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Why can't I place a text box OVER a picture in Word anymore?

Anonymous
2016-07-19T18:06:49+00:00

I'm trying to make a Word newsletter and I wanted to place the text and Word Art over the picture.  But now there is some darned anchor that will not allow anything but putting the text box and/or Word art above, below or on either side of the picture.  

What the heck, Microsoft?!! Why are you making Word so hard to use? Why do I have to keep going to my Adobe Photoshop to create the whole thing and then add it to the document as a picture?

Does anyone know of a better document creation software that's out there that doesn't limit my creativity?  This monopoly is choking out my creativity by not allowing me the freedom to place the objects I want in a layout that's pleasing to me?

Is this stupidity?  Do they want Microsoft Word to go down the drain?  Why is Microsoft doing this to what used to be a very good program?

In my last question here, you all were nice enough to calm me down and reassure me that I could get back the neat types of Word Art by having to turn back to a better version of MS Office (i.e. 1997-2003) which is stupid in itself that Microsoft is taking away choicea in it's upgraded MS Office 2016 rather than adding to them, which I'm attempting to use but only finding freakin' contempt for the more I do.

Why can't the Word Art just still be a choice along with the new Word Art?!!  And for heaven's sake!  WHY has Microsoft deemed this darned anchor on pictures, text boxes and Word Art to be a good thing?  I want to place things on top of one another.  I don't want to have to use Adobe Photoshop to layer it when it used just be possible in MS Word.  I know the world is crazy these days, but can't we please have sanity back, at least in our document creation software?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-07-19T20:42:46+00:00

    Hi,

    Have you tried right clicking the object and set the Wrapping to 'Behind text'?

    Also, could you place only Word Art over the picture?

    To place text box over an image/object, you need to set the Wrap text of the image as "Behind text". Right-click the image and select Wrap Text and click behind Text. Then place the text box over the picture.

    Hope this works. Let us know if you have any queries.

    Thank you.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-03-29T17:27:48+00:00

    Right click on the text box, choose "Wrap text" then choose "None". In this way you should be able to place the text box above your picture.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-07-19T21:15:30+00:00

    Hi Praveen,

    Thank you for your help.  Okay, I used to be able to move and place all items any direction and way I wanted; i.e. I could rotate them 360° and overlap them without issue, question or being stopped in any way.  

    If I put behind text, it places the image behind it but square in the middle etc.  No, no, before I could put 10 pictures on a page and put Word are diagonally, upside down or whatever, fully or partially covering the image(s) and have text boxes over and/or in between or above/below - so absolutely no restrictions.

    MS Word 2016 put HUGE restrictions on any artwork feel to it, movement of anything on the page, it's as if my hands are tied.

    A person here said put it back down to a 1997-2003, I did and got back the neat Word Art but the 2016 anchor restriction remained on everything, so the joke was on me.

    Even as little as 2 months ago, I was able to right click on the anchor and it had an option that said, place image anywhere on document?  But that no longer exists either.

    So, this is now like a straight typewriter - remember I grew up before computers were the thing, so I know the difference and power of having the art in it.  However, if I have to go back to the old way of using art layouts to create my newsletters, I still will, but I just can't fathom why Microsoft is doing this in such an idiotic way.  It's ridiculous.

    My thing is that we, the consumers/users should be able to place the Word Art, Text Boxes and Images any darn way we want on the page, allow them to overlap and give us the ability to format each object on our page as well as toggle the opacity, but if Microsoft's programmers are finding it too hard to provide that, then the document creation software market needs to be opened up so that programmers who are capable of providing this to consumers/users are allowed to step out of the Microsoft monopoly and give us a viable, more creative and fun program.

    Sincerely,

    Crystal Kaulbars

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