How to wrap text in Word documents

Adding graphic objects to your text files, like press releases or research papers, to illustrate content makes them more presentable and meaningful. Knowing how inserted objects can fit with text is essential to get the look you want. In this article, we are going to discover the ways you can wrap text in Word documents.

What is text wrapping in Word documents

Wherever an object is placed in a document, line spacing increases to fit its size. This is because an image or a chart is treated as an inline text character. So, the object moves around just like the rest of the text.

Text wrapping refers to how objects are positioned in relation to the content in a Word document, allowing you to control how images, shapes, and charts are presented.

The same to tables. Adding an illustrative table requires not just wrapping text around the table, but also fitting contents into table cells.

How to wrap text around a picture

In ONLYOFFICE Doсs, you can choose how to wrap text around an image in Word documents, changing the wrapping style for inserted objects.

There are three ways to access text wrapping options:

• Select the inserted image, then click the Layout tab, and then click the Wrapping button to choose the style,
• Right-click the picture and choose Wrapping Style from the context menu,
• Use Advanced image settings from the right-side toolbar or from the context menu to change the Wrapping Style

Now that you know how to access style options, let’s discover what they mean:

Inline. The inserted picture is considered to be a part of the text. This option places an image on the same line as surrounding content: when you enter or delete the content, the image moves as well. So it’s difficult to drag it where you want.

Square. If your image is square and you want to wrap text around a picture, you can use this option.

Tight. Use this wrapping option to wrap text around an irregularly shaped or round image. This option is good for images that have no background.

Through. Do you want to customize the areas that the text will wrap? Use this Wrapping Style and the Edit Wrap Boundary option from the context menu to let content be incorporated with your image. Pull or drag image points* in and out of their original borders to leave more white space around your picture or reduce it.

Top and bottom. Use this styling option if you want the image to stay on its own line, but be between two paragraphs: on the top and bottom.

In front. The image appears in the foreground and obscures the content behind it.

Behind. The text places over the picture. It could be used for effects, watermarks, or background images.

Use Advanced settings for Square, Tight, Through, or Top and bottom styles to choose a distance from the text. Right-click the image, select the Advanced Settings, go to the Text Wrapping tab, insert the needed values, and then click OK.

*Please note: you can also edit the wrap boundary for images or shapes.
Right-click the object, select the Wrapping Style option, and then choose the Edit Wrap Boundary option.
Or use Layout tab -> Wrapping -> Edit Wrap Boundary. Drag image points to change the shape’s margin.
If you need a new wrap point, just click anywhere on the red line and drag it to the required position. It works for all the wrapping styles, excluding Inline.

After the wrap option is applied, you can click and drag the image to anywhere in the document, and the text will wrap around it accordingly.

If you need to remove wrap text in Word doc, just choose the Inline option to get back to default settings.

How to wrap text around table

If you work with tables in Word documents, surely it has happened to you to put a table between two paragraphs. In this case, the table follows a paragraph of explanatory or introductory content, complementing it with some values.

You can align the table the way you want it. It’s also possible to make the text wrap in Word table to get a better-looking document.

In ONLYOFFICE Docs you can choose between two wrapping styles, available for tables: Inline table and Flow table.

Follow these steps to change the currently selected style:

• Right-click the table and select the Table Advanced Settings option from the context menu,
• Go to the Text Wrapping tab, and choose one of two options.

Use the Inline table to place it into the middle of a paragraph. The table aligns to the left margin of the page by default.

Use the Flow table option to wrap the content around the table.

Advanced Table Settings give some more extra parameters. Like Indent from left is available for inline table, and Distance from text – for flow table.

How to fit text into table cells

You have worked hard on your page design, including a couple of tables that are just right. Then, along comes a need to add a bit more text into one of the tables. The result is that the content in a cell wraps and stretches the table out vertically. Let’s have a look at how to solve this situation.

ONLYOFFICE Docs provides an option to wrap text in a Word table. Just follow these steps:

• Right-click the table and select the Table Advanced Settings option from the context menu or use the Show advanced settings link on the right-side toolbar,
• Go to Table tab in the Table properties window,
• Choose Automatically resize to fit contents.

The option automatically adjusts the size of the text and allows the column width to change depending on the content.

You can also adjust the table size manually changing the row height and column width with a mouse. Manual fit is good to create a custom-shape table: merging cells, changing cell alignment, and text direction.

Discover how to wrap text in Word docs and tables in ONLYOFFICE Docs in this video:

With ONLYOFFICE editors you can turn routine work with a text into a creative process on the way to achieving intended results. Try yourself its complete functionality:

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