How to Group Objects on Microsoft Word

Grouping objects in Microsoft Word is an efficient way to manipulate objects to make Word take them as a whole. You can group shapes so that if you wish to relocate them but not mess up the distance between the shapes, they will move as one.

Part 1
Part 1 of 3:
Opening a Word Document

  1. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 1
    1
    Launch MS Word. Double-click on the program’s icon on the desktop to launch it. Once launched, the program will open as a new Word document.
  2. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 2
    2
    Open a Word file. Click “File” on the menu bar up top, select “Open,” and use the file browser that appears to locate the Word file you want to use. Once you’ve found it, click on the file then click on “Open” on the lower-right side of the file browser window.
  3. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 3
    3
    Find the objects you want to group in the document. Scroll through the pages until you find the the shapes or objects that you wish to group together.

Part 2
Part 2 of 3:
Enabling the Drawing Toolbar

  1. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 4
    1
    Click on the “View” menu in the menu bar. The menu bar is at the top of your document window.
  2. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 5
    2
    Hover you mouse over “Toolbar” then select “Drawing toolbar.” The toolbar will then appear in the lower-left corner of your document. This applies to Microsoft Word 2003. For MS Word versions 2010 and 2013, the drawing toolbar appears as another tab, next to VIEW under the name "FORMAT" when you click on an object.

Part 3
Part 3 of 3:
Grouping Objects

  1. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 6
    1
    Select the objects or shapes you want to group. Do this by holding the CTRL key on your keyboard and left-clicking on the objects you want to group.
    • Make sure that the objects are individually at the position you want them in.
  2. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 7
    2
    Select “Draw” to show the extended menu. The “Draw” button is in the Drawing Toolbar. For higher versions of Word, look for the arrange group under the drawing tools ribbon.
  3. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 8
    3
    Select “Group.” The objects or shapes you selected will then be grouped, and if you move the grouped object or shape, they will move as one.

Community Q&A

  • Question
    How can I group text boxes in Word?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Click one after the other while holding Ctrl. Then do a right-click and press 'Group'.
  • Question
    Microsoft Word wouldn't allow me to group for some reason. Do you have any idea what I'm doing wrong?
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    Objects with "In Line" text wrapping and GIFs cannot be grouped. Since wrapping is difficult in a text box, it is best to move any items out of a text box, change the word wrap setting, and then group. You can then copy the group and paste it back into a text box and finish by deleting the group outside the box.

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wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 161,989 times.
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Co-authors: 6
Updated: March 19, 2019
Views: 161,989
Categories: Microsoft Word