same line as the surrounding text
• Position in Top Left with Square Text Wrapping places a figure in the upper left corner of the document page
• Position in Top Center with Square Text Wrapping
• Position in Top Right with Square Text Wrapping
• Position in Middle Left with Square Text Wrapping
• Position in Middle Center with Square Text Wrapping places a picture in the center of the document page
• Position in Middle Right with Square Text Wrapping
• Position in Bottom Left with Square Text Wrapping
• Position in Bottom Center with Square Text Wrapping
• Position in Bottom Right with Square Text Wrapping places a picture in the lower right corner of the document page

Using these options, position the object in a specific location relative to the page margins.

Use the anchor

When changing the text wrapping style from the In Line with Text to another one, Word adds an anchor to the object. In other words, all floating figures are anchored. Select the picture to see its anchor indicated by a small anchor icon (see how to display non-printing characters in a Word document).

Attention! The anchor and the figure are always on the same page but not in the same place on the page.

By default, the anchor is positioned at the beginning of the nearest paragraph above the upper-left corner of the figure. When you move the object across the page, the anchor moves, using the same logic to place the anchor.

Also, you can select the anchor and drag it to a new location on the page.

Change the layout

To choose additional options for positioning an object, choose More Layout Options… from the dropdown list:

In the Layout dialog box, on the Position tab:

Note: The available positions vary based on the selected text-wrapping option.

• In the Horizontal section, specify that a figure is positioned horizontally:
  • Alignment places the object to the Left, Center, or Right relative to:
    • Margin
    • Page
    • Column
    • Character
    • Left Margin
    • Right Margin
    • Inside Margin
    • Outside Margin

    For example:

    • Alignment to the Left relative to Margin:

      

    • Alignment to the Left relative to Page:

      

  • Book layout defines where the figure appears on odd (large left margin) or even (large right margin) pages. You can position figures relative to the Inside or Outside of the Margin or Page.

    This option is useful if you use the Mirrored margins.

    For example, Book layout Inside of Margin:

    The odd page	The even page

  • Absolute position specifies the exact distance to the right of:
    • Margin
    • Page
    • Column
    • Character
    • Left Margin
    • Right Margin
    • Inside Margin
    • Outside Margin

    Measurements can be positive or negative. The figure will remain in the same position regardless of formatting changes.

    For example:

    • The Absolute position of -5 inches to the right of Right Margin:

      

    • The Absolute position of 4 inches to the right of Page:

      

  • Relative position specifies a percentage of the distance relative to:
    • Margin
    • Page
    • Left Margin
    • Right Margin
    • Inside Margin
    • Outside Margin

    For example, Relative position of 20% relative to Margin:

    

    Note: 8.5 inches page with 1-inch margins in each side = 6.5 inches * 20% = 1.3 inch

• In the Vertical section, specify that an object is positioned vertically:
  • Alignment allows to set the object to the Top, Centered, Bottom, Inside, or Outside relative to:
    • Margin
    • Line
    • Top Margin
    • Bottom Margin
    • Inside Margin
    • Outside Margin

    For example, Alignment to the Top relative to Margin:

    

  • Absolute position specifies the exact distance to the right of:
    • Margin
    • Page
    • Paragraph
    • Line
    • Top Margin
    • Bottom Margin
    • Inside Margin
    • Outside Margin

    Measurements can be positive or negative. The figure will remain in the same position regardless of formatting changes.

    For example:

    • The Absolute position of 3 inches to the right of Line:

      
    • The Absolute position of -7 inches to the right of Bottom Margin:

      

  • Relative position specifies a percentage of the distance relative to:
    • Margin
    • Page
    • Top Margin
    • Bottom Margin
    • Inside Margin
    • Outside Margin

    For example, Relative position of 25% relative to Page:

    

    Note: 11 inches page * 25% = 2.75 inches

Note: It is impossible to fix a figure on the page.

• In the Options section:
  • Move object with text moves the figure along with the text in which it is located.

    If this option is selected, the picture moves with a paragraph (anchored to a paragraph). When you delete or add any context before that paragraph, the figure will move with it.

    If the Move object with text option is deselected, the picture is anchored to the page location. After deleting or adding context before the anchor, except when the paragraph moves to the next page — the figure moves and keeps its position relative to the page.

    Note: This option works only for floating figures (see Text Wrapping for more details).

    For example:

    • Before moving:

      
    • After moving with the selected Move object with text check box:

      

    • After moving with the deselected Move object with text check box:

      

    When you select this option, the horizontal and vertical alignment will change to Absolute positions relative to the margin (horizontal) and paragraph (vertical).

  • Lock anchor keeps the anchor at the same place (at the paragraph) when the figure is removed. Word changes the anchor symbol to the locked anchor .

    The anchor symbol will remain to the left of the start of the anchored paragraph, regardless of the picture position.

    For example:

    • Before moving:

      

    • After moving with the selected Lock anchor check box:

      

    Note: An example is shown with hidden Headers and Footers.

    However, if you select and drag a paragraph to another page, the picture shifts to another page.

  • Allow overlap allows to layer figures on top of each other.

    For example:

    

    To easily work with such figures, open the Selection pane. To change which figure in front or behind another one, use the Bring Forward or Send Backward buttons in the Arrange group on the Picture Format (Graphics Format, Shape Format) tab:

    

  • Layout in table cell is the option from the older versions of Word and older file formats.

    For example, in a *.doc file, you can’t put an image whose text wrapping style is set to Square inside a table cell unless the Layout in table cell option is selected:

    

To align a figure on the page simpler, see snap an object to the Grid or a Shape.

Main features of the anchor

• The anchor is related to the paragraph, not words, characters, or other objects.
• When you select the text where the figure is anchored, the figure also is highlighted.
• If you move or delete the text where the figure is anchored, the figure will also be moved or deleted.
• If the paragraph with the anchor is pushed to the next page, the anchored figure also jumps to the next page, even if the figure is located above the anchor.

Delete an anchor

The anchor cannot be deleted. An anchor is a feature of the floating figure.

If the anchor is visible, the figure is selected, and pressing the Delete key will delete the figure and anchor.

Select the figure and change the text wrapping style to the In Line with Text to remove the anchor. The figure will cease floating, and Word will stop showing its anchor when you select this figure.

Microsoft Word is the most popular word processor in the world, and it is heavily used by both home and office users.

Word has a wide array of features, and in today’s article, we’re going to show you how to move a picture in Word and how to wrap text around it.

How can I move pictures in Word?

1. Wrap text around it

1. Open Word, create a new document, and add a picture to it.
2. Now select the picture that you added.
3. Go to the Layout tab and choose Wrap Text.
   
4. Select any option from the menu except In Line with Text.
   
5. The text will now wrap around the image.
6. To move the image, simply click the image and drag it to the desired position.

You can also experiment with different layout options in order to find suitable text wrapping for your needs.

2. Move an image to an exact position

1. Go to Layout > Wrap Text > More Layout Options. Alternatively, you can select the image, and go to Layout Options > See more.
   
2. Now you’ll be able to set the exact position relative to column, page, characters, and other elements.
   

For more precision, you can also use the advanced layout options. To do that, follow the steps above.

This option is useful if you’re planning to print a document, and you need to ensure that your images are positioned perfectly for printing.

3. Freely move a picture using arrow keys

1. Open Microsoft Word.

2. Upload the image you want to add to it, then select it.

3. Go to Layout options.

4. Select any option from the With Text Wrapping section.

5. The text will now wrap around your image and you can move it freely.

An easy method to move a picture in Word is to change the Layout Option right from the image itself. You can also move your image pixel by pixel by using the arrow keys.

Wrapping text around an image in Word and moving the image is pretty simple, and you just need to use the Wrap Text feature in Word. Thus, you will be able to freely move a picture in Word.

After doing that, you should be able to move the image freely simply by dragging it to the desired position.

If you found this guide useful, let us know in the comments below.

Last Update: Jan 03, 2023

This is a question our experts keep getting from time to time. Now, we have got the complete detailed explanation and answer for everyone, who is interested!

Asked by: Chyna Smitham

Score: 4.8/5
(17 votes)

Double-click the picture to add it to your Word document. Back on Word’s editing screen, right-click the image that you just added and select Wrap Text > In Front of Text from the menu. Your picture is now freely movable. Drag and drop it anywhere you want in your document.

How do you move an object freely in Word?

First, confirm that the object is not set to In Line with Text: With the object selected click the Arrange button on the Shape Format contextual tab. From the Wrap Text choices select the method you prefer. You then should be able to freely drag the object to any location.

How do you move a picture in Word that is locked?

How Do I Lock a Photo in a Word Document So It Doesn’t Move?

How do I resize and move a picture in Word?

Click on the picture. Press and hold the Shift key, then click and drag one of the sizing handles either towards or away from the center. Holding the Shift key ensures that the proportion of the picture is retained.

Why can’t I move pictures in Word?

You must set the layout to something other than ‘in-line‘ before you can drag it around. You can only move them around if their layout property is set to something other than in-line, otherwise you can cut and paste to a new position, just like a font character.

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