Rotating Graphics Around a Different Center Point

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 20, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2002 and 2003

You already know that in Word 2002 and 2003 you can use the rotation handle to rotate a drawing object. (See Figure 1.) All you need to do is select the object by clicking it once, and the green rotation handle appears at the top of the object. If you click on the rotation handle and drag it left or right, the drawing object rotates around its center point.

Figure 1. A rotation handle.

Notice, though, that there are additional handles around the drawing object. These are normally used for sizing. If you hold down the Ctrl key while you click and drag the rotation handle, the object no longer rotates around its center point. Instead, the object rotates around the center point at the bottom of the object, as marked by the bottom center handle. The upshot is that Word provides two ways to rotate the object, depending on whether you have the Ctrl key depressed or not.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (337) applies to Microsoft Word 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...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing Column Width

Do you use columns in your document layout? You may want to modify the widths of various columns, and Word makes the ...

Discover More

Protecting a Worksheet's Format

You can protect various parts of your worksheets by using the tools built into Excel. One thing you can protect is the ...

Discover More

Generating Random Strings of Characters

If you need to generate a random sequence of characters, of a fixed length, then you'll appreciate the discussion in this ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Horizontal Alignment Errors for Graphics

Discussion of alignment differences for graphics in Word 97 and Word 2000.

Discover More

Rotating a Drawing Object

You can add all sorts of drawing objects to a document. Once placed, you can then rotate them to your heart's content. ...

Discover More

Changing Defaults for Text Boxes and Callouts

Do you find yourself frequently creating text boxes and callouts? This tip describes how to change the default settings ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is six minus 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.