Drawing Tools in Your
Word Processing Program
In case you weren't aware of it, your word processing program has built-in drawing pretty impressive tools.
To display these tools in pre-2007 versions of MSWord, go to
View>Toolbars>Drawing. In Word-2007 go to Insert>Shapes. In WordPerfect, go
to Insert>Graphics>Draw Picture. In MSWorks, go to Insert>Picture>New
Drawing.
The way these tools work varies greatly among the word processors. They are best learned by experimenting and consulting each program's Help files.
Here's a brief example of using MSWord's options. Click on View>Toolbars>Drawing to display a toolbar with rectangles, circles, and other geometric shapes, along with special shapes such as arrows, hearts, and even a happy face.
Click the rectangle to draw a shape in whatever size you want. Click on AutoShapes to find various geometric designs.
Click the Pen tool to choose an outline color. Click the Paint Bucket for a "fill" color. Click the "Lines"; icon to choose the thickness of a line or outline.
Click the Shadowed Box to add a shadow to a shape. Click the 3-D icon to add perspective. Click the Rotate icon and then grab a corner of any shape to rotate it.
If you want two or more objects to move as one unit, click each of them while pressing Shift. Then go to Draw>Group. If you want to flip the group,
go to Draw>Rotate or Flip. If you want to align them on their centers or on a particular edge, go to Draw>Align or Distribute.
If you have overlapping objects and want to change the order they are in, click on an object and go to Draw>Order.
In all versions of MSWord or MSWorks you can use "WordArt" to dress up a special line of text, such as "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays." Click on View>Toolbars>WordArt to display a colorful collection of sample layouts. Choose one, and a variety of shape-editing and color-combination options will appear. Furthermore, a WordArt object can be moved to any location on a page.
In Word-2007 WordArt is found under Insert>WordArt. WordPerfect has a similar feature called TextArt.
Earlier versions of MSWorks have a feature called "Border Art." After creating a frame by going to Insert>Text Box you can click on it and then go to Format>Borders & Shading. Choose Apply To>Text Box and then click the down-arrow above "Border Art." The menu will display a variety of colorful edges, including stars, flowers, hearts, and confetti effects.
Some later versions of MSWorks don't have Border Art, but all versions let you click on Insert>Picture>New Painting, where you will find a "canvas" and a variety of drawing and painting tools for creating your own decorations.
All word processors let you click on Insert>Picture, where you will find options for various kinds of clipart along with the ability to insert your
personal photos.
Once a graphic has been inserted, it can be reshaped and/or resized by mouse-grabbing a corner and adjusting it. In most word processors you can also double-click a graphic to bring up a toolbar with additional editing features.
© Donald Ray Edrington - All Rights Reserved
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