Cannot align selected objects

Question

I have a new MacBook Pro (Apr11) with Office 2011 Version 14.1.3 (110805)

In Word, I am trying to aligh selected objects (like we used to be able to do in previous versions of Office for Mac 2008 on the pallette).  I follow the instructions in the Help section.  I select the two objects, I make sure that they are "in front of text" and I try to align them using the Align button.  My only options are "align to page" or or "align to margin."  The "align selected objects" is not available.  What gives?  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Richard, I'm sorry this thread fell into oblivion. You posted on a Sunday and somehow the thread fell down in the sequence list and I never saw it again.

The way to post a picture is this: you upload it to a site and enable public access. I use SkyDrive, but you could use others as well, like Screencast. Once you post a picture there, you just drag it onto your post. This site does not allow pictures, only linking to them. For instance, I can include the Bing logo from a public place just by dragging it here:

Going back to your problem, the only way I could make the Align Selected Objects option become grayed out—and I tried various combinations of objects, like shapes, textboxes and pictures—was when only one object was selected. This also happened if objects were grouped (so that I got only one frame around them). So, your objects should not be grouped.

Else, somehow Word is not registering the selection of various objects and thinks only one is being selected. Perhaps grouping and ungrouping would fix that?

Answer 2

Arrrrrgghhh!  No screen shot.  How do you insert the picture so that it gets into this thread?

Answer 3

Good morning John,

I am able to access the ribbon commands in the print layout view.  I can get to the Align button, but the only options it gives me are either align to page or align to margin.  The align selected objects is not active and I cannot figure out how to get it active.  Again, I'll try to insert what I'm seeing (like Daniel did above) but I've only been able to do that before I hit the submit button.

When I activate the align to page, all of the align left, center, right, top, middle, bottom buttons ghost like the align selected objects button is.

This is very frustrating because my older version of Office for Mac 2008 lets me align to selected objects, but the new, updated Office for Mac 2011 doesn't.

I searched the modify toolbar menus and could find the align left, center, right, top, middle, bottom buttons, but no "align to" buttons, so I don't know how to even try to add this to the ribbon.

Again, I really appreciate your time with this.  Would reinstalling the Mac for Office 2011 do anything for this?

Thanks.

Take care,

Rick

P.S. I'll now find out if you can see the screenshot of the align menu that I inserted.  If not, then I must not know how to do this like Daniel did.

Answer 4

Hi Richard:

That's right.  The Ribbon commands are disabled in Print Layout View.

You MUST add them to a toolbar if you want them to work :-)

If you add them to a toolbar, they will work in Print Layout View (I use them here).  And they are not on the Ribbon in that view.

Cheers