Displaying the AutoShapes Menu

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 6, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

If you have used Word for any length of time, chances are pretty good that you are already familiar with AutoShapes and how to use them in your document. If you have quite a few AutoShapes to insert in a document, you may find it handy to work with a floating AutoShapes menu instead of using the AutoShapes option on the Drawing toolbar. There are two ways you can display the floating AutoShapes menu. The first involves the use of the Drawing toolbar to get started:

Display the Drawing toolbar. (Click on the Drawing option on the Standard toolbar.)
Click on the AutoShapes option on the Drawing toolbar. The AutoShapes menu appears.
Position the mouse pointer over the bar at the top of the AutoShapes menu.
Click and drag the AutoShapes menu away from the Drawing toolbar.
Release the mouse button. You now have a floating AutoShapes menu.

The other method of displaying the floating AutoShapes menu is even a bit simpler:

Choose Picture from the Insert menu. Word displays a submenu.
Choose AutoShapes from the submenu. Word displays both the Drawing toolbar and the floating AutoShapes menu.

As a side note, it is unclear why the Word developers refer to the AutoShapes floating menu as a floating menu, rather than a toolbar. When in this "floating" condition, the menu functions essentially the same as a toolbar. You can even dock it to a side of your window as you would a normal toolbar. In order to get rid of the floating menu, simply click on the Close button in the top-right corner of the menu.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (697) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

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