Text Box - Layout in Table Cell

[TJ]

Using Word 2003 -- all of a sudden text boxes in all of my documents now have
"Layout in Table Cell" checked. I have always had only Lock Anchor checked
which allows me to move things freely. When I un-check the "Table Cell" box,
I move the box, open Formatting and it is checked again. The text boxes now
jump around and move graphics in seemingly random ways. (the boxes are not
in a table - this is happening even on pages with no tables)

 

[CyberTaz]

First of all you seem to be laboring under some misconceptions, so let me
try to clarify them;

1- Lock Anchor doesn't provide the ability to "move things freely" - if
anything, it limits it. The setting pertains to the *anchor* not the object.
Objects can be moved freely if Text Wrapping is set to anything other than
In Line with Text regardless of the Anchor setting, but they are anchored to
a paragraph. That anchor can be moved to a different paragraph if there is
no check in the box. If the box is checked the anchor can't be moved but the
object can be positioned anywhere on the same 'page' as the paragraph to
which it is anchored.

2- Layout in Table Cell has no effect if there is no table and is the
default setting for objects. If the object is even partially positioned on a
table it will 'force' its way into the nearest cell - not allowed to overlap
a cell divider. With the setting OFF the object *is* allowed to span 2 or
more cells if the Text Wrapping is set to In Front of or Behind Text & the
setting will stay in place if you move the object. If any other Text
Wrapping is applied the check will automatically restore when the object is
moved.

Although an annoyance, the moving of the objects isn't as random as it seems
once you understand the mechanics of how Word deals with the 'foreign
bodies' stuck in its text flow. If you intend to wrestle with Word's awkward
attempt to permit the use of graphics you might want to read through teh
material available at;

http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/DrawingGraphics.htm

But as long as you continue to revise a doc after inserting objects you'll
have to learn to cope with the "jumping around".

 

[TJ]

Thanks for the input. My real question is why this is happening now -- when
it has not happened in the couple of years since I installed this version of
Word. I am doing nothing differently in how I use the text boxes. The
difference is this myterious "Layout" box suddenly being checked and refusing
to be un-checked. Again -- these are text boxes on pages with no tables - so
there is no cell for it to be forced into.

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi TJ -

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I evidently didn't make the point
very clear in my previous post...

The setting for "Layout in Table Cell" has absolutely *nothing* to do with
the erratic repositioning of graphic objects. When or why it became the
default setting is totally irrelevant, and even if you _could_ remove the
check it wouldn't have any impact on the behavior. That setting only
pertains to objects dragged to a table - *then* it determines whether the
object gets inserted into a cell or is allowed to float atop / behind the
table.

Perhaps in the past you've just been lucky , but the lack of control for
objects in a doc has been a problem for everyone since day one. The more
objects there are & the closer they are to one another, the more
problematic. Those features you need to focus on in order to exercise as
much control as possible are:

1- Text Wrapping - especially for objects close to each other
2- The Move Object with Text checkbox
3- Allow Overlap
4- Consider using Frames rather than Text Boxes
5- The Drawing Canvas
6- The above as well as other features & techniques accessible from the link
in my last post.

In all honesty, however, you can simplify your life substantially if you can
use a program such as MS Publisher or some other Page Layout/Desktop
Publishing software for this type of project.