applied tips : march 2007
microsoft word : adding images and drawings
Everybody remembers that kid from elementary school who added pictures and a fancy cover page to every book report—and always got A's!
As a grown up, you probably don't have a book report or a science project due next week, but some eye-catching graphics can still spice up your Word documents.
Using Word's drawing tools, inserting Clip Art and importing pictures from the Web or a digital camera are all good ways to make sure your documents and reports get the attention they deserve.
Displaying the Drawing toolbar
Back elementary school, crayons and glue were your tools. In Microsoft Word, you have the Drawing toolbar.
The toolbar's tools can be used for multiple purposes, including drawing lines, shapes, and arrows, and for formatting graphic objects with different coloring, shadow effects, and 3-D effects. It can even help you quickly insert Clip Art and other pictures created outside of Word.
To display the Drawing toolbar, click the Drawing button on the Standard toolbar, or select View > Toolbars > Drawing from the menu.
Adding drawing objects
To add a drawing object to a document, all you need to do is click the object (such as an arrow or a square) on the Drawing toolbar, then click and drag with the mouse until it reaches the desired size.
Word 2002 and 2003: When you first add an object, Word creates the object inside a large box called the "drawing canvas." Everything you create in this box stays together as one unit. You can move the box around the page by dragging it, or you can resize it by selecting it and dragging the edge markers.
When you create a drawing canvas box, it is in-line with the text, meaning that the surrounding text positions itself above and below the box. You can change the way the box interacts with the text by right-clicking it, selecting Format Drawing Canvas, and clicking the Layout tab. Here you can pick a different wrapping style.
After taking some time to experiment with the Drawing toolbar's numerous buttons, you'll be ready to turn your canvas into a masterpiece of lines, text boxes, shapes, and AutoShapes.
Word 97 and 2000: There is no drawing canvas feature. Drawing objects appear directly on the page.
Thinking outside the canvas
Word 2002 and 2003: While it's nice to be Picasso and paint within the confines of a canvas, there's nothing like the freedom of being a two-year-old who fingerpaints with no boundaries. At times like these, you won't want to mess around with the drawing canvas.
Let's say you already have a document with a diagram or picture on it, and you simply want to add some arrows or text boxes to point something out. You don't want a big drawing canvas getting in the way, so turn it off. Select Tools > Options from the menu and click the General tab. Then uncheck the "Automatically create drawing canvas when inserting AutoShapes" check box.
Now when you insert a drawing object, it will float over the top of your document text without a drawing canvas box around it.
Word 97 and 2000: Since there is no drawing canvas feature, your drawings are already free-floating objects.
Inserting Clip Art
By now you're probably enjoying the creativity of drawing all over your document, but let's interrupt art class for a minute to talk about Clip Art.
While creating your own graphics with the Drawing toolbar may be useful, the Microsoft Office program and Online resources provide thousands of drawings and photos called Clip Art that you can insert in your documents.
To use Clip Art, either click the Clip Art button on the Drawing toolbar (Word 2000, 2002, 2003) or select Insert > Picture > Clip Art from the menu (all versions).
Word 2002 and 2003: The Clip Art task pane appears on the screen. Here you can enter a search keyword to find related Clip Art images. The task pane displays the resulting images and all you have to do is double-click an image to insert it into your document.
Word 97 and 2000: An Insert Clip Art dialog box appears. Here you can search images by keyword or click on a category to browse. Right-click the image you want to insert and select Insert.
Decide how you want the image to wrap in the text by right-clicking the image, selecting Format Picture, and then clicking the Layout tab (called the Wrapping tab in Word 97). You can move or resize the Clip Art image by selecting it and dragging the image or its sizing handles.
Inserting a picture from a file or the Internet
Finally, you can insert pictures you have saved in a file on your computer. For example, let's say you took some digital photos of your company's products and you want to include several of these images in a flyer for your customers.
Click the Insert Picture button on the Drawing toolbar (Word 2002 and 2003), or select Insert > Picture > From File from the menu (all versions). Browse to the folder where the image is stored, select the file you want to insert, and click the Insert button in the Insert Picture dialog box.
Now you may be asking yourself, "What if I need to insert an image that isn't stored on my computer?" For example, let's say you are creating a sales proposal and you want to include a potential customer's logo in the document, but you don't have a copy of their logo. What can you do?
Just surf your way to the company Web site, find the logo, right-click it, select Copy, and paste it into your document.
Simple but powerful
Adding graphics to your documents is quick and easy, yet makes a big impact. As you incorporate graphics into your work, you'll engage readers like never before.
Now you're the kid with the fancy reports—and the one who's getting all A's!
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