Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 2, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021
SmartArt is a type of graphical tool included in the latest versions of Word. SmartArt is, basically, a way to make organized presentation art. (Some folks think that SmartArt was created as a tool primarily for PowerPoint.) It is suitable for "organizational" types of artwork, such as organization charts and process lists.
To insert a piece of SmartArt into your document, display the Insert tab of the ribbon. In the Illustrations group, click the SmartArt tool. Word displays the Choose a SmartArt Graphic dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
Figure 1. The Choose a SmartArt Graphic dialog box.
Notice that at the left side of the dialog box there are a number of different categories. Each category represents a number of different SmartArt layouts that you can choose from based on the desired purpose of the graphic you want to create.
There are two additional categories available in Word 2010 and later versions of Word that aren't in Word 2007: Picture and Office.com. The Picture category is intended to help you use pictures in your SmartArt layout. The Office.com category isn't really a category, but a way to get additional layouts online.
Once you know which category you want to use, click it, and then click one of the layouts in that category. Click on OK, and Word inserts the SmartArt into your document. A text pane also opens up right next to the SmartArt. You place the information you want to appear in the artwork in this text pane.
When you are done entering the text for the artwork (what you enter or can enter depends on the type of SmartArt you are creating), click outside the SmartArt graphic, elsewhere in your document. The text pane disappears, and Word rearranges your text to fit properly in the available layout space.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9386) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.
The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!
If you have a graphic that has text wrapping around it, you might want a way to modify the wrapping path used by Word. ...
Discover MoreWhen you insert an object into your document, it is anchored to a paragraph. If you want to change the paragraph to which ...
Discover MoreLines can help to organize the data on a page or make certain points clearer. Word provides several different ways you ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments