Converting a Text Box to a Frame

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 26, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


All versions of Word support frames, but not all of them support text boxes. There may be times when you want to convert a text box to a frame. For instance, you might be preparing your document to be used on an older version of Word, or you need to take advantage of things you can do with frames that you can't do with text boxes. To make the conversion, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click on the text box. Word displays a Context menu.
  2. Choose the Format Text Box from the Context menu. Word displays the Format Text Box dialog box.
  3. Click on the Text Box tab. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Text Box tab of the Format Text Box dialog box.

  5. Click on Convert to Frame. You see a dialog box informing you that some features of your text box may be lost in the conversion.
  6. Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1823) 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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Using Find and Replace to Pre-Pend Characters

Need to add some characters to the beginning of the contents in a range of cells? It's not as easy as you might hope, but ...

Discover More

Headings in Tables Not Showing in TOC

Word includes a couple of built-in tools that rely upon the use of heading styles in your document. These tools include ...

Discover More

Graphics Marked as Changed when Comparing Documents

The tools on the Review tab of the ribbon allow you to do all sorts of markup and comparisons of documents. When ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Using Mail Merge to Complete Documents

Mail merge can be used to put together groups of documents that rely on common information. This tip shows how mail merge ...

Discover More

Correcting Student Papers

If you are a teacher, you may be looking for ways you can use Word's features to correct papers your students send to you ...

Discover More

Refreshing the Discussion

To keep up with the Discussion, you will need to refresh the comments to make sure you are in-the-know.

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is 5 - 5?

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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.