How to Wrap Text in Word Around Pictures and Shapes

You drop a photo into Word, and suddenly your paragraph's split in two with a big white gap beside the picture. Or you try to drag the image across and it refuses to budge. Both have the same cause: the picture's wrapping setting, which decides how text flows around it.

Getting this right is what makes a newsletter, a product sheet or a client guide look laid out rather than thrown together. Word gives you seven wrapping options, and you only need to understand three or four of them for nearly everything. Here's how they work.

Wrapping text around a picture in Word

1. Click the picture once to select it.
2. Select the Layout Options icon that appears beside its top-right corner.
3. Under With Text Wrapping, choose a layout such as Square or Tight.
4. Drag the picture where you want it. The text flows around it.

If you can't see the Layout Options icon, the same choices sit under Wrap Text on the picture's format tab, which appears on the ribbon while the image is selected.

Every Word text wrapping option compared

Wrapping option	What the text does	Good for
In Line with Text	Treats the picture like a single character in the line	Small icons or logos that sit within a sentence
Square	Wraps around a rectangle around the picture	Most photos in reports and newsletters
Tight	Follows the outline of the picture at an even distance	Cut-out images and irregular shapes
Through	Like Tight, but text can fill gaps inside the image	Shapes with open spaces in them
Top and Bottom	Stops above the picture and starts again below it	Wide images that should sit on their own
Behind Text	Words run over the top of the picture	Faint background images
In Front of Text	Picture sits over the text	Stickers, badges or callouts placed by hand

Microsoft says In Line with Text puts the picture in a paragraph just as if it were text, so it shifts every time you add or remove words. That's the default for many inserted images, and it's why pictures seem stuck.

Making a picture move with the text or stay fixed in Word

Once you've chosen a wrapping option, Word asks a second question in the same Layout Options menu: should the picture travel with its paragraph, or stay in one place on the page?

• Move with text keeps the picture beside the paragraph it belongs to, even if you add text above. Microsoft's example pairs this with Square.
• Fix position on page pins the picture to the same place on the page whatever happens to the text. Microsoft pairs this with In Front of Text.

For anything you'll keep editing, I'd choose Move with text. Fixed pictures look great until a paragraph grows and the image ends up beside the wrong section.

Getting text to hug an image shape in Word

If you've got a product cut-out or a round logo, Square leaves an awkward box of white space. Choose Tight or Through instead, and the text follows the shape. For finer control, Microsoft's help describes Edit Wrap Points under Wrap Text, which lets you drag the outline closer to or further from the image. It only works when the wrapping style is Tight or Through.

Finding the anchor behind a wrapped picture

Every wrapped picture is tied to a paragraph, shown by a small anchor symbol. Microsoft says anchors don't appear for inline pictures. To see them, turn on Show/Hide on the Home tab, or go to File, Options, Display and tick Object anchors.

If a picture keeps jumping when you edit, drag its anchor to the paragraph it belongs with. To stop it moving altogether, open Layout Options, select See more, and tick Lock anchor.

Wrapping text in Word for the web

The browser version is more limited. Microsoft says you can cut and paste a picture to move it, and apply paragraph formatting such as centring. But if a picture was inserted on the desktop with text wrapping or a fixed position, you can't move it in Word for the web. Select Open in Word, make the change there, then save with Ctrl+S.

Using text wrapping in business documents

Wrapping is the difference between a flyer that looks designed and one that looks typed. A headshot with Square wrapping beside your bio, a product photo with Tight wrapping in a catalogue page, a pale logo set Behind Text on a cover. If you're building a folded leaflet, my guide to making a brochure in Word shows how wrapping fits into a full layout. Charts behave the same way as pictures here, and my walkthrough on making a chart in Word covers placing one beside your text.

When Word text wrapping goes wrong

• The picture won't move. Microsoft says to choose any wrapping option other than In Line with Text.
• You can't select a picture. It may be behind text. Go to Home, Select, Selection Pane, and pick it from the list.
• It moves too far when dragged. Hold Ctrl and press an arrow key to nudge it in small steps.
• A big gap sits beside the picture. Switch from Square to Tight, or resize the image.
• Text overlaps the picture. You've chosen Behind Text or In Front of Text. Change it to Square.

Frequently asked questions

How do I wrap text around a picture in Word?

Select the picture, click the Layout Options icon beside it, and choose a wrapping option such as Square or Tight under With Text Wrapping.

Why won't my picture move in Word?

It's probably set to In Line with Text. Microsoft says to choose any other wrapping option so you can move it freely.

What's the difference between Tight and Square wrapping?

Square wraps text around a rectangle. Tight follows the outline of the picture, so text sits closer to irregular shapes.

How do I stop a picture jumping around when I edit?

Choose Move with text so it stays with its paragraph, or open See more in Layout Options and tick Lock anchor.

Can I wrap text in Word for the web?

Only partly. Microsoft says pictures inserted on the desktop with wrapping or a fixed position can't be moved online, so use Open in Word.