Can't move drawing shapes from section to section

[Clay]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: intel

Has anybody figured out how to 1. maintain the properties of a drawing object (star)when duplicated (arrange in front of text, and how to cut & paste or drag the object from section to section in a word document?

In 2004, it was easy. Create the shape, duplicate it and cut and paste to a new section where you wanted it to go. In 2008, I try to drag it from one section to another and it just disappears from the first section to the second section. It literally "goes behind" the second section. I cannot cut & paste it from one section to another either. "Help" is an oxymoron.
Thank you in advance
LPVG

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Clay -

Despite a good effort I'm afraid your description isn't really clear How
about a little more specific detail based on the interjections below:

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: intel

Has anybody figured out how to 1. maintain the properties of a drawing object
(star)when duplicated (arrange in front of text, and how to cut & paste or
drag the object from section to section in a word document?

The above paragraph confuses me a little - you specify a "1." but no "2." &
the open parenthesis at the end has no close.

In 2004, it was easy. Create the shape, duplicate it and cut and paste to a
new section where you wanted it to go. In 2008, I try to drag it from one
section to another and it just disappears from the first section to the second
section. It literally "goes behind" the second section. I cannot cut & paste
it from one section to another either. "Help" is an oxymoron.
Thank you in advance

You refer to "section" in both paragraphs, but do you actually mean Sections
created by Section Breaks or do you simply mean a different *place or
location* in the document? However, the behavior should be no different than
what you experienced in 2004 with the exception of a newly added capability
not available in that version... so I'm gonna take a guess

LPVG

Take a look in Word> Preferences> Edit and I'll bet your preference for
"Insert/Paste Pictures As:" is set to "Behind Text". If you change that to
something such as "In Front of" or "Square" I believe that will resolve your
problem (as I understand it) for future efforts. For existing objects you
can change the Text Wrapping for a picture/shape using the Wrapping controls
on the Formatting Palette or by Control/Right-Clicking the object & going to
Format [object Type]> Layout.

Also, keep in mind that *Drag 'n' Drop* is a different operation with
different behavior than *Copy/Cut & Paste*.

If this isn't the answer please rephrase the question

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Clay]

Hi CyberTaz
To be more clear. I want to recognize specific blocks of text in multiple sections of a document with a basic shape (green star). I create the star in section one>Arrange: bring text to front>Color: green> shadow:none> Line: no line.
I am in the "page layout" view.

Problem 1.
I duplicate the star. When I do, I lose the "Arrange: bring text to front" and have to repeat the arrange again. If I group multiple stars, The grouping loses the Arrange: bring text to front

Problem 2.
When I copy a single star, or groupings of stars, and try to paste it/them into another section, it does not appear in the new section. If I scroll down so I can see the previous section and see the second section and try to drag the duplicate star/star groupings, the stars visually move off the first section and will not slide onto the second section. It is almost as if the section break is an erasure line. If you cross the line, by dragging the stars, it will erase them.

Thanks for your help
Clay

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Clay -

I don't mean to be picky, but the only thing we have to go on is what you
tell us & I'm afraid your description doesn't "jive". I have no problem here
doing what I 'think' you're trying to do, but even if I'm right about that
I can't be sure we're both going about it in the same manner. For example:

Hi CyberTaz
To be more clear. I want to recognize specific blocks of text in multiple
sections of a document with a basic shape (green star). I create the star in
section one>Arrange: bring text to front>Color: green>
shadow:none> Line: no line.
I am in the "page layout" view.

Problem 1.
I duplicate the star. When I do, I lose the "Arrange: bring text to front" and
have to repeat the arrange again. If I group multiple stars, The grouping
loses the Arrange: bring text to front

There is no "Duplicate" command in the program, so *how* are you
"duplicating" the star - exactly what method (copy/paste, Option+Drag)?
Also, there is no "Arrange> Bring *text* to front" command. You can bring
the object to the front by using the In Front of Text or you can put it
behind the text using the Behind Text command. The other 4 commands in the
Arrange list pertain to changing an object's position in the stacking order
when you have multiple objects stacked atop one another - they don't affect
it's location relative to the text.

Problem 2.
When I copy a single star, or groupings of stars, and try to paste it/them
into another section, it does not appear in the new section. If I scroll down
so I can see the previous section and see the second section and try to drag
the duplicate star/star groupings, the stars visually move off the first
section and will not slide onto the second section. It is almost as if the
section break is an erasure line. If you cross the line, by dragging the
stars, it will erase them.

It would help to know what kind of Section Breaks you have in the doc. Also,
are you actually grouping multiple shapes using the Group command or are you
just selecting several shapes at once? Is there text content in the section
you're dragging to? Are the ones you drag actually being lost completely or
do they simply "disappear" from view because they wind up somewhere other
than where you expected? What happens if you scroll several pages up/down
then back again - do the shapes reappear?

Thanks for your help
Clay

Did you follow the suggestions I made in my previous post? You make no
mention of what the results were if you did so. Unlike appearance attributes
Text Wrapping style doesn't follow when you copy/cut & paste depending on
the Preference setting I directed you to.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Clay]

Hi Bob: Thanks for the post.
There actually is a "duplicate command. Highlight the star and press Option "D". It will duplicate.

I just tried your suggestion of option+Drag and still visually "lost the star. It does not appear anywhere in either Section One or Section Two.

I am groping like shapes (stars) together. I am selecting each one of them by holding dowen the shift key and clicking on each star. When they are all highlighted, I click "Group".
Hope that gives you more information
Clay

To create sections, I am using Insert>Break>Section Break. I am disconnecting the headers. The footers remain the same.

 

[Clay]

Sorry Bob. The duplicate command is Command (Apple) "D".
Clay

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Clay:

I am nowhere near the graphics person that Bob is. However:

1) If you group objects, you will lose their Z-order, because grouping
converts the whole assembly to a single layer.

2) I create a green star and set it "In front of text".

3) Command + d

4) Drag the dupe below a section break.

There is some weirdness dragging the anchor across a section break. Let it
go, so the anchor attaches to a paragraph in the next section. Then you can
drag it anywhere you like in that section.

Cheers

Sorry Bob. The duplicate command is Command (Apple) "D".
Clay

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[CyberTaz]

God Morning Clay -

I've seen the message from John & what he stated is right on the money. So
when you group objects you'll have to then apply whatever wrapping you want
the group to have. That addresses the one part of your problem more clearly
than what I had written previously.

Word does have a "buggy" aspect to dragging stuff around. That's one reason
why I've always avoided doing so in any version - Mac or PC. I'm not sure
it's specifically related to section breaks, but it seems to occur more
frequently when they're involved. I can replicate the behavior by moving an
object from one page to another with no section breaks anywhere in the doc-
but I can't force it to do so with any degree of consistency. It doesn't
happen all the time & wrapping settings don't seem to matter.

And it only seems to happen when trying to place the object in the *first*
paragraph on a page. For some reason the dragged object picks up a
ridiculous negative positioning value (such as -8.13" Below: Paragraph),
which causes the object to "disappear" but the empty bounding box remains
visible as long as you don't deselect it. When that happens, however, just
Undo (Command+Z). The object will reappear, then you can double-click it &
go to the Layout page> Advanced button. Just click the Relative button in
the Vertical Positioning section. Once you OK out you can continue to adjust
its position as you wish. If I can come up with a more permanent solution
I'll post back, but I'll make sure it gets reported to MacBU.

BTW: Thanks for the reminder about Cmd+D - I'd forgotten 'cause I never use
it & if you don't have an object selected that keystroke does something
else... It brings up the Format Font dialog, which I do use.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac