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| Troubleshooting Microsoft® Office XP |
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Chapter: Drawing
- I can't see the border around an object
- I inserted a drawing, but I don't see it
- I can't resize an object
Drawing
Click to view graphic
I can't see the border around an object
Source of the problem
The use of borders began when the first caveman drew a line in the sand and grunted to show that everything on one side was his and everything on the other side wasn't. Just as people use borders to separate pictures and countries, you can use borders to set off text, drawings, clip art, or other objects from everything else on your page.In a drawing such as a circle or AutoShape, the border is actually the outer line that defines the drawing object. Making changes to that border involves choosing a setting for the border (such as a simple box, a shadow, or a 3-D effect) and applying a line style, thickness, and color. So far, so good. But sometimes borders around objects in your documents can disappear. This can have a few different causes:
- The border might have been removed by choosing the None setting in the Borders And Shading dialog box, or it might be the same color as the background.
- A 3-D effect might have been applied to the object. Applying this effect to an object turns off its border.
How to fix it
If the line color of your border is the same as the background color of your document:
- Click the object, and then display the Drawing toolbar.
- Click the arrow next to Line Color, and then click a color from the palette that appears.
- If you'd rather keep your text the same color, you can change your background color to make the text stand out against it more clearly. You do this by clicking Format, Background (in Excel click Sheet, then Background), and then clicking a color or image in the palette that appears.
Click to view graphic
Click to view graphic
If you have applied a 3-D effect that has caused your border to disappear, simply remove the 3-D effect by following these steps:
- Click the object.
- Display the Drawing toolbar, and click the 3-D Style button.
- Click No 3-D to remove the 3-D effect and restore any border that was previously assigned to the object.
I inserted a drawing, but I don't see it
Source of the problem
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but pictures in Office documents can be worth a thousand seconds of your valuable time. Graphics can enlarge the size of a file and can take several moments to display on screen, causing irritating delays. Microsoft has built in several features that suppress graphics from displaying to prevent these delays and has even provided a couple of views where graphics are banned from ever appearing. If you can't see a drawing you know you created in your document, the problem could be with one of the following settings in the Options dialog box.
- It's possible that you selected the Picture Placeholders View check box. Selecting this option helps you scroll through any document that includes graphics more quickly because your program displays placeholders (empty boxes) instead of pictures.
- Perhaps you cleared the Drawings View check box in Word. Clearing this option makes scrolling faster when a document contains drawing objects or other graphics because Word doesn't display graphics in Print Layout or Web Layout views.
Drawing objects aren't displayed at all in Normal or Outline views. To work with drawing objects, you must work in Print Layout view. You can also work in Web layout view with the Drawings View check box cleared in the Options dialog box, or work in Print Layout view.
In addition, there are times when you'll only see a portion of a picture on your screen, which is something else entirely. This problem occurs when the line spacing in your document is set to an amount that is smaller than the height of the graphic.
How to fix it
Let's deal with line spacing first. If your line spacing setting is too small, you might only see part of a drawing or graphic. To adjust line spacing so that an entire drawing is displayed, follow these steps:
- Click anywhere within the paragraph that contains the graphic (but not on the graphic itself), and then click Paragraph on the Format menu.
- Click the Indents And Spacing tab. In the Line Spacing box, click Single.
- If you click Exactly in the Line Spacing box, be sure to increase the measurement in the At box to match the height of the graphic.
- Click OK to save the new setting; your graphic should display correctly.
Click to view graphic
If you do not see your drawing, check these settings in the Options dialog box:
- Click Options on the Tools menu.
- Click the View tab, and then clear the Picture Placeholders check box in Word or the Show Placeholders check box in Excel.
- To display drawings, select the Drawings check box.
- Click OK to save these settings.
Click to view graphic
I can't resize an object
Source of the problem
Just as you don't want your waist to get too big or your bank account to get too small, you might also have preferences for the way drawing objects should resize. Office has some built-in restrictions that you can place on how objects resize. If you're not aware of the existence of these restrictions, they can cause you problems.If you're working with text boxes, you can apply a setting so that the text box object resizes to accommodate the amount of text you enter. This can be very helpful, saving you the trouble of manually resizing the box. However, if you decide to change the text box shape for some reason, this setting can restrict what you can do.
You might also get unexpected results when resizing because of the aspect ratio setting. This setting controls the height and width of your object, which change in direct relation to each other. This setting keeps your objects in their original proportion. If you want to resize without retaining that proportion, however, you have to clear the Lock Aspect Ratio check box.
How to fix it
If you're having trouble resizing a text box, check to see if the Resize Object To Fit Text check box is selected by doing the following:
- Click the text box.
- On the Format menu, click Text Box.
- In the dialog box that appears, click the Text Box tab.
- Clear the Resize AutoShape To Fit Text check box.
Click to view graphic
If an object only resizes in proportion, the Lock Aspect Ratio check box is selected. You can clear the check box by following these steps:
- Click the object.
- On the Format menu, click the command for the type of object you are working with—for example, AutoShape or Picture.
- Click the Size tab, and then clear the Lock Aspect Ratio check box.
Click to view graphic
Last Updated: December 12, 2001
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