Working with Text Boxes

[Jeff Promish]

I write a weekly newsletter for my Rotary Club and am
frequently frustrated by the behavior of text boxes.
Specifically:
1. I'll click the text box icon and a huge, "Create your
drawing here" box appears. This box almost always has no
relation to what I'm actually trying to create!
2. I often have trouble moving a text box to the desired
position
3. On my current newletter, every time I click the text
box icon, Word stops responding! How frustrating! It
happend over and over with the only variation that
sometimes the aforementioned "Create your drawing here"
box is displayed and then the program stops responding
when I click to create the text box.

Please HELP!

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Jeff,

From your description you're using Word 2002 or 2003.

The drawaing canvas is set to be the default drawing
container (autoshapes and other items), but can be
turned off from Tools=>Options=>General.

Part of the positioning of any autoshape (including
a text box) ability will depend on the Layout 'wrap style'
you have set (Tools=>Options=>Edit for setting
a default and the Picture or Drawing toolbars
or Format=>Textbox for changing the layout/wrap
choices for an item while selected.

Before starting Word Use Start=>Search to locate
and delete files found with *.tmp;~$*.*
as the file search string to clear up old temporary
files that Word doesn't cleanup when it closes
due to an error.

If you start Word in Office Safe mode (hold ctrl
key when starting Word) and place a text box in
a new document do you get the same error? If not
you may have a corrupted Normal.dot or other template
file, or a conflict with an Add-in that is being
used. One of the most common ones is the OfficeAV
plug in from Norton Antivirus.

If you're using Word 2002 be sure you have it up to date
from http://office.microsoft.com/officeupdate

========
I write a weekly newsletter for my Rotary Club and am
frequently frustrated by the behavior of text boxes.
Specifically:
1. I'll click the text box icon and a huge, "Create your
drawing here" box appears. This box almost always has no
relation to what I'm actually trying to create!
2. I often have trouble moving a text box to the desired
position
3. On my current newletter, every time I click the text
box icon, Word stops responding! How frustrating! It
happend over and over with the only variation that
sometimes the aforementioned "Create your drawing here"
box is displayed and then the program stops responding
when I click to create the text box.

Please HELP! >>
--
I hope this helps you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

The Office 2003 System parts explained
http://microsoft.com/uk/office/preview/system.asp

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

In addition to what Bob has said, I'll just mention that I've been
editing/publishing my Rotary club's weekly bulletin since 1995, and I have
never yet needed a text box. It is a four-panel legal-size brochure (double
parallel fold) that I create using four columns. There are few graphics, and
all but one are inline. I've got a couple of frames, and occasional bordered
text, but no text boxes. In case it sways you at all, the bulletin has won
the District 6880 Best Bulletin award every year it has been eligible (some
years I was a judge!).

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