Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Using Object Anchors.

Using Object Anchors

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 25, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

When you insert a picture or other object in your Word document, and that object is set to float over text, Word maintains an internal "anchor" to indicate the paragraph with which the object is associated. Normally, the anchors aren't visible. You can make them visible, however, by following these steps:

Make sure you are viewing your document in Print Layout view. (This view is called Page Layout view in Word 97.)
Choose Options from Tools menu. Word displays the Options dialog box.
Make sure the View tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The View tab of the Options dialog box.

Make sure the Object Anchors check box is selected.
Click on OK.

Now, whenever you select an object that is floating over your text, Word displays an image of an anchor in the margin to the left of the paragraph with which the selected graphic is associated. If you want to change the association, drag the anchor to a different paragraph.

You should note that you can only work with object anchors if you are viewing your document in Page Layout view.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (681) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Using Object Anchors.

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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