How to insert and modify WordArt objects in Microsoft Word (312802)

SUMMARY

This step-by-step article describes how to insert and modify WordArt objects. You can use WordArt to produce special text effects in a Microsoft Word document. For example, you can create curved, slanted, or three-dimensional text by inserting a WordArt object.

NOTE: When you insert or select a WordArt object that is by default assigned the In Line With Text wrapping style, Word sometimes displays rectangular sizing handles only. In this case, you cannot modify the WordArt object by using some of the methods described in this article. To change the text-wrapping style for a WordArt object, select the WordArt object, click Text Wrapping on the WordArt toolbar, and then select the style of text wrapping that you want.

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Insert a WordArt Object

To insert a WordArt object, follow these steps:

1. On the Insert menu, point to Picture, and then Click WordArt.
   • Or click the WordArt button on the Drawing toolbar.
   • Or click Insert WordArt on the WordArt toolbar.
   
   Note If the WordArt toolbar or the Drawing toolbar are not displayed, point to Toolbars on theView menu, and then click Drawing or WordArt
2. In the WordArt Gallery dialog box, double-click the style that you want.
3. In the Edit WordArt Text dialog box, type your text and select the font and size that you want.
4. Click Bold or Italic to make all the text bold or italic.
   
   Note You cannot apply bold or italic to only a selected part of the text.
5. In the Edit WordArt Text dialog box, click OK.
   
   Your text is inserted into the document.

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Edit a WordArt Object

When you select the WordArt object, the WordArt toolbar is displayed. You can also point to Toolbars on the View menu, and then click WordArt to open the WordArt toolbar.

To edit a WordArt object, select the WordArt object, and then use any one of the following methods:

• Edit Text: To edit the text, change the text font or size, or apply bold or italic formatting, click Edit Text on the WordArt toolbar to open the Edit WordArt Text dialog box.
• WordArt Gallery: To select a different text style, click WordArt Gallery on the WordArt toolbar to open the WordArt Gallery dialog box.
• Format WordArt: To apply additional features to the WordArt object, click Format WordArt on the WordArt toolbar to open the Format WordArt dialog box.
• WordArt Shape: To select a different text pattern, click WordArt Shape on the WordArt toolbar, and then click the shape that you want to use.
• WordArt with Letters of the Same Height: To switch between text with the letters of the same height and text in which the first letter of each word is higher than the following letters, click WordArt Same Letter Heights on the WordArt toolbar.
• Text Wrapping: To change the text-wrapping style for a WordArt object, click Text Wrapping on the WordArt toolbar, and then select the style that you want. For more text-wrapping options, click WordArt on theFormat menu, click the Layout tab, and then click Advanced.
  
  Note This setting determines how text is wrapped around a WordArt object. You cannot modify the way that text is wrapped inside a WordArt object.
• WordArt Vertical Text: To switch between vertical text and horizontal text, click WordArt Vertical Text on the WordArt toolbar.
• WordArt Alignment: To select a text alignment style, click WordArt Alignment on the WordArt toolbar.
• WordArt Character Spacing: To select a character spacing style, click WordArt Character Spacing on the WordArt toolbar.

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Resize a WordArt Object

To resize a WordArt object, click to select the WordArt object, and then drag one of the uncolored, round sizing handles that appear around the WordArt object.

To maintain the original proportions of the WordArt object as you change its size, press and hold down SHIFT while you drag one of the corner sizing handles. To resize the object symmetrically about its center (that is, to change the size of the object without moving the position of its center), press and hold down CTRL while you drag a sizing handle.

If you change the size of a WordArt object by using the technique specified here, the WordArt object is scaled.

With WordArt objects, and some AutoShapes, Microsoft Office displays a yellow, diamond-shaped reshaping handle. If you drag this handle, you can change some aspect of the object's shape, such as the angle of the sides of a trapezoid, or the thickness of the shaft of an arrow.

Note The effect of dragging a reshaping handle varies widely among different types of AutoShape and WordArt objects.

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Rotate a WordArt Object

To rotate a WordArt object, follow these steps:

1. Select the WordArt object that you want to rotate.
2. Do one of the following:
   • To rotate to any angle:
     1. Drag the rotate handle on the object in the direction that you want to rotate it.
     2. Click outside the object to set the rotation.
        
        Note To constrain the rotation of the object to 15-degree angles, hold down SHIFT while you drag the rotate handle.
   • To rotate 90 degrees to the left or 90 degrees to the right:
     • On the Drawing toolbar, click Draw, point to Rotate or Flip, and then click Rotate Left or Rotate Right.

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Position a WordArt Object Within a Document

To change the position of a WordArt object within a document, do one of the following:

• Select the WordArt object, and then use a drag-and-drop operation to reposition the WordArt object.
• Place the mouse pointer over the object (but not over a handle if the object is selected). When the pointer displays cross-arrows, drag the object to the location that you want. (To copy the object rather than move the object, use the same procedure, but hold down the CTRL key while you drag the object.)
• To use the keyboard to move the WordArt object, click the WordArt object, and then press the appropriate arrow key: LEFT ARROW, RIGHT ARROW, UP ARROW, or DOWN ARROW. (You cannot copy the object by using the keyboard method.)

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Move a WordArt Object in Front of Text or Behind Text

To move a WordArt object in front of text or behind text, follow these steps:

• Select the WordArt object, and then click Draw on the Drawing toolbar. Point to Order, and then click Bring in Front of Text or Send Behind Text.

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Position a WordArt Object in Relation to Page, Text, or Other Anchor

To position a WordArt object in relation to a page, text, or other anchor, follow these steps:

• Select the WordArt object, and then on the Format menu, click WordArt.
• Click the Layout tab, and then click Advanced.
• In the Advanced Layout dialog box, click the Picture Position tab, and then select the options that you want for your horizontal and vertical anchors, for example, margin, page, or paragraph. You can align the object relative to the anchor, or you can type a precise numeric position for the object relative to the anchor.
• To attach an object to a paragraph so that they move together, do one of the following:
  • To ensure that the selected object moves up or down with the paragraph that it is anchored to, click to select the Move object with text check box.
  • To ensure that an object remains anchored to the same paragraph when you move the object, click to select the Lock anchor check box.
  • To enable objects with the same wrapping style to overlap, click to select the Allow overlap check box.

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TROUBLESHOOTING

• When you select a WordArt object, Word does not display the rotate handle, or the yellow, diamond-shaped reshaping handle, and so you cannot rotate or position the WordArt object.
  
  This behavior occurs when you insert or select a WordArt object that is assigned the In Line With Text wrapping style. Word sometimes displays only rectangular sizing handles, and you may not be able to position the WordArt object by using all the methods described here.
  
  To change the text-wrapping style for a WordArt object so that the rotate and reshaping handles appear, select the WordArt object, click Text Wrapping on the WordArt toolbar, and then select the style that you want.
• The WordArt object does not appear in your document. For additional information about what to do if the WordArt object does not appear, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  285957 Picture or object does not appear in Word document

• When you insert a WordArt object into a document and then save or view the document as a Web page, the WordArt object's position on the Web page may not be consistent with its position in the original document. For additional information about the WordArt object's position, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  220407 AutoShape position changes viewing or saving as Web page

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REFERENCES

For more information about how to insert WordArt, click Microsoft Word Help on the Help menu, type add WordArt in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

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