- Drawing on a Word document step by step
- When the Draw tab isn't there
- Pens, colours and effects
- Erasing and selecting ink
- Turning scribbles into neat shapes
- The catch: drawings and editing don't always mix
- Drawing shapes without a pen
- Practical uses for a small business
- Saving and sharing a document with drawings
- What I'd do
- Frequently asked questions
To draw in Word, open the Draw tab, pick a pen, choose its thickness and colour, then draw on the page with a pen, your finger or the mouse. If the Draw tab is missing, turn it on under File, Options, Customize Ribbon. Press Esc to stop drawing.
Circling a number in a contract, sketching a quick floor plan for a client, signing off a proof with a squiggle in the margin: drawing in Word is handier than people expect. It works best with a touchscreen and a pen, but a mouse will do for simple marks. Microsoft calls it inking, and everything you need sits on the Draw tab.
Drawing on a Word document step by step
- Make sure you're in Print Layout. Microsoft says Word only lets you draw with ink in that view; if the pens are greyed out, go to View and select Print Layout.
- Open the Draw tab.
- Select a pen, pencil or highlighter.
- Select the small arrow on the pen to choose its thickness and colour.
- Draw on the page with a digital pen, your finger or the mouse.
- Press Esc when you've finished, to stop inking and go back to selecting.
When the Draw tab isn't there
Microsoft says the Draw tab switches on automatically if your device has a touchscreen. On an ordinary laptop or desktop, add it yourself: go to File, Options, Customize Ribbon, tick Draw and select OK. You can then draw with the mouse, which is fine for arrows, circles and underlines, if not for anything artistic.
Pens, colours and effects
| Setting | What Microsoft offers |
|---|---|
| Thickness | Five settings, from a quarter of a millimetre up to 3.5 mm |
| Colours | Sixteen solid colours, plus More Colors |
| Effects | Rainbow, Galaxy, Lava, Ocean, Rose Gold, Gold, Silver, Bronze |
| Texture | Pencil, which shades when you tilt a supported stylus |
Your pen set is shared across Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Microsoft says, so the pens you set up once are waiting in the other apps too.
Erasing and selecting ink
- Eraser: select it in the Drawing Tools group and drag over the ink you want to remove. Microsoft says Word has three eraser options under the arrow on the Eraser button.
- Lasso: draw a loop round part of a drawing or some handwritten words to select just that part. It only selects ink, not shapes or pictures.
- Moving ink: once a drawing's selected, it behaves like a shape, so you can move it, copy it or change its colour.
Turning scribbles into neat shapes
If your circles look more like potatoes, use Ink to Shape on the Draw tab. Microsoft describes it as converting an ink drawing into a standard shape, so a rough rectangle becomes a crisp one you can resize. There's also a Ruler for drawing straight lines, which helps for quick diagrams and underlining.
The catch: drawings and editing don't always mix
Ink sits on the page as a drawing, not as part of the text. If you add a paragraph above your scribbled circle, the text moves and the circle may not, so it ends up circling the wrong thing. For marks tied to specific words, add your notes as comments instead, or do the drawing as the last step once the text is final.
A digital pen can also start drawing the moment it touches the screen when you meant to select something. Microsoft's fix is under File, Options, Advanced: tick Use pen to select and interact with content by default. It only changes that one app, so you can keep pen drawing in OneNote and turn it off in Word.
Drawing shapes without a pen
If you want a tidy diagram rather than freehand ink, Word's shapes are often the better tool: Insert, Shapes, then drag on the page. They're easier to align and resize with a mouse. Freehand ink suits marking up, signing and quick sketches; shapes suit anything that needs to look designed.
Practical uses for a small business
- Mark up a supplier's proof with arrows and circles before sending it back.
- Sketch a quick room layout or display plan for a client meeting.
- Highlight the key lines of a contract for a colleague.
- Add a handwritten signature to a letter; my guide to adding a signature in Word covers the neater ways to do it.
If you work in Google's editor too, my guide to drawing on Google Docs explains how its drawing tool differs from Word's ink.
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Saving and sharing a document with drawings
Ink is saved inside the Word file, so anyone you send it to sees your marks when they open it. If you're sending a marked-up proof to a supplier who might not use Word, save it as a PDF first and check the drawings came through. And if you've drawn over a document someone else will keep editing, tell them; it's easy for a quick circle to end up floating next to the wrong paragraph once the text moves.
What I'd do
Switch to Print Layout, open the Draw tab, pick a pen and draw; Esc gets you out. Add the Draw tab through Customize Ribbon if it's missing, and use Ink to Shape when you want your marks to look tidy. I'd keep freehand ink for marking up and quick sketches, and reach for shapes when the drawing has to look polished.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I draw in Word?
You may not be in Print Layout. Go to View, Print Layout, and the pens on the Draw tab become available.
How do I get the Draw tab in Word?
Go to File, Options, Customize Ribbon, tick Draw and select OK. It's on automatically on touchscreen devices.
Can I draw in Word with a mouse?
Yes. Pick a pen on the Draw tab and drag with the mouse.
How do I stop drawing in Word?
Press Esc to stop inking and go back to selecting.
Can Word tidy up my drawings?
Yes. Turn on Ink to Shape on the Draw tab before drawing, and Word converts rough shapes into neat ones.
