Wrapping Text Around a Text Box or Frame

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated November 9, 2013)

1

After you have inserted a text box or a frame in your document, you can control how surrounding text flows around it. You can either turn wrapping off, or you can cause Word to flow text around the frame or text box. If you are using text boxes, you have even more wrapping options. To control text wrapping for a text box, follow these steps:

  1. Right-click on the text box. Word displays a Context menu.
  2. Choose Format Text Box from the Context menu. Word displays the Format Text Box dialog box.
  3. Click on the Layout tab (in Word 97 click on the Wrapping tab). (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Layout tab of the Format Text Box dialog box.

  4. Select a method of text wrapping in the Wrapping Style area of the dialog box.
  5. Click on OK.

If you are wrapping text around a frame, the process is slightly different:

  1. Right-click on the frame. Word displays a Context menu.
  2. Choose Format Frame from the Context menu. Word displays the Frame dialog box. (See Figure 2.)

    3. Figure 2. The Frame dialog box.

  3. Select a method of text wrapping in the Text Wrapping area of the dialog box.
  4. 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 (3499) 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

Generating a Web Page

Want your worksheets to be available to others on the Internet? Excel provides a way you can save your data in HTML ...

Discover More

Setting Print Titles

Excel allows you to specify certain rows or columns that will be repeated on the pages of a printout. Here's how to set ...

Discover More

Jumping to Tables

If your document contains quite a few tables, you may find it helpful to jump quickly from one table to another. There ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Changing Orientation of a Text Box

Want to change how a text box is oriented on the page? You can't do it, but you can adjust the dimensions of the box ...

Discover More

Adding Sidebars

When designing your document, you may want to use sidebars like you see in magazines and some books. This tip explains ...

Discover More

Finding an Invisible Text Box

Text boxes can be a great aid in designing the layout of your document. What do you do when you can't find a text box ...

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.

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

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}] 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 0 + 7?

2017-05-13 00:55:32

Abedeen Chamroo

I have noticed that to wrap the main running Word text document UNDERNEATH a text box, I had to: untick "keep lines together" and "keep with next" in the main document's paragraph(s).

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.

Newest Tips
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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.