Connectors supported?

[Tobias Weber]

Hi,
in Office X Powerpoint has an AutoShape tyoe "Connectors" which are
arrows between boxes that stay connected when you move the box. Word
seems to lack those.

Which versions of Word (Mac and Windows) can create/display connectors?

 

[CyberTaz]

Hello Tobias -

IIRC, Word versions X & 2004 on the Mac as well as versions 2002, 2003 &
2007 on the PC all support Connectors if (a) used in conjunction with
Flowchart Symbols *and* (b) the shapes & connectors are on a Drawing Canvas.
If the shapes aren't on a Canvas you can still use the "connectors" but the
connection points on the shapes won't be active - so the connectors don't
connect, they simply get drawn as lines.

If you have reason to not use a Canvas you can get a *similar* effect by
grouping the Shapes & Connectors, but you still don't have real connection
points & alignment can be an issue.

Additionally, Connectors can be used with just about any AutoShape (not just
Flowchart shapes) in 2003 & 2007 if on a Canvas - can't remember if the same
is true for 2004 & don't have a Mac handy to check.

 

[Tobias Weber]

2007 on the PC all support Connectors if (a) used in conjunction with

But whereas Powerpoint has an AutoShape submenu *named* Connectors, it
is missing in Word. So I only have regular arrows. The rest of the
drawing toolbar looks identical.

Flowchart Symbols *and* (b) the shapes & connectors are on a Drawing Canvas.

How do I get one? The help doesn't contain anything on canvases.

 

[CyberTaz]

Well, based on your observations I could be remembering incorrectly about
the features in Word X - it's been quite a while since I used that version,
and for a vey brief period.

Are you looking in the Menu, the Formatting Palette, or at the AutoShapes
tool on the Drawing toolbar?

It wasn't clear from your original post whether you're using X or 2004 - I
assumed X - but I'll investigate later when I get back to my Mac. It's
possible that the Flowchart shapes & Connectors are something that weren't
implemented in Word's drawing tools - in which case you can create the
content in PPt then copy/paste to your doc - a hassle, but it should work.
The pasted object, however, won't be editable in the doc.

If X does support the Drawing Canvas I believe it would be located in
Insert> Picture... but again, my recollection of X is somewhat hazy.

 

[CyberTaz]

Sorry Tobias - It appears I erred with regard to the Drawing Canvas in the
Mac versions of Word. That's what happens when a senile old man tries to go
by memory without being able to verify his recollections:-} The canvas is
apparently a "WinWord Only" contrivance, and yes, even though the Flowchart
shapes are in Word the Connectors are *not* - go figure‽‽‽

My apologies for leading you astray, but I must have been thinking of Mac
Excel, which does support the symbols & connectors as well as being able to
connect to other shapes just as in PPt... And without the canvas.
Unfortunately you do need to group the shapes & connectors either before or
after copying into Word. Otherwise the connectors no longer connect,
although the package can be ungrouped and each element can further edited.
You just can't reconnect in Word although you can regroup.

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

 

[Guest]

This topic it's very interesting!
How can the new word 2008 for mac miss such an easy task like create a flowchart on word? Like de word 2004 for mac, the connectors are missing.

So what´s the soluction??

.. microsoft will fixs this bug?
.. why buy office mac 2008....if this error persiste?
.. if this situation it's critical for my work...should I change to windows again???

Best regards

 

[John McGhie]

Yes, I think you will find that Microsoft will fix this bug in an update.

It's more of an oversight than a bug

The connectors are available from the Drawing toolbar in PowerPoint.

Since Word, PowerPoint and Excel all use the same drawing "engine", the only
thing wrong is that they forgot to put the connectors onto the Word toolbar.

In the meantime, simply draw your picture in PowerPoint, then paste it into
Word when you have finished.

Hope this helps

This topic it's very interesting!
How can the new word 2008 for mac miss such an easy task like create a
flowchart on word? Like de word 2004 for mac, the connectors are missing.

So what´s the soluction??

. microsoft will fixs this bug?
. why buy office mac 2008....if this error persiste?
. if this situation it's critical for my work...should I change to windows
again???

Best regards

--
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Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Australia
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[CyberTaz]

Well - although I fully agree that having flowchart symbols without
connectors is utterly ridiculous - keep in mind that Word *isn't* a Flow
Charting program in the first place... It's a *word* processor. Anything
included for other purposes should be considered as a "bonus"

"... change to windows again???", just because of that, no. But there are
much better flowcharting tools available - such as OmniGraffle. Even Word
2007 can't touch it if your need is at all professional.

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