Grouping pictures in Word 2007

[Tinkroty]

Hi all,

I just started using 2007 a couple of weeks ago and I can't understand why I
can no longer group pictures I've inserted like I could in 2003. I see the
option under Format to group, but its grayed out and won't let me select it.
Right clicking the pictures doesn't give a group option either. I'm using
the same pictures and same logos I used in 2003 with Text Wrap set on 'In
Front of Text'.

Help please!!

Thank you!

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

This looks like a bug to me. If I insert pictures into a document (using a
wrapping style other than In Line), and the document is in compatibility
mode (Word 97-2003), grouping works fine. The identical pictures in a .docx
format don't work.

As a work-around, group them in a 97-2003 document, then paste them into a
..docx document. They'll continue to retain their group and ungroup
abilities.

Note that any additional pictures you insert in the .docx file, however,
will not be groupable. Hence, you would need to use a Word 97-2003 document
as a staging ground.

There is a down side, though. Once you've converted a picture into a Word
97-2003 type picture, the new picture Format tools (e.g., picture styles)
won't work on that picture... although effects applied to in in a Word 2007
document will be retained if you copy/paste from .docx to .doc. So, if you
want the style effect, do it in a 2007 document, the paste into a 97-2003
document so you can gain groupability. Then paste back into the .docx file
if you need other .docx features.

It can be convoluted, but if you're cagey about the order in which you do
things, you can work around what is either a bug or a very odd way of
handling pictures in .doc versus .docx.

Good luck!

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Tink,

As Herb mentioned, getting to the desired results can seem quite convoluted in Word 2007 when compared to older versions. There are
some added and improved features that have, because of the way they're implemented in Word 2007, changed the methods used in prior
versions.

Basically, if an item in Word 2007 has white pearl sizing handles (new graphics object) it usually can't be directly grouped with an
item that
has flat square sizing handles (old/classic graphics engine object) or with other 'white pearl handled' items.

Pictures inserted via Insert=>Picture into the body of a Word document need to have their Text wrapping style set to something other
than 'inline with text' to be able to group them (right click on an inserted graphic to use Text Wrapping settings or double click
the graphic to get to the drawing/picture tools in the ribbon).

In 'old' Word versions (or 'Classic' as MS calls the last version before 2007) the graphics/pictures and shapes from
the MS Drawing Objects engine were managed within Word's capabilities. For Office 2007 there was a new graphic engine created and,
unfortunately for us, it was only partially implemented in Word 2007 (for example Word doesn't have 'new' WordArt, only classic
while Excel and Powerpoint have new WordArt <g>).

Because of that partial implementation, the inserted pictures and SmartArt are managed by the new Office graphics engine, while the
inserted shapes and shape handling is still managed in Word. The basic result is that Word's 'classic' grouping and multiple
object selection tool don't 'see' the inserted pictures to allow you to group them with the shapes. If you select a picture that
you inserted and right click, copy then on the Home tab look at the Paste Special Dropdown the graphic type is
"Microsoft Office Graphics Object", rather than the Word classic
"MS Office Drawing Object".


When you save in 'compatability' mode (.doc) the pictures are reset to 'classic' types, but if you then upvert (save as the new file
formats) the pictures will tend to break away from the grouping.


There are several workarounds (and hopefully one of the folks here who still program <g> will find a macro solution to this as
well). Here are some you may want to consider. The workarounds give the 'new items' the appearance to Word of being 'classic'
objects.

1. Work in 'compatability mode' (i.e. save in Word .doc format). Lets you work as before, but turns off some of the newer features
in Word 2007 (as Herb mentioned)

2. Work within a Word drawing Canvas:

Use Insert=>Shapes=>New Drawing Canvas (at the bottom of the shapes dialog) and Insert all of your items to group into the canvas.
A canvas automatically groups/contains the pictures and shapes within a single frame and within the canvas you can selectively have
subgroups (i.e. graphics are 'equal' within a drawing canvas.) Separately, a canvas can be grouped with drawing items outside of the
canvas.

3. Revert to 'classic' by extracting items from a drawing canvas.

A variation of item 2 allows you to move items out of a drawing canvas back into Word's "regular" area where they can be handled as
Word 'classic' objects, even in .docx files.

While in the drawing canvas created in 2., above, after applying shadows, styles, etc to the items, use the shift key and click on,
for example an inserted picture and a shape, right click and group them.

4. Use a textbox shape to hold the inserted picture.

Use Insert=>Textbox=>Draw a Textbox (bottom of the gallery), then inside the text box use Insert=>Picture or double click the
textbox and use Textbox Tools=>Format=>Shape Fill=>Picture.
(If you use Insert=>Picture you can apply the Word 2007 picture tool effects to the graphic that is in the text box. You can

===============
Hi all,

I just started using 2007 a couple of weeks ago and I can't understand why I
can no longer group pictures I've inserted like I could in 2003. I see the
option under Format to group, but its grayed out and won't let me select it.
Right clicking the pictures doesn't give a group option either. I'm using
the same pictures and same logos I used in 2003 with Text Wrap set on 'In
Front of Text'.

Help please!!

Thank you!>>
--

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

 

[Tinkrtoy]

Thanks, both of you! I sure hope a fix will come for this. That's alot of
steps for a work around, hehe!

 

[sweetchips]

Thank God I found this post. I thought I was crazy. I could get it to work in
PowerPoint 2007 but not Word. This is a major pain to those of us who write
training materials with screenshots!

Thanks for you great post.
Shari

 

[Jay Freedman]

In fact, with methods 2 and 3 as Bob described them, you can have
new-style graphics, grouped, without the Drawing Canvas -- and it
takes exactly three small steps more than the old way.

The first extra step is to insert the Drawing canvas.

Inserting, formatting, and grouping the pictures take the same number
of steps as the old way -- but you can get much better-looking effects
with the new tools, such as bevels and fancy shadows.

The second extra step is to drag the finished group off the Drawing
Canvas, and the third extra step is to delete the Drawing canvas. (I
suppose you might consider repositioning the group to be a fourth
step.)

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[Brian17]

Thanks for this post, and the others in this thread. I was pulling my hair
out trying to figure out how Word 2007 is handling grouping of text boxes,
lines, arrows and inserted images. I write a lot of technical manuals and we
label screen shots, etc. In the "Classic" verions of word, simply shift
clicking all the objects and then right clicking gave us the easy ability to
group. Now...not so easy.

How did something that worked so well in previous versions get so screwed up
win Word 2007? How are we suposed to show the general word user how to group
objects now????

I am hoping this is one item (of many) fixed in a service pack.

Thanks again, using the drawning canvans to group them and then paste the
entire group out worked well.

-Brian in NY

 

[Ulrik Gerdes]

This post helped me a lot, i.e. the remedy is to use a canvas to handle the
objects in the way we used to do.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

 

[KumbiaKid]

Hi Herb and Bob,

Thanks very much for your posts! This, as others have said in other threads,
is a major issue for a lot of Word users. I really hope MS publishes a fix
for this and soon. I'm awaiting arrival of my Office 2007 SP1 CD and would be
very pleased if this fixes the problem, but I will also be very surprised. I
would say there are no excuses for such a commonly used and excellent feature
to be broken or left out of a new version of a product.

 

[BeSmartBeConfident]

Thanks, very useful -- one other thing to mention that if the picture you
need to 'paste' into the canvas is larger than the canvas then the canvas
needs to be extended (right-click on canvas) or picture needs to be shrunk in
order for the grouping to work.

Let's hope this bug is fixed soon!

 

[RPh]

Thanks, very useful -- one other thing to mention that if the picture you
need to 'paste' into the canvas is larger than the canvas then the canvas
needs to be extended (right-click on canvas) or picture needs to be shrunk in
order for the grouping to work.

Let's hope this bug is fixed soon!

 

[RPh]

Thanks, very useful -- one other thing to mention that if the picture you
need to 'paste' into the canvas is larger than the canvas then the canvas
needs to be extended (right-click on canvas) or picture needs to be shrunk in
order for the grouping to work.

Let's hope this bug is fixed soon!

 

[RPh]

Thanks, very useful -- one other thing to mention that if the picture you
need to 'paste' into the canvas is larger than the canvas then the canvas
needs to be extended (right-click on canvas) or picture needs to be shrunk in
order for the grouping to work.

Let's hope this bug is fixed soon!

 

[RPh]

Thanks for all the useful info - I'm so frusttrated with the "2007" products,
especially the stuff that used to be quite easy and is now much more
difficult or impossible.

I do have a question about this suggestion, though...
dialog) and Insert all of your items to group into the canvas.

I saw this in the HELP, but cannot make it work. I cannot find any
explanation of HOW to insert a picture into a "drawing canvas". (I just love
the way it always tells me what I CAN do, but never tells me HOW)

Here is what does NOT work...

- Select the picture
- right-click to get the RM menu
- choose COPY
- select the drawing canvas
- right-click to get the RM menu
- choose PASTE.
This simply creates a copy of the picture in the document near the drawing
canvas, but they are in no way associated with each other.

I don't care about special effects or anything fancy, I just want to stick
two screen prints together. Can someone give me SPECIFIC instructions as to
inserting 2 pictures into a drawing canvas and grouping them together?

 

[Mary Sauer]

Right-click the drawing canvas, format, select any wrap but inline. Right-click
the pictures, select any wrap but inline. Position your images. Shift+click each
picture, expand the group tab, click group.