Drawing and Modifying Shapes


If you want to add visual interest and impact to a document but you don't need anything as fancy as a picture or a clip art image, you can draw a shape, also called a drawing object. Shapes can be simple, such as lines, circles, or squares, or more complex, such as stars, hearts, and arrows.

To draw a shape directly on the page (Word's default setting), you click the Shapes button in the Illustrations group on the Insert tab, click the shape you want in the Shapes gallery, and then do one of the following:

  • Click the document where you want a drawing object of the default size and shape to be placed.

  • Drag the pointer across the page to create a drawing object the size and shape you want.

If you want to assemble a group of shapes to create a drawing, you might want to draw the shapes on a drawing canvas instead of directly on the page. The drawing canvas keeps the parts of the drawing together, helps you position the drawing, and provides a frame-like boundary between your drawing and the text on the page. To open a drawing canvas, you click New Drawing Canvas at the bottom of the Shapes gallery. You can then draw shapes on the canvas in the usual ways. At any time, you can size and move the drawing canvas and the objects it contains as one unit.

Tip

If you prefer to always use the drawing canvas when creating drawing objects, click the Microsoft Office Button, click Word Options, and click Advanced. Then under Editing Options, select the Automatically Create Drawing Canvas When Inserting AutoShapes check box, and click OK.


Tip

To make a drawing canvas stand out on the page, but you can put a border around it and shade it. You can use the tools on the Format contextual tab to size and position it precisely and to specify how text should wrap around it.


When you finish drawing a shape, it is automatically selected. Later you can select the shape by clicking it. While the shape is selected, you can move and size it, and you can modify it by using the buttons on the Format contextual tab. The attributes you can change include the following:

  • The fill color inside the object

  • The color, thickness, and style of the border around the object

  • The shadow effect behind the object

  • The three-dimensional aspect, or perspective, from which you are observing the object

  • The angle of rotation, or orientation, of the object

  • The alignment of the object in relation to the page

  • The way text wraps around the object

  • The order of the object in a stack of objects

  • The size of the object

You can also change the size and shape of an object by dragging its handles. You can reposition it by dragging it, or by pressing the Arrow keys on your keyboard to move the object in small increments.

Tip

If you change the attributes of a shapefor example, its fill color and border weightand you want all the shapes you draw from now on in this document to have those attributes, right-click the shape, and then click Set AutoShape Defaults.


If you want to move or size more than one related graphic, you can ensure that they retain their positions in relation to each other by grouping them. They then act as one object. To break the bond, you can ungroup the objects.

In this exercise, you will draw and manipulate a few shapes on a drawing canvas, and you will then size and position the canvas.

USE the 03_Shapes document. This practice file is located in the Chapter06 subfolder under SBS_ Word2007.

BE SURE TO display the rulers before starting this exercise.

OPEN the 03_Shapes document.


1.

Press to position the insertion point at the end of the document.

2.

On the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click the Shapes button, and then at the bottom of the Shapes gallery, click New Drawing Canvas.

Word adds a page to the document, inserts a drawing canvas, and displays the Format contextual tab on the Ribbon.

3.

On the Format contextual tab, in the Insert Shapes group, click the Oval button, and then move position the pointer in the upper-left corner of the drawing canvas.

Oval

4.

Hold down the key, and then drag down and to the right to draw a circle about 1.5 inches in diameter.

Tip

To draw a shape with equal height and width, such as a square or circle, hold down the Shift key while you draw, and then release the mouse button before releasing the Shift key.

When you finish drawing, the circle is selected, as indicated by the handles around it.

5.

Hold down the key, and drag the shadow outline of the circle to the upper middle of the drawing canvas. Be sure to release the mouse button before releasing the key.

Word creates a copy of the circle in the location where you release the mouse button.

6.

Create a copy of the second circle in the upper-right corner of the drawing canvas.

7.

Click the left circle. Then on the Format tab, in the Shape Styles group, click the Shape Fill arrow, and under Standard Colors in the palette, click the Yellow box.

Shape Fill

8.

Click the middle circle, and repeat Step 7 to fill it with the Light Green color.

9.

Click the right circle, and repeat Step 7 to fill it with the Purple color.

All the circles are now filled with color so that they resemble balloons.

10.

In the Insert Shapes group, click the third button in the third row (Curve).

Curve

11.

Point to the bottom of the left balloon, drag down and to the left about an inch, click the canvas, drag down and to the right about an inch, and then double-click the canvas.

A curved line resembling a string appears below the left balloon.

12.

Hold down , point to the curved line, and drag a copy of it to the bottom of the middle balloon. Then drag another curved line to the bottom of the right balloon.

All the balloons now have strings, and the one on the right is still selected.

13.

Hold down , and click the purple balloon.

Both the balloon and its string are selected.

14.

In the Arrange group, click the Group button, and then click Group.

Group

One set of handles now appears around the balloon and its string, indicating that the two shapes are grouped as one object.

15.

In the Arrange group, click the Rotate button, and then click Flip Horizontal.

Rotate

The balloon and its string are now facing the other way.

16.

Press the key five times.

The balloon and its string are now positioned slightly higher on the drawing canvas than the other two balloons.

17.

Click a blank area of the drawing canvas to release the selection.

18.

In the Size group, click the Shape Height down arrow until the height of the drawing canvas is 2".

Shape Height

Word moves the drawing canvas to the bottom of the first page of the document, where it now fits. The balloons have shrunk in proportion to the canvas.

19.

In the Arrange group, click the Text Wrapping button, and then click In Front of Text.

You can now move the drawing canvas independently of the text around it.

See Also

For information about text wrapping, see "Changing the Relationships of Elements on the Page" later in this chapter.

20.

In the Arrange group, click the Position button.

The Position gallery opens.

21.

In the gallery, click the second thumbnail in the third row (Position in Bottom Center with Square Text Wrapping).

The drawing canvas moves with the objects it contains to the center of the page, below the document's last paragraph.

22.

Click outside of the drawing canvas.

If non-printing characters are turned on, you might want to turn them off to get a better view of the results.

CLOSE the 03_Shapes document without saving your changes.




MicrosoftR Office Word 2007 Step by Step
MicrosoftВ® Office Word 2007 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft))
ISBN: 0735623023
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 129

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