Word should let me place flowchart boxes over existing text

[Simon Ryan]

I have typed some text outlining a process and, as an after-thought, decided
that it would be better to use a flowchart. However, this has proved such a
hassle by (unnecessarily) rearranging the formatting of the document and
shoving my text all over the place that it would be easier to simply
print-out the document and to draw the shapes by hand and distribute
photocopies. Thus defeating the whole object of using a word processor! Word
is useless for this, as it is for applying tables to text documents. Lotus
Wordpro is better!

 

[Genine]

To be fair to Word it is not, nor has it ever purported to be, a graphics
program.
It is a Word processor with added functionality.

If you require flowcharts etc you are better off using Visio or another
graphics program to create the flowchart and then insert it into Word as a
picture.

Word does a jolly good job of trying to be all things to all men, and mostly
gets it right.

What you are doing is the equivalent trying to get an apple to taste like an
orange.

If you prefer your Lotus software so much, why not use it?

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

Hi =?Utf-8?B?U2ltb24gUnlhbg==?=,

If you'd mention the version of Word you have, it would be easier to help you.
If this is Word 2002 or 2003, insert a Drawing Canvas and put the flow chart
into that. You can then format the entire Drawing Canvas to flow the text the
way you want it.

I have typed some text outlining a process and, as an after-thought, decided
that it would be better to use a flowchart. However, this has proved such a
hassle by (unnecessarily) rearranging the formatting of the document and
shoving my text all over the place that it would be easier to simply
print-out the document and to draw the shapes by hand and distribute
photocopies.

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 8 2004)
http://www.word.mvps.org

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