Selecting Lots of Graphics

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 10, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

If you have quite a few graphics on a page in Word, you may want to group them all together so they are treated as a single unit. You can select each of the individual graphic items by holding down the Shift key and clicking on each one, but there is a faster way.

All you need to do is click on the Select Objects tool on the Drawing toolbar. (The Select Objects tool is the one that looks like an arrow.) You can then click your mouse and drag it to define a rectangle that encloses all the objects you want selected. Anything within the rectangle is selected when you release the mouse button.

To turn off object selection, just press the Esc key.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (694) 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...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Editing a Toolbar Button Image

You already know that Word allows you to customize the tools on your toolbars. You may not have known that it also allows ...

Discover More

Quickly Updating Values

You can easily adjust the values in a range of cells by a certain amount. The key is to modify how you use the pasting ...

Discover More

Cannot Add Worksheets to a Workbook

If you cannot add a worksheet to your workbook, it could be because the workbook is protected. This tip shows how to ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Pictures Move on their Own

Insert some pictures into a document, and you may be in for a surprise—they don't necessarily stay where you put ...

Discover More

Moving Images Behind Text

When positioning images in a document, you may want them to appear behind text, so that the text shows up over the top of ...

Discover More

Using Object Anchors

An object anchor is used to signify the point at which an object is inserted into a document. If you want to see these ...

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 three less than 9?

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.