Wrap text around a picture in Word
Applies To
Word for Microsoft 365 Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac Word for the web Word 2024 Word 2024 for Mac Word 2021 Word 2021 for Mac Word 2019 Word 2016
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Select the picture.
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Select Layout Options.
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Select the layout you want.
Tip: In Line with Text puts the picture in a paragraph, just as if it were text. The picture will change position as text is added or removed. The other choices let you move the picture around on the page, with text flowing around it.
For more info on text wrap options and wrap points, see Text wrapping options.
You can add a picture in the top left corner of a document and have the text flow around it.
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Select a picture.
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Go to Picture Format or Format > Position, and under Format with Text Wrapping, select Top Left.
Tip: You can drag the image around the document and align it any way you like. Make custom changes to word wrapping by selecting Format > Wrap Text > More Layout Options.
You can add a picture in the center of a document and have the text flow around it.
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Select a picture.
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Go to Picture Format or Format > Wrap Text > Square.
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Select Position > More Layout Options.
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On the Position tab, select Alignment, and change the drop-down field to Centered.
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Next to relative to, choose Page, and select OK.
Note: You can drag the image around the document and align it any way you like. Make custom changes to word wrapping by clicking Format > Wrap Text > More Layout Options.
You can add an image in your document and make the text flow around it in a way that follows the shape of the image.
Tip: For best results, use a picture with a transparent, white, or solid colored background.
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Select a picture and drag it to the middle of the page, or wherever you want it.
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Go to Picture Format or Format > Wrap Text > Tight.
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On the Format tab, select Remove Background.
Note: You cannot remove the background from vector images.
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Select anywhere outside the image to see how the text has wrapped around the image.
Fine-tune text wrapping
If there's too much space between the text and your image, you can set the wrap points manually.
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Select the picture, and go to Picture Format or Format and select Wrap Text > Edit Wrap Points.
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Drag the black wrap points closer or farther away from your picture until you're happy with its appearance. Drag the red line to create additional wrap points.
For more info on text wrap options and wrap points, see Text wrapping options.
Pictures inserted in line are tied to the place within the text where they were inserted and are treated like any text character—"in line with text." They automatically move with the surrounding text.
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Select a picture.
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Go to Picture Format or Format and select Wrap Text > In Line with Text.
You can make sure that your picture stays in place as text is added or deleted.
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Select a picture.
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Go to Picture Format or Format and select Wrap Text > Fix Position on Page.
Configure text wrapping around a picture or drawing object
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Select the picture or object.
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Go to Picture Format or Shape Format and select Arrange > Wrap Text.
If the window is wide enough, Word displays Wrap Text directly on the Picture Format tab.
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Choose the wrapping options that you want to apply.
For example, In Line with Text, Top and Bottom, and Behind Text.
Change the position of a picture or drawing object relative to the text
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Select the picture or drawing object.
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Go to Picture Format or Shape Format and select Arrange > Position.
If the window is wide enough, Word displays Position directly on the Picture Format tab.
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On the Position menu, choose the type of positioning that you want, or select More Layout Options to choose advanced layout options.
Configure text wrapping around a table
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Control + Click the table, and then select Table Properties.
If you don't see Table Properties on the shortcut menu, Control + Click in a different part of the table.
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In Table Properties, under Text Wrapping, select Around.
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To change the distance of the table from surrounding text, select Positioning, and then in Table Positioning, set measurements under Distance from Surrounding Text.
There are a limited group of text wrapping options for images with Word for the Web.
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Insert and select a picture.
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Go to Picture Tools > Format > Wrap Text.
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Choose a layout.
If you inserted a picture into your document while using Word for the web, you can cut and paste it to move it within a document, and you can apply paragraph formatting, like vertical spacing and centering, to it. However, you cannot move a picture that was inserted while using the desktop version of Word if the picture has text wrapping or a fixed position on the page.
If you find that you cannot make changes to a picture, and you have the desktop version of Word, select Open in Word to open your document in Word and make changes to its layout.
When you are done, press Ctrl+S to save your document to its original location. You can then open the document again in Word for the web, and continue editing. Word for the web will retain the layout settings that you applied in the desktop version of Word.
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