Adding Shapes

Word contains many built‐in shapes that you can add to your document, from lines to callouts like the speech balloons you find in graphic novels and comic strips. When you add a shape, you place the item on the page and then size the shape to your needs.

Add a shape by following these steps:

1. Click the Insert menu option.
2. In the Insert ribbon, click Shapes in the Illustrations section.
3. Click a shape icon in the drop‐down list (see Figure 5.1). The mouse pointer changes from an arrow to a cross.

   

4. Move the pointer to the location in your document where you want to add the shape.
5. Hold down the mouse button, and then drag the shape to the size you want.
6. When you're done, release the mouse button. The shape appears in front of the text in the document.

You'll learn how to wrap text around your image later in this chapter.

Including Pictures

You can add pictures stored on your computer, stock images that were installed with Word, or pictures available on the Office.com website. Here's how to do this:

1. Place your cursor where you want to insert the image.
2. Click the Insert menu option.
3. In the Insert ribbon, click Pictures in the Illustrations section.
4. In the drop‐down menu, shown in Figure 5.2, click one of the following options:
   • This Device: Click this to browse for and select a photo from your computer.
   • Stock Images: Click this to view and open a stock image on your computer.
   • Online Pictures: Click this to view and open an image from Office.com. For this example, I'll open a stock image. By default, the Stock Images tab is open in the photos dialog box.

   

5. Click one of the other tabs to open icons, cut out photos of people, or choose from stickers. I'll keep the default Stock Images.
6. Under the Search box, click one of the category tiles, shown in Figure 5.3, to view photos within that category. You can view more categories by clicking the right arrow at the right side of the category tiles row.

   

7. Scroll up and down in the list of thumbnail images until you find the one that you want, and then click the image.
8. Click Insert.

The image appears in the document, and text moves underneath the image. You'll learn how to move the image and change the text wrapping style later in this chapter.

Inserting 3D Models

You can insert 3D models into a document and then change the orientation. Follow these steps:

1. Place your cursor where you want to insert the 3D model.
2. Click the Insert menu option.
3. In the Insert ribbon, click 3D Models in the Illustrations section.
4. You can search for 3D models on your computer or stock 3D models that were installed with Word. For this example, I'll click Stock 3D Models.
5. In the Online 3D Models dialog box (see Figure 5.4), scroll up and down the list of categories and then click the category tile you want.

   

6. Click the 3D model you want and then click Insert.

The model appears in the document in front of the rest of the text. You'll learn how to modify the location and position of the 3D model, as well as change the text wrapping style, later in this chapter.

Adding SmartArt Graphics

SmartArt graphics are built‐in art types for conveying specific kinds of information, such as a flow chart to show a process or a decision tree to show a hierarchy. Follow these steps to add a SmartArt graphic:

1. Place your cursor where you want to insert your SmartArt graphic.
2. Click the Insert menu option.
3. In the Insert ribbon, click SmartArt in the Illustrations section.
4. In the Choose A SmartArt Graphic dialog box, shown in Figure 5.5, select a category from the list on the left side of the dialog box.

   

   The default is All, which shows all the SmartArt graphics from which you can choose. The list of SmartArt graphic type icons in the center of the dialog box depends on the category you chose. For this example, I chose Hierarchy.

5. Click the graphic type that you want to insert. A description of the graphic type appears at the right side of the dialog box.
6. Click OK.

The graphic appears in the document, and text moves underneath the image.

You'll learn how to set up a graphic to look the way you want, as well as change the text wrapping style, later in this chapter.

Placing Screenshots and Screen Clippings

You can take a photo of another window and add it directly into your document from within Word. You can also clip a portion of your screen within Word and add it to your document automatically.

Screenshot

Add a screenshot to your document by following these steps:

1. Place your cursor where you want to insert the screenshot.
2. Click the Insert menu option.
3. In the Insert ribbon, click Screenshot in the Illustrations section. If there are any windows open, Word scans your computer and places thumbnail images of the windows within the drop‐down list, as shown in Figure 5.6.

The currently open Word window is one of the windows that Word finds. When you click the window in the list, Word places the screenshot at the insertion point in your document.

Screen Clipping

Here's how to add a screen clipping, where you can clip the entire screen or a portion of it:

1. Click Screen Clipping in the drop‐down list. Word automatically opens the last window that you had open prior to using Word. If you didn't have a window open, you see the desktop. The screen has a transparent white overlay, and the mouse pointer changes to a cross, which means that Word is ready for you to capture the screen.
2. Move the cursor to the location where you want to start capturing the screen.
3. Hold down the mouse button and drag until you've captured your selection (see Figure 5.7).
4. Release the mouse button.

The clipped image appears under the insertion point in your document and shows Alt text—alternative descriptive text that Word thinks is close to what's in the image, intended for people who can't see the image. You'll learn how to change the Alt text and modify the image later in this chapter.

Inserting Text Boxes

If you want to have an area outside of the text of your document with its own formatting, such as a sidebar, Word allows you to create a separate area of text outside the main area in your document. Then you can place text boxes to the side of the text or even over the text. Here's how to add a text box:

1. Place your cursor where you want to insert the text box.
2. Click the Insert menu option.
3. In the Insert ribbon, click Text Box in the Text section. (If the Word window isn't very wide, you may need to click the Text icon in the ribbon to view the Text Box icon in the drop‐down ribbon.)
4. In the drop‐down list, scroll up and down to view the different text box styles in each thumbnail‐sized icon (see Figure 5.8).

The text box appears at a location near the insertion point, depending on the box you selected, and the style name appears underneath the icon.

You can also view more text boxes, if any, on Office.com by moving the mouse pointer over More Text Boxes From Office.com and then clicking a text box style on the side menu.

You'll learn how to format a text box in the next section.

Applying Artistic Effects

Word contains 22 artistic effects that you can apply to a photo in your document, from making the photo look as if it was drawn with a marker to applying a glow effect. Apply an artistic effect as follows:

1. Click the image.
2. Click the Picture Format menu option.
3. Click Artistic Effects in the Adjust area.
4. Select from the effects by clicking on the effect tile in the drop‐down menu (see Figure 5.9). When you place the mouse pointer over the tile for a couple of seconds, the description of the effect appears in a pop‐up box.

   

5. Click the tile you want, and Word will apply the effect to your photo.

Since the effects tiles in the drop‐down menu can be small, applying an effect can show you what it looks like. You can always remove the effect once you've seen it by pressing Ctrl+Z.

Adding Picture Effects and Picture Styles

Word also allows you to set effects from within the Picture Format ribbon. However, if you don't need to have fine‐tuned effects on your picture, Word has prebuilt styles for you that you can apply to the selected picture by clicking the appropriate tile in the ribbon.

Removing Picture Backgrounds

If you want the background of an image to have the background color of the page, here's what to do:

1. Click the image.
2. Click the Picture Format menu option.
3. Click Remove Background at the left side of the ribbon.

   The default background area has the color that Word uses to mark it for removal, whereas the foreground retains its natural coloring (see Figure 5.12).

If parts of the picture that you want to keep are magenta (marked for removal), select Mark Areas To Keep and use the free‐form drawing pencil to mark the areas on the picture that you want to keep.

To remove more parts of the picture, select Mark Areas To Remove and use the drawing pencil to draw the boundaries of photo areas that you want to remove.

When you're done, select Keep Changes or Discard All Changes.

Formatting Graphic Elements

How you format graphic elements is different depending on the type of graphic you're editing. This section looks at formatting options that you can use aside from the ones detailed previously. In the case of SmartArt, you'll learn more about that in the next section.

Shapes

After you create a shape, the Shape Format menu ribbon appears (see Figure 5.13) so that you can make a variety of changes to the shape, including the following:

• Editing points in the shape by clicking Edit Shape in the Insert Shapes section
• Changing shape styles, including the shape fill, outline, and effects, in the Shape Style section
• Changing the size of the shape by typing the height and/or width in the Size section

Pictures

In addition to removing picture backgrounds, applying styles, and applying effects, you can format the picture by clicking the Picture Format menu option. In the Picture Format ribbon, shown in Figure 5.14, you can format the picture in various ways:

• Setting corrections (such as brightness and contrast), color, and transparency, setting picture file compression to save disk space, and resetting the picture to its original state in the Adjust section
• Changing the picture border, as well as applying a picture layout style, such as formatting the picture with rounded corners and text underneath, in the Picture Styles section
• Changing the size of the picture by typing the height and/or width in the Size section

Screenshots and Screen Clippings

When you add a screenshot or a screen clipping, the Picture Format menu ribbon appears (see Figure 5.15) so that you can make a variety of changes to the shape, including the following:

• Editing points in the shape by clicking Edit Shape in the Insert Shapes section
• Setting shape styles, including the shape fill, outline, and effects, in the Shape Style section
• Changing the size of the shape by typing the height and/or width in the Size section

Setting Up SmartArt Graphics

After you add SmartArt, the Type Your Text Here box appears to the left of the image. You can type the text that will appear in the image by clicking [Text] in each bullet line and replacing that template text with your own.

Click the SmartArt Design menu option so that you can make any changes you want in the ribbon. The type of SmartArt you added determines the options that appear in the ribbon.

For example, I created an organizational chart, shown in Figure 5.16, and in the ribbon I can change the following:

• The layout of the chart in the Create Graphic section
• The layout type in the Layouts section
• The chart box colors and styles in the SmartArt Styles section

Remove all graphic style changes you made and return the graphic to its original style by clicking the Reset Graphic icon.

When you finish making any changes to your SmartArt graphic, click on the page outside the graphic to deselect it.

Working with 3D Models

You can change the size of a 3D model by clicking the model, clicking one of the circular handles on the perimeter of the selection box, holding down the mouse button, and then dragging. When the model is the size you want, release the mouse button.

Rotate the 3D model 360 degrees in any direction by clicking and holding down the Rotate icon in the middle of the model graphic (see Figure 5.17), and then dragging the mouse pointer to see how the model moves. When the model looks the way you want on the page, release the mouse button.

Formatting Text in Text Boxes

You can format text in a text box just as you would in the rest of your document. Just click the Home menu option and change the font, paragraph, and styles as you see fit.

You can also format the text in other ways. Select the text that you want to format. Now you can change the text as follows in the Shape Format ribbon.

Apply WordArt Styles

In the WordArt Styles section, you can click one of the three built‐in text effect icons (see Figure 5.18):

• Click Text Fill (the letter A on top of a black line) to change the text color in the drop‐down menu.
• Click Text Outline (an outlined letter A on top of a black line) to add an outline, including color and outline line width, in the drop‐down menu.
• Click Text Effects (a blue outlined letter A) to view and add other effects to the text. In the drop‐down menu, move the mouse pointer over one of the effects to see how each effect appears in your photo. You can choose from Shadow, Reflection, Glow, Bevel, 3‐D Rotation, or Transform.

Change Text Appearance

In the Text section, shown in Figure 5.19, you can do three things:

• Click Text Direction to rotate the text 90 degrees or 270 degrees.
• Click Text Alignment to align the text vertically with the top, middle, or bottom of the shape. The default is Middle.
• Click Create Link to link the text to a second text box. When you type so much text in the shape that the shape can't hold any more, the overflow text appears in the second text box.

Adding Text in Shapes

When you need to add text in a shape, Word has you covered. Start by right‐clicking anywhere in your shape and then clicking Add Text in the context menu.

The cursor appears in the center of the shape so that you can type your text. If you want to format it, select the text that you want to format. Now you can change the style of the text in two sections in the Shape Format ribbon: the WordArt Styles section and the Text section (see Figure 5.20).

Changing SmartArt Graphic Content

SmartArt graphics include text placeholders automatically. For example, when you create an organizational chart, Word puts text placeholders in each box so that you can fill in those boxes with the appropriate person.

All you have to do is click [Text] in one of the boxes (see Figure 5.21) and then enter your text.

The Type Your Text Here box appears to the left of the graphic. As you enter text in the box, the text appears in the outline in the box. You can add more text by clicking [Text] in each box or by clicking [Text] in each bullet in the outline and typing the text to replace the [Text] placeholder.

Positioning Objects

When you add a new shape or image, the image appears in front of the rest of the text on the page, if any. Now you can move the shape or image in your document by moving the mouse pointer over the image, holding down the mouse button, and then moving the image.

If you need to position your shape or image at just the right location, Word gives you three options for moving a shape or image, depending on what you need.

• Small Increments   If you only need to move your shape or image in small increments to get the position just right, click the picture. Next, hold down the Ctrl key and then click one of the arrow keys to move the image.
• Move Several Objects   You can move several images or shapes by grouping them together. Start by selecting the first object, and then hold down the Ctrl key. Next, select the other images and/or shapes you want to group.

  Now right‐click on one of the selected shapes and/or images, move the mouse pointer over Group in the context menu, and then click Group in the side menu. Now you can move all the images and/or shapes around at once.

  You can ungroup them by right‐clicking one of the images and/or shapes, moving the mouse pointer over Group in the context menu, and then clicking Ungroup in the side menu.

• Size and Position   You can specify exact measurements for the size and position of an image, shape, or group by right‐clicking the object and then clicking Size and Position in the menu. In the Layout dialog box, you can change size, position, and text wrapping options, which you will learn about in the next section.

Wrapping Text Around Objects

If you want to push text around an image or shape, select the object and then click the Layout Options button to the upper right of the shape. (It looks like an upside‐down U.) The Layout Options menu appears and displays icons with the various text wrap options, as shown in Figure 5.22.

However, this menu doesn't give you as much control as you may need. You can view and change more options by clicking the See More link at the bottom of the menu.

The Layout dialog box appears. If the Text Wrapping tab isn't selected, click it to display the text wrapping options, as shown in Figure 5.23.

Adding Alt Text to Objects

Alt text, or alternative text, tells anyone who views your document in Word what the image, shape, or SmartArt graphic is when the reader moves their mouse pointer over it. If the reader can't see your document, then Word will use text‐to‐speech in Windows to read your Alt text to the reader audibly.

Here's how to add Alt text:

1. Click the shape, picture, or SmartArt graphic. If you clicked a SmartArt graphic, skip to step 3.
2. In the Shape Format or Picture Format ribbon, click the Alt Text icon. (If your Word window isn't very wide, you may need to click the Accessibility icon and then click Alt Text.)
3. In the Alt Text pane on the right side of the Word window (see Figure 5.24), type one or two sentences in the text box to describe the object and its context.

   Some images, especially stock images, already have this information in the text box, but you can change it.

4. Click the Mark As Decorative check box if your image, shape, or SmartArt graphic adds visual interest but isn't informative, such as a line.
5. When you're done, close the pane.

1. How do you add a rectangle?
   1. Click the Design menu option, and then select a new theme in the Design ribbon.
   2. Click the Insert menu, and then click SmartArt in the Insert ribbon.
   3. Click the Insert menu option, and then click Shapes in the Insert ribbon.
   4. Select the rectangle style from the Home ribbon.
2. How do you add an organizational chart to your document using the Insert menu ribbon?
   1. Click Shapes.
   2. Click SmartArt.
   3. Click Chart.
   4. Click Pictures.
3. Why should you add a text box?
   1. Because it's easier to read
   2. Because you need to add one before you can start typing text in your document
   3. You don't need to add one because you can add text directly on a page.
   4. To have text separate from the rest of the text in your document
4. How do you apply a specific picture style in the Picture Format ribbon?
   1. Click the Corrections icon.
   2. Click one of the picture styles tiles in the Picture Styles area.
   3. Click Picture Effects.
   4. Click Change Picture.
5. How do you clear style changes that you made to a SmartArt graphic?
   1. Use the SmartArt Design menu ribbon.
   2. Delete the SmartArt graphic.
   3. Click the Undo icon in the title bar.
   4. Use the Format menu ribbon.
6. How do you rotate a selected 3D model?
   1. Click one of the icons in the 3D Model Views section in the 3D Model menu ribbon.
   2. Click and drag the handles on the selection box around the model.
   3. Click and drag the icon in the middle of the model.
   4. Click the Position icon in the 3D Model menu ribbon.
7. If you have two text boxes in your document, how can you link them together?
   1. Click the Insert menu option, and then click Link in the ribbon.
   2. Use the Shape Format menu ribbon.
   3. Use the Layout ribbon.
   4. Click the Sort icon on the Home ribbon.
8. How do you add text to a shape?
   1. Use the Shape Format ribbon.
   2. Click the Layout Option icon next to the selected shape.
   3. Use the Insert ribbon.
   4. Right‐click the shape.
9. How do you place a graphic so that it remains with the text above and below it when you wrap the text?
   1. Top and bottom
   2. Both sides
   3. In line with text
   4. Square
10. Why should you add Alt text to graphics and pictures?
    1. Because it's required for all graphics in a Word document
    2. To help people who can't see the graphic know what the graphic is about
    3. Because Word won't save your document until you do
    4. Because you want to be as informative as possible