Grouping in Word. Working with objects in MS Word
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In the process of preparing some material, we may need to do mirror reflection images placed in the document. Today we’ll talk about the possibility and ways of making a mirror image of an image in Word.
The image we select is located on the sheet in the place where we placed or left the cursor. An image placed on a sheet is instantly captured by markers, and top menu a special tab appears containing various options, tools and templates that allow you to edit this image.
So let's get started.
Let's place an image on the sheet (page):
As we said, the image was captured by markers, and the “Working with Pictures” functionality appeared in the top menu, containing the “Format” tab. This tab is collapsed, and we do not see the options it contains:
Simply click on the tab name to expand it:
Now it's at our disposal a large number of various options and tools with which we can edit the image this way and that.
Since today we are talking about mirroring an image, we will turn our attention to the section of the “Drawing Styles” tab and the “Drawing Effects” tool contained in it:
Click on the title of this instrument Let's reveal its functionality and look at the effects that we can apply to the image. Among the many effects, there is also the “Reflection” effect we need in this case. By hovering the mouse over the name of this effect, we will see reflection options:
And by hovering the mouse over the reflection options, we can immediately see what the reflection of a particular option will be like when we select it:
We can further edit the selected reflection option, that is, change it at our discretion. We can make the reflection less or more transparent, or blur it, or all three. Or we can move the reflection away from the image.
To start editing the reflection itself, you need to select the image again - it must be captured by markers. Then follow the already known path to the reflection options offered by Word and below the list of these options, select the “Reflection Options” option:
As soon as we select this option, the “Picture Format” window will immediately open, which contains, so to speak, levers of influence, or parameter controls:
By grabbing one or another slider with the mouse and moving it left and right, we influence the reflection. By moving a slider, such as “Blur,” we immediately see the changes taking place. It may happen that the window with the slider controls opens in such a way that it completely obscures the image. In this case, you need to grab the window with the mouse by its upper part, where the window name is located, and move (move) it to any side convenient for work.
For example, I'll move the blur slider a little to the right and we'll take a look at what the reflection looks like:
If we are satisfied with the selected option—preparing a reflection—then, of course, there is no need to change additional reflection parameters. In the case when we changed our minds and decided not to make a reflection of the picture, then to delete it we again go to the reflection options and select the “No reflection” option:
Let's consider the possibility of making a reflection yourself, without using the blank options offered by the Word program. This process is simple. All we need to do is copy the image and turn the copy made 180 degrees, and then place it below the original image.
Let's get started.
I suggest this copying method: Aim the mouse cursor at the center of the image, and then press the “Ctrl” key and hold it. Then, press the left mouse button and, holding it down, drag the copy of the image a little down:
You can “throw” a copy at this place:
If at the moment of moving the copy it has shifted a little, then you can help yourself with the arrow keys of the computer keyboard.
Of course, you can make a copy of the image in another convenient way.
Let's continue.
Grab the top middle copy marker with your mouse and drag it down. This action of ours is turning a copy of the image “upside down” (180 degrees):
When flipping a copy of an image, it is not necessary to try to visually achieve the size of the original image.
And when we saw the copy upside down and slightly narrowed in height, let’s release the left mouse button - stop holding the marker and look at what we got:
Now, grabbing the copy with the mouse or using the arrow keys of the computer keyboard, we will place the copy on the original image approximately in the middle:
Then, using the mouse to grab one marker and then another, we will combine the copy with the original:
From now on, we will call the copy of the image a reflection.
We can apply effects appropriate to the reflection. In order to do this, we need to select the reflection again if it is not selected. Let's do this by left-clicking with the cursor on the reflection body. Reflection was captured by selection (editing) markers, and the “Format” tab of the “Working with Pictures” functionality appeared in the top menu. Click the mouse to expand the contents of the tab. Now we can take advantage of the options and tools it contains.
For example, by selecting the “Artistic Effects” option, we can apply one or another suitable effect to the reflection:
Let's choose, for example, the “Blur” effect from the proposed options. Already when you hover your mouse over this effect, we can see the reflection change:
To apply the selected effect to the reflection, you need to left-click on the effect icon. We can strengthen or weaken the applied effect, or, in other words, edit it. To do this, you need to reopen the window with effect options and select the “Art Effects Options” option:
As a result of this choice, the effect settings window called “Picture Format” will open. In this very window we make our own parameter settings:
All we need to do to change the effect is move the slider. You can not use the slider, but set some of your own parameters using the arrow buttons. To cancel the parameter we have set, click the “Reset” button. In the same window we have the opportunity to change the initially selected effect to another effect:
And change its parameters in exactly the same way.
To quickly open the window for changing parameters (the window is called, as we remember, “Picture Format”), we just need to click right click mouse with the cursor on the reflection body:
We can also open this same window by simply clicking on the small arrow in the lower right corner of the “Picture Styles” section:
We don’t have to limit ourselves to just one artistic effect applied to the reflection. So applying the “Blur” effect: 
We turn to the “Correction” tool and add one of the options with adjusted brightness and contrast to the already blurred reflection:
The parameters of the last applied option can also be changed, and we already know how to do this.
If we want the reflection to not have a clear lower border and smoothly merge with the sheet, then in this case the “Shapes” functionality, which is located in the “Insert” tab of the top menu, will help us.
Let's expand the “Insert” tab with a regular mouse click and with the same regular mouse click we will expand the contents of the “Shapes” functionality, where we will select the rectangle drawing tool:
After this choice, the mouse cursor will turn into a crosshair of two lines - now you can start drawing a figure.
Our task is to place a rectangle on top of the bottom of the reflection without going beyond the edges of the reflection; in other words, the rectangle should be in the foreground. It's not difficult to do.
Let's draw this rectangle. To make it easier to draw a rectangle, click the mouse to select the reflection. He was captured by markers. These markers are our assistants in drawing a rectangle. We draw a rectangle as if we were connecting the middle left and right side markers, with the left and right lower corner markers together.
As a result, we should get something like this:
IN automatic mode the rectangle is colored blue. In our example Word sheet It has White color. For this reason, we need to color the rectangle white. To achieve the desired effect, let’s not just paint the rectangle with white, but fill it with a white gradient, then make adjustments to the fill settings.
Let's get started.
As soon as we drew a rectangle, the “Format” tab of the “Drawing Tools” functionality immediately appeared in the top menu. If this tab is collapsed and we do not see the options and tools it contains, then simply click on the tab name to expand its contents and select the “Shape Fill” option:
From several filling options, we will select the “Gradient Fill” option we need in this case, and inside the gradient fill, the very first option from the proposed light options:
You can choose any other fill option, since we will completely change all its parameters.
So, the rectangle is filled with the selected gradient. If we reset the selection with markers (a regular mouse click on a blank sheet of paper), we will see the outlined outline of the rectangle. Select the rectangle again. We don’t need the outline stroke, let’s remove it by selecting the “Shape Outline” option in the top menu, and then the “No Outline” option:
We can get rid of the outline immediately after we have drawn the rectangle. We do what is convenient for us.
Let's continue working with the gradient.
After we have filled the rectangle with a template gradient, again in the top menu we will select the “Shape Fill” option, and then the “Gradient” option and then “Other gradient fills”:
The “Shape Format” window will open in front of us, informing us about the parameters (settings) of the gradient fill of the selected blank option. We need to change these parameters:
The main parameter changes include changes to the fill angle, color, and transparency. The sequence of changes made can be changed at your discretion.
Let's get started.
The first step is to change the fill angle. Clicking the up arrow button will change the angle from 45˚ to 270˚. To change a parameter more quickly, the button can be held down:
Now let's work with the gradient.
Click the mouse to select the middle ink tank to remove, and then press the button with a red cross:
In the same way, fill the right inkwell with white and look at the result - the rectangle is completely white:
The final step in achieving the desired effect is to increase the transparency of the right ink tank. Click the mouse to select the right inkwell, if we reset its selection, and move the transparency slider to the right, setting the value to 100%:
So we have achieved the effect of smooth merging with the leaf. To enhance this effect, move the left inkwell slightly to the right:
We can further enhance the effect by changing the height of the rectangle.
Let's grab the middle top selection handle with our mouse and drag it up, while watching how the effect changes:
With a regular mouse click on a free field of the sheet, we will reset the selection with markers and look at the final result:
Although the process of creating a hand-made reflection can be considered labor-intensive, there is still one big advantage over using blank templates. This advantage is determined by the ability to work with reflection individually, applying various effects and simulating reflection on various surfaces without affecting the image itself.
It is often necessary to decorate texts artistically or provide them with illustrative material. WORD provides the ability to insert into the text or one of the standard pictures with the command Insert/Drawing/Pictures , or a drawing from a previously prepared file with the command Insert/Drawing/From File. WORD supports insertion of most known external formats graphic files (bmp, gif, jpg, pcx, tif, wmf and etc.).
Simple drawings can be made using the program itself WORD. Graphics include AutoShapes, Curves, Lines, and Objects WordArt. To change these objects, as well as their colors, fills, borders and other parameters, use the toolbar Drawing. It opens with the command View/Toolbars/Drawing.
IN WORD includes a set of ready-made autoshapes that can be used in documents. You can resize them, rotate them, flip them, and combine them with other shapes to create more complex shapes. Menu AutoShapes on the toolbar Drawing contains several categories of shapes: lines, basic shapes, flowchart elements, stars and ribbons, and callouts.
To draw a straight line you need to select from the list AutoShapes paragraph Lines, and then select linetype (). When drawing a line, it is necessary to take into account: in order for the angle of inclination of the line to be a multiple of 15 degrees, you must hold down the key ; To make the line continue in both directions from the starting point, hold down the key.
Tool Curve used to draw curves with increased accuracy. To draw a curve on the toolbar Drawing you have to press a button AutoShapes and select a team Lines and then the tool Curve. First you need to click the beginning of the shape, and then move the mouse, clicking in the places where you want to place the nodes of the curve. To leave the curve open, double-click any point on it. To close a shape, click near its starting point.
Tool Polyline used to obtain a better quality drawing, without stepped lines and sudden changes in direction. To draw curved segments, drag and drop is used. To draw a straight line segment, click the beginning and end of the segment. To leave the curve open, double-click any point on it. To snap a shape, click near its starting point.
To make an object look like it was drawn with a pencil, use the tool hand drawn curve. The resulting figure will have almost the same appearance as on the screen.
If you need to edit an existing curve or polyline, you should select it in the toolbar Drawing expand list Actions and select the item Start changing nodes. To change the shape of an object, you need to drag one of its nodes. To add a node to an object, simply click the location where you want to add it. Delete a node by clicking on it while holding down the key. If after selecting the command Start changing nodes If you right-click a node, a context menu will appear on the screen containing commands for adding, deleting, and changing the appearance of nodes.
Other items on the list AutoShapes contain a large number of different graphic objects:
To insert the correct shape (square, circle), you should select the tool Oval or Rectangle, but while drawing, hold down the key.
You can create a fairly complex drawing from individual graphic objects. In order for the program to consider it (or some part of it) as a single whole, you should select the necessary objects and give the command Actions/Group. After this, copying or moving the given picture is easier. If you need to edit any object included in the group, you must first give the command Actions/Ungroup.
To make it easier to create pictures, commands have been added to the Actions list Rotate/Flip, Align/Distribute(in particular Align Center– convenient for drawing concentric circles), Shift, Order.
The graphic grid is designed to align graphic objects, such as autoshapes. When you move an object or autoshape, alignment is performed along the nearest graphic grid lines. By default, graphic grid lines are not visible on the screen, but you can display them. The default spacing between graphic grid lines is 0.13 inches (minimum spacing is 0.1cm), however it is possible to change both the vertical and horizontal spacing between graphic grid lines. You can configure the grid with the command Actions/Grid.
WORD provides the opportunity not only to add a picture, but also to place it in the required manner in relation to the rest of the text. The desired way of text wrapping around a picture can be specified with the command Actions/Text Wrapping. Another way to set the position of a picture in the text: right-click on the picture and in the window that opens context menu select item Object Format. On the tab Position can be set the right way text wrapping, and to clarify some parameters, click on the button Additionally.
You can insert any text into a picture using the tool Inscription. To do this, you need to mark or highlight with a frame, holding down the left mouse button, the place in the document where you want to insert the inscription. A blinking cursor will appear inside the frame. You can format the font of the inscription in the usual way. Clicking outside the text box makes it part of the drawing. To edit an inscription, just click on it with the mouse.
You can also add text to an AutoShape and use it as a text box. To add text, right-click any shape (except straight lines and polylines), select the command Add text in the context menu and then enter required text. To change or add existing text, select the command Change text in the context menu, and then make the necessary changes.
The appearance of graphic objects, including labels, can be improved by changing the type and color of lines, fill and font, applying volumetric or shading effects using panel tools Drawing.
Use the button to insert artistic text Add an object WordArt on the toolbar Drawing. With this tool, you can create skewed, rotated, and stretched text, as well as text with shadows and text that fits within specific shapes. The desired view text is selected from the opening palette WordArt Collection. Then enter text into the dialog box Changing WordArt Text, set the font format and click OK. Since decorated text is a graphic object, you can also use other buttons on the Drawing toolbar to change it, for example, fill the text with some kind of drawing.
Hello, dear readers. Today we are inserting shapes into Word. For those who don't know, shapes are vector images, which are used to draw various designs in the program. Circles, triangles, rectangles, etc. You can use one shape, or combine several. It all depends on the complexity of the final object.
Word has a gallery of preset shapes, by combining which you can draw completely working diagrams that, for example, cannot be done using the SmartArt diagram drawing tool.
How to insert a shape into a sheet
To add a shape in Word, click on the ribbon Insert - Shapes. Explore the gallery of figures that opens and select the one you need.
Click on the shape's thumbnail. Now you can insert it onto the sheet. There are two ways to insert:
- Click the mouse on the sheet at the insertion point. The object will be inserted in its standard size
- Stretch with mouse shape on the sheet until you achieve the desired size and aspect ratio. If you hold Shift while stretching, the program will respect the “correct” aspect ratios of the object
After completing this sequence, the figure will appear on the sheet and take the place where you outlined it. But it seems that this is not yet what we wanted to get. How else can you work with shapes? When it is inserted and selected, the Format tab appears on the ribbon. This is where the main functionality for working with shapes is collected. We have already discussed some of the tab tools in the article about, so I will touch on them briefly. And here special abilities Let's take a closer look.
Shape styles
The shape styles are almost identical to the image styles we covered in the last lesson. But let's briefly go over them:
- Style gallery allows you to select a ready-made figure layout for quick styling. Click on the Down arrow in the block Format - Shape Styles to choose one of the ready-made styles. Click on the appropriate thumbnail to apply.
- Filling a shape— change the color and fill method of the object. You can, for example, make a gradient fill or texture. Click on the ribbon Format - Shape Fill to make the appropriate settings
- Figure outline— allows you to change the color, thickness, type of contour line, add arrows. Execute on Ribbon Format - Shape Outline, make your selections in the appropriate boxes
- Shape effects— Add various effects to the figure to add volume: shadow, reflection, highlighting, smoothing, etc. Click on the ribbon Format - Shape Effects to select additional effects
How to Insert Text into a Word Shape
Figures without text are practically meaningless. Therefore, we learn to add inscriptions to them. To do this, right-click on the shape and select Add text from the context menu. A cursor will appear inside the shape, you can type text.
Formatting Shape Text
Once you've added text to a shape, you can customize it further. By the way, everyone works here, not just specific ones. Let's look at the latter in more detail:
Position and flow around shapes
As with regular pictures, you can customize the position of the shape in the text and the way the text wraps around it. To do this, click on the ribbon Format - Arrangement - Position And Format - Arrange - Wrap. In the picture, the position of the figure is “top right”, and the flow is “along the contour”.
Mutual arrangement of figures
If there are several figures on the sheet, they may overlap each other upon contact. Here's how the star overlaps the ribbon in the picture.
But this state of affairs can be customized. To bring the ribbon to the front, highlight it and click Format - Arrange - Move Forward. To, on the contrary, lower the level of an object relative to others, click Format - Arrange - Move Back.
To align multiple shapes on a sheet- select them all (hold Ctrl and click on them), and then click Format - Arrange - Align Objects. For example, if you select in this menu Align Left, Word will line up the shapes so that their left borders match. But most often they are aligned along the bottom edge so that the figures are in a row.
Also, they can Distribute vertically or Distribute horizontally. The program will arrange the objects so that there are equal distances between them vertically and horizontally, respectively.
Grouping shapes in Word
Multiple shapes can be grouped with each other as if they had become one object. To do this, select the desired shapes and click Format - Arrange - Group Objects - Group. Now this structure can be moved, resized, flowed around, etc.
To ungroup objects, select this group and click Format - Arrange - Group Objects - Ungroup.
Rotate and flip shapes
Like regular pictures, shapes can be rotated and reflected. And this is done the same way. Select the objects to rotate and click on the ribbon Format - Arrange - Rotate Objects. Select an action from the menu that opens. 
Changing the size of a shape
The easiest way to change the size of a shape is to select it and stretch it using the white markers in the corners and on the edges of the frame. True, sometimes you want to set exact dimensions. Then find the fields on the tape Format - Size - Figure height and Figure Width. Write down the width and height values that you need.
That's all about working with shapes. By composing different objects and combining their properties, you can create good illustrations for your documents. You can use them to create diagrams, although there is a separate, excellent tool for this - SmartArt. I'll tell you about it soon, and the next article will be about another Microsoft know-how - WordArt inscriptions. Come in, read, become better!
If you work with multiple objects and need to move them or apply common formatting to them, you don't need to select those objects each time. you can use grouping in Word, which allows you to manage these objects as a single whole. This way Word allows group objects together so that they can be processed by the program as one object.
How to make a grouping
- Select all the objects you want group, holding Shift key or Ctrl , and clicking on each of these objects:
Grouping in Word - Selecting objects for grouping
- Click the command " Group" on the " Format " tab, then select " Group».
Grouping in Word - Group objects in Word
Or right-click and from the drop-down menu select " Group» --> « Group»:
Grouping in Word - Grouping objects in Word
- The selected objects will now be grouped. A frame with size handles will be created for the entire group so you can move or resize all objects at once.
Grouping in Word - Grouped objects in Word
How to ungroup objects
To ungroup grouped objects, do one of the following:
- Select the grouped object. On the "Format" tab, select the command " Group" and select " Ungroup».
Grouping in Word - Ungroup Objects
- Or, right-click on the grouped object and then select " Group» --> « Ungroup»:
Grouping in Word - Another way to ungroup objects in Word
Objects will be ungrouped.
Grouping in Word - Ungrouped objects in Word
OK it's all over Now. Now you know how to do grouping in Word. Now you can move, rotate, flip grouped objects as one whole. And of course you can ungroup or regroup objects at any time.
One of the most unusual tasks that users set for themselves when designing a document is how to change the direction of text in Word and make mirror text? This task is further complicated by the fact that its solution is unlikely to be found in various books about Word.
Of course, they won't help here. The key to solving this problem lies in viewing text not as letters, but as an object that needs to be rotated around an axis.
One of the objects in Word into which you can enter text is a text field. You can find this menu item on the tab "Insert".
Now, to change the direction of the text in Word and make mirror text, we need to rotate the text field, for which we go to the menu "Shape Format" on the tab "Format", which appears when you select a text field.
On the menu "Shape Format" select a section "Shape Options" and at point "Rotate a volumetric figure" text rotation angle. To mirror text relative to vertical axis enter 180 degrees in the column "Rotation around the X axis", and the mirror image of the text relative to the horizontal axis also enters the value in the column "Rotation around the Y axis". If the checkbox is checked "Keep text flat", the text will not rotate with the shape.
After applying these settings to our text field material will be assigned "Warm matte" and the text will be displayed on gray background. To make the background transparent, select a material "Wire", and to hide the outline of the figure, select a white color that matches the background of our page.
