Shape in Word 365 2013 2010 2007 2003

How to change format of diagram shapes in Word

The Format tab of the Drawing Tools toolbar provides plenty of options for customization of the shape outline, background and text settings. Also, here you can change spacing, and size for multiple shapes at once.

Cropping a picture to a shape

It is worth to know that, instead of cropping a picture to a conventional rectangle, you can crop it to a circle, a triangle, an arrow, or even a thought bubble:

Group and ungroup objects

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.

Snap an object to the Grid or to a Shape

By default, Word makes objects snap (jump) to an underlying grid laid across the document. If you drag an object, such as a shape, you'll notice that it moves in little jerks rather than smoothly. This is because of the grid - but because the grid is usually invisible, it's not obvious.

Adding callouts to objects

A callout is a type of text box that also includes a line for pointing to any location on the document. A callout is helpful when you need to identify and to explain parts of a picture.

How to replace text with a graphic or an object

Although the Find and Replace dialog box does not directly support replacing text with pictures or objects, you can efficiently perform this action using the Clipboard and the ^c wildcard.