Word includes several different ways that you can wrap text around pictures and other objects. Most of those wrapping methods are self-explanatory. There is one wrapping method—through wrapping—that may not make immediate sense.
The way that text is wrapped around an image depends on the wrapping points defined for the image. Wrapping points are nothing but a boundary that text cannot cross when it flows around the image. For many objects and images, the wrapping points define a rectangular box around the image. For other objects and images it may be more irregularly shaped. Consider the following image, which has the wrapping points displayed. (See Figure 1.)
Figure 1. The wrapping points around an image.
These wrapping points define the boundaries of the image. If you specify tight wrapping for the image, then the text is wrapped as close as it can be to the exterior of the image, but no text goes "inside" the image. The following shows how this type of wrapping occurs. (See Figure 2.)
Figure 2. Tight wrapping around an image.
Through wrapping, however, is essentially the same as tight wrapping, except it allows text to wrap so that it fills holes within the image that are created by the path of the wrapping points. See, for instance, the same image with through wrapping applied, as shown in this figure. (See Figure 3.)
Figure 3. Through wrapping for an image.
For many objects there will be no functional difference between tight and through because the wrapping points define a path in which there are no holes. Perhaps the best example would be for text boxes or tables, which are rectangular items. There are no internal holes, so tight and through wrapping have the same result.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9382) applies to Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010.
Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!
You want your documents to look as good as they can. If those documents include graphics, then you also need to make sure ...
Discover MoreNeed to add a graphic watermark to a document? It's not that hard to do, but making the watermark permanent can be a bit ...
Discover MoreIf you want to "sign" your documents, you might be tempted to insert a graphic scan of your signature into them. Before ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2018-04-06 10:00:22
Jennifer Thomas
To see wrap points, the image has to be set to Tight wrapping. If there are no internal holes, use a graphics editor to remove the background from the area in which you want the 'hole' - the background has to be transparent. Hope that helps - FYI, SnagIt is a cheap-and-easy editor that will do that conversion of background to transparent - it's about $40 last I checked.
2018-04-05 09:46:36
Robert Schechter
When I insert an object (graphic) into Word For many objects the wrapping points define a path in which there are no holes, just a rectangular item. There are no internal holes, so tight and through wrapping have the same result. How can I define additional wrapping points?
2018-04-05 08:24:48
Jennifer Thomas
Just make sure the image has transparency applied to the background (typically that would be a GIF or PNG, as those are pretty good for preserving transparency across applications, although other formats can work in some cases).
2016-08-11 11:15:05
Reg King
The best explanation and examples of "Through" wrapping I found.
Well done !
Reg.
2013-12-08 16:26:47
Juan
Excellent tip, it's very illustrative and clear!
Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments