picture as table cell background?

[kvon]

Is this possible? I've managed to place a picture in the table cell, problem
is that every time I change the text formatting it moves the picture. I need
the picture to be locked and sized to the table cell. I.e. table cell
background IS the picture, and all text editing is done on TOP of the image
without changing it.

Any help appreciated!!

 

[Jay Freedman]

Is this possible? I've managed to place a picture in the table cell, problem
is that every time I change the text formatting it moves the picture. I need
the picture to be locked and sized to the table cell. I.e. table cell
background IS the picture, and all text editing is done on TOP of the image
without changing it.

Any help appreciated!!

It isn't possible, at least not in the way you expect.

You can apply a solid color background to a cell through the Shading tab of the
Borders and Shading dialog.

You can set a picture's text wrapping to Behind Text so it won't be affected by
typing over it, and you can click the Advanced button in the Format Picture >
Layout dialog to set the location of the picture's upper left corner with
respect to the cell. But you cannot make the picture's size change when the cell
contents make it expand or contract, so in that sense it doesn't behave like a
background. You'd have to adjust the size manually once the cell's contents are
final.

 

[kvon]

Thanks for the info - not what I wanted to hear, but it makes sense.

One thing I still don't understand though - I also have a text box in the
table cell (have a line of text to orient vertically). When I grab that text
box & move it, the background image jumps down to the next table row. So I
have to manually reformat the size/layout options. Very confusing, and VERY
annoying...

 

[Jay Freedman]

In Word, a text box is the same kind of object as a floating picture -- they're
both in the Draw layer (http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/DrwGrphcs/DrawLayer.htm).
In the same Layout > Advanced dialog that I mentioned before, there's a check
box for "Allow overlap", and that should be checked for both the picture and the
text box.

Also, some versions of Word seem to have more trouble with floating objects in
table cells than other versions.