Using SmartArt, how do you freeze the size/ position of boxes?

[Car Ramrod]

I'm creating a relationship tree using SmartArt and I have all the text in
boxes. I'm trying to lay it out so it looks nice, but as I adjust the size
and position of the boxes, it automatically adjusts the other boxes, and
eventually the shifting ruins the adjusting I was trying to do. My text
winds up scrunched and out of the place I intended it for. I've tried
several times, starting from the top and bottom, by the time I get to the
middle it's all out of whack. I adjusted the page size and should have
plenty of room for it all to fit the way I need it to look. If there is some
kind of wizard, how do I turn it off? Is there an option to freeze the
boxes?

 

[Robert M. Franz [RMF]]

Hello Car

I'm creating a relationship tree using SmartArt and I have all the text in
boxes. I'm trying to lay it out so it looks nice, but as I adjust the size
and position of the boxes, it automatically adjusts the other boxes, and
eventually the shifting ruins the adjusting I was trying to do. My text
winds up scrunched and out of the place I intended it for. I've tried
several times, starting from the top and bottom, by the time I get to the
middle it's all out of whack. I adjusted the page size and should have
plenty of room for it all to fit the way I need it to look. If there is some
kind of wizard, how do I turn it off? Is there an option to freeze the
boxes?

well, SmartArts are their own wizard, I guess ...

If you're not happy with the way Word lays out the objects, I think the
only way is to ungroup the whole SmartArt. You'll end up with individual
objects that you're able to format freely. There's no way back, though,
so if you need this, you'll loose the inherent SmartArt benefits.

HTH
Robert