Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Grouping Drawing Objects.

Grouping Drawing Objects

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 15, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


1

After you have worked on a document for a while, you will find that you may have added quite a few objects to it. Some of these objects just naturally go together to create other objects. For instance, you might have a few graphic objects used to create a larger image; these naturally go together.

Word lets you group objects together so they can be treated as a single object by the program. In this way, you can select an entire collection of objects with the same ease you would use in selecting one. To group objects together, follow these steps:

  1. Make sure the Drawing toolbar is displayed.
  2. Select all the objects that belong in the group.
  3. Choose the Group option from the Draw menu on the Drawing toolbar.

There may come a time when you need to ungroup the objects. For instance, you may need to update one of the elements that make up your group. To ungroup objects, follow these steps:

  1. Make sure the Drawing toolbar is displayed.
  2. Select the grouped object.
  3. Choose the Ungroup option from the Draw menu on the Drawing toolbar.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1332) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Grouping Drawing Objects.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Conditional Formatting with Data Imported from Access

If you want to apply a conditional format to data imported into Excel from Access, you may run into some difficulties ...

Discover More

Specifying a Location To Save Automatic Backup Files

Word allows you make two types of automatic backups of your documents. One is a copy of the file before you start making ...

Discover More

Adding a ScreenTip

Need to add a ScreenTip to your document? It's easy to do, provided you are adding a hyperlink.

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Keeping a Picture Title with the Picture

Pictures and their titles go together like peanut butter and jelly. (Wow, did I just say that?) Seriously, pictures and ...

Discover More

Anchoring Objects by Default

When you position objects (such as text boxes or graphics) on a page, one of the things you can do is to anchor the ...

Discover More

Moving Captions with Pictures

Put a caption with a picture and you'd probably like the two elements to behave like they belong together. If you are ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is four minus 0?

2020-04-27 17:14:49

Rick

There seems to be a maximum number of times this can be done. I believe that I've experienced this when drawing floor plans. Once the maximum number of groupings are reached, Word eventually blocks the document from saving more edits and closing properly. I.e., it crashes. Any experience with this?


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.