Insert Picture in Text Box

[Pierre Chemins]

MS Word 2003; Windows XP Pro SP3

I am trying to insert a picture in a text box and have that picture appear
behind the text like a watermark. I know how to do this within a document,
but I'd like it all in a text box so they both can be moved around the
document as a unit. I've inserted a picture in a text box, but have been
unable to have it appear behind the text in the text box. That option is
unavailable when I try to format the picture. It even appears to be
restricted where I can even place the picture within the text box; it seems
to be locked onto the top border of the text box, although I can move it
side to side.

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

 

[Jay Freedman]

Because a text box is itself a floating "drawing object", it is forbidden to
place a floating picture or other graphic inside it. The only graphics you
can put into a text box are "in line with text". However, a text box can be
converted to a frame, which can also be moved around on the page but is not
a drawing object.

To get the effect you want:

- Right-click the edge of the text box and choose Format Text Box.
- On the Colors and Lines tab of the dialog, select No Fill for the fill
color. (Otherwise the picture will eventually be hidden behind the white
fill.)
- Go to the Text Box tab of the dialog and click Convert To Frame. Close the
dialog and ignore the warning message.
- Now select the picture and set its text wrapping to Behind Text.

If you later need to move or resize the picture, display the Drawing toolbar
and click the white arrow tool to be able to select the picture behind the
text.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Can you put text over the Behind Text picture in a frame?

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Jay Freedman]

Yep, it works for me.

Can you put text over the Behind Text picture in a frame?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Hmm. I'll have to try that. But can you wrap text *around* a graphic with
Square wrapping?

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Jay Freedman]

No, you can't. By experiment, a picture in a frame can be inline,
behind text, or in front of text. None of the other wrapping types
have any effect. I see the same behavior in 2003, 2007, and 2010 beta.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Thanks for the confirmation, Jay. So that's not a workaround for the folks
who want to wrap text around a picture in a text box.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org