Add text to drawings in Microsoft Office Word

Learn how to add text formatting within a shape or illustration with Microsoft Office Word.

Add text to drawings

Imagine that Teachers and students can easily combine illustrations with creative writing, add descriptions to shapes, create holiday decorations, worksheets, handouts, and signs that are engaging and fun using Microsoft Office Word 2007. Watch the video

Shapes and drawings

You can add a single shape directly to a page and then simply add text into the shape. To create a drawing with multiple shapes, lines, and text, you can compose the image using a drawing canvas and then group the shapes.

To insert a shape on a page and add text to it:

  1. Start with a new or existing document.
  2. On the Insert tab in the Illustrations group, click Shapes, and then select and draw the shape on a page.
  3. With the shape selected, click the Drawing Tools Format tab.
  4. Use the options on the tab to format the shape. For example, add a style, a fill color, a 3-D effect, or wrap text around the shape.
  5. To add text in the shape, right-click the shape, and click Add Text. The shape becomes a text box, and the tab changes to Text Box Tools.
  6. Click the shape, and type your text.
  7. To format the text in the shape, select the text, and then, on the Home tab, apply the formatting options you want. For example, you could change the size, type, and color of the text and then center or justify the text in the shape.

To use a drawing canvas to add text to a group of shapes:

  1. Start with a new or existing document.
  2. On the Insert tab in the Illustrations group, click Shapes, and then select New Drawing Canvas. A drawing canvas is added to your page.
  3. To adjust the shape and size of the drawing canvas, select the canvas and drag the handles on the selection border.
  4. Select the drawing canvas, and, on the Drawing Tools Format tab in the Insert Shapes group, select shapes one at a time and draw them on the drawing canvas. For example, create a heart shape by drawing two circles and an inverted triangle shape.
  5. Select all of the shapes, and then, in the Arrange group, click the Group button, and then click Group. The shapes are combined into a group that you can move and resize as one unit.
  6. To add text, in the Insert Shapes group, click the Text Box, and draw it over the grouped shape.
  7. Select the text. Format the text using the options on the Home tab.
  8. Select the text box, and, on the Text Box Tools Format tab, click Shape Fill, and remove the fill. Click Shape Outline, and remove the outline.
  9. Select the text box and grouped shapes, and on the Text Box Tools Format tab, click the Group button, and then click Group. Now you can move and resize the grouped shapes and text together.

Teacher Tips

   

  • Microsoft Word is more graphic than some students and teachers realize.

    Make your next class announcement convey the visual spirit of the message. Not only do you have a choice of geometric shapes, lines and text styles, you can easily insert a word, numb

  • Word has a drawing canvas you can open within your document.

    This makes it easy to create a unique graphic with shapes and text. Make a quick, fun poster, a dynamic worksheet, or call attention to extra credit points in a syllabus. To open a canvas, go to