📎 This article includes 1 downloadable practice file ↓
In this article
You insert a picture, type a word above it, and the picture leaps to the next page dragging a gap behind it. The fix is understanding one setting: text wrapping.
Insert
Insert › Pictures (from this device, stock images or online), Icons (simple, scalable, recolourable) or Shapes. Resize from a corner handle to keep proportions.
Text wrapping decides behaviour
Select the picture and click the Layout Options button that appears beside it:
| Option | Behaves like | Use for |
|---|---|---|
| In Line with Text (default) | A big letter in the line | Pictures on their own line, centred. Most stable |
| Square / Tight | Text flows around it | A photo beside a paragraph |
| Top and Bottom | Text above and below only | A diagram that must not have text beside it |
| Behind Text | A background | Watermark, coloured band behind a title |
| In Front of Text | Floating over text | Stamps, callouts |
Stop floating pictures moving
For Square or Tight wrapping, choose Fix position on page in Layout Options, so it stays put as text changes. Pictures are attached to a paragraph by an anchor (the small anchor icon); if you delete that paragraph, the picture goes too. Layout › Position › More Layout Options › Lock anchor keeps it attached to the right paragraph.
Captions and cross-references
Right-click › Insert Caption gives “Figure 1: …”, numbered automatically. References › Cross-reference lets text say “see Figure 3” and stay correct when figures are renumbered. References › Insert Table of Figures lists them all.
Keep file size down
Phone photos are 4–8 MB each. Select a picture › Picture Format › Compress Pictures, untick “Apply only to this picture”, choose Web (150 ppi) or Email (96 ppi). A 40 MB report often drops to 3 MB.
Shapes and text boxes
- Hold Shift while drawing for perfect squares, circles and straight lines.
- Shape Format › Align lines up several shapes neatly; Group keeps them together.
- Text boxes are fine for a pull-quote or label, but don’t build a whole page from them; screen readers and editing suffer.
Where beginners go wrong
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Picture jumps to the next page | In Line with Text, or Fix position on page |
| Picture disappeared after deleting text | Its anchor paragraph was deleted; Ctrl+Z |
| Huge file to email | Compress Pictures |
| Stretched faces | Resize from corners only; Reset Picture & Size to undo |
Practice
Download the practice document below. It is a short office announcement for adding a wrapped picture, a caption and a background shape. The task list is at the top of the document; tick each one off as you go.
📎 Practice files for this article
- 📘Lesson 5 practice documentA short office announcement to add a wrapped picture, caption and background shape to.⬇ DOCX · 36 KB
Free to use for learning. Files with macros (.bas) are plain text — import them with Alt+F11 → File → Import File, and always test on a copy.
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