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: Keeping a Picture Title with the Picture.

Keeping a Picture Title with the Picture

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 18, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Denis has a document that uses landscape orientation. He inserted a picture in the document and, following the picture, added the title for the picture. The title line was separated from the picture by one blank line and the title line was followed by one blank line. To ensure that the picture occupied as much of the page as possible without exceeding the page margins, Denis increased the picture size, in Word, until the final blank line disappeared from the page, and then he saved the file. (The final blank line overflowed onto the next page.)

When Denis reopened the file, the title curiously appeared on the following page rather than following the picture, as desired. When he repeated the sizing operation, although he can reduce the size of the picture by as much as fifty percent or more, he cannot get the title to move back to the same page as the picture.

It is most likely that this problem is caused by paragraph formatting. In order to see what is happening in Word, you'll want to turn on non-printing characters so you can see where the actual paragraph breaks are. (You turn on the display of non-printing characters by clicking the Show/Hide tool on the toolbar. When you do, you should see a backwards P character appear at the end of each paragraph. These don't print; they are purely for information.)

With the non-printing characters displayed and based on the description of the problem, you should see only two of the backwards P characters—one to the right of your picture and one to the right of your picture title. If you see any addition backwards P characters, delete them. This action, alone, may solve the problem.

If it does not solve the problem, then perform the following steps:

  1. Press Ctrl+A. This selects the entire document.
  2. Choose Paragraph from the Format menu. Word displays the Paragraph dialog box.
  3. Make sure the Line and Page Breaks tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Line and Page Breaks tab of the Paragraph dialog box.

  5. Make sure the Keep Lines Together check box is selected.
  6. Make sure the Keep with Next check box is not selected.
  7. Make sure the Page Break Before check box is not selected.
  8. Click OK.

Your picture and picture title should now stay together, on the same page.

You may also want to consider modifying how you group your pictures and titles together. Some people find it handy to create a text box and size the text box so that it is as large as you want your picture to be. Then, insert the picture into the text box, press Enter once, and type your picture title. The picture and the title are, in this way, contained within a single text box. The benefit is that the text box is treated as a single unit by Word, allowing you to ensure that it remains on a single page.

Finally, you could always load your picture into a graphics program and add your title within that program. In this way the title because a part of the image itself, and you wouldn't need to worry about trying to add the title within Word.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9716) 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: Keeping a Picture Title with the Picture.

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

Changing Spacing Between Table Cells

Need to adjust the space between individual cells in a table? Word gives you a good deal of control over this spacing, as ...

Discover More

Lotus Grouped Worksheets

Not all spreadsheet programs are created equal; there are some things that can be done in others that can't be done in ...

Discover More

Replacing Multiple Spaces with Tabs

If you get a document or some text that has multiple consecutive spaces used to align information, you'll undoubtedly be ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Merging Graphics into Word Documents

Ever want to expand the mail merge feature to include graphics? Merging graphics into your document is easy but requires ...

Discover More

Best Quality for High Resolution Graphics

You want your documents to look as good as they can. If those documents include graphics, then you also need to make sure ...

Discover More

Understanding the Drawing Canvas

Need to keep your drawing shapes together in one place? The drawing canvas may be exactly what you are looking for.

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 five 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.

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.