4 Easy Steps to Group Shapes, Pictures, or Other Objects in Word

Do you want to move or resize multiple pictures, shapes, or other objects in your document at the same time? Grouping objects in Microsoft Word is an efficient way to manipulate them to act as a whole instead of individual pieces. You can group shapes, pictures, and other objects so that if you wish to relocate them but not change the distance between them, they will move as one. This wikiHow article teaches you step-by-step how to group and ungroup shapes, pictures, and other objects in Word on your PC or Mac.

Things You Should Know

  • Group items by selecting them and then going to "Layout > Group".
  • Make sure none of the objects have the "In Line with Text" wrap setting before creating a group.
  • If the Group option is grayed out, make sure you have more than one object selected & that none of the objects is a SVG, table, or worksheet.
Section 1 of 2:

Grouping Objects in Word

  1. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 1
    1
    Open your document in Word. You can either double-click the file in your file manager (Finder for Mac and File Explorer for Windows) or you can click the Word app icon and go to File > Open.
  2. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 2
    2
    Make sure none of your objects are set to "In Line with Text." If a picture or object you want to add to the group has its text wrapping set to "In Line with Text," you won't be able to select it while creating your group.[1] Here's how to check and change the text wrap settings:
    • Click any object you want to add to the group.
    • Click the "Layout Options" icon that appears at the top-right corner.
    • If the "In Line with Text" option is selected, choose any of the other text wrapping options.
    • Repeat for all objects you want to group.
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  3. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 3
    3
    Select the objects you want to group. If you're using Windows, press and hold Ctrl as you click each object. If you're on a Mac, press and hold Cmd instead.
  4. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 4
    4
    Click the Shape Format or Picture Format tab. You'll see one or both of these tabs at the top of Word, depending on which objects you've selected. The option to group objects appears on both of these tabs.
    • If you don't see either of these tabs, click the Layout tab instead. You'll also find the option to group here.
    • If you're using Office 2010, click the Drawing Tools or Picture Tools tab, then click the Format tab.[2]
  5. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 5
    5
    Click Group on the toolbar. You'll see this on the Arrange panel near the top-right corner of Word. If you don't see this option, click Arrange to make it visible. A brief menu will expand.
  6. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 6
    6
    Click Group again to group the selected objects. The objects are now grouped together, which allows you to rotate,
    • To ungroup objects, click your group to select it, click the Layout tab, then select Ungroup.
    • Once you've grouped, then separated a group, you can regroup it. Go to Layout > Regroup.
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Section 2 of 2:

Why is the Group button grayed out?

  1. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 7
    1
    You can't include SVG icons in your groups. If there are SVG icons in your selection, you'll first have to convert the SVG icons to shapes, which is a feature that only Windows 365 subscribers have access to. There will be a "Convert to Shape" button under Graphics Tools > Format.
  2. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 8
    2
    You only have one shape, picture, or object selected. Since you can't create a group with only 1 item, you'll need to add more items. Press and hold Ctrl (Windows) or Cmd (Mac) as you click to add other objects.
  3. Image titled Group Objects on Microsoft Word Step 9
    3
    Your selection includes a table or worksheet. Unfortunately, you cannot add these things to your group.
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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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References

  1. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/group-shapes-pictures-or-other-objects-in-word-6d92a2df-836b-42bf-9c38-892007b85492
  2. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/group-shapes-pictures-or-other-objects-in-word-6d92a2df-836b-42bf-9c38-892007b85492#OfficeVersion=Office_2010

About This Article

Darlene Antonelli, MA
Written by:
Darlene Antonelli, MA
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Darlene Antonelli, MA. Darlene Antonelli is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Darlene has experience teaching college courses, writing technology-related articles, and working hands-on in the technology field. She earned an MA in Writing from Rowan University in 2012 and wrote her thesis on online communities and the personalities curated in such communities. This article has been viewed 189,046 times.
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Co-authors: 8
Updated: October 25, 2022
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Categories: Microsoft Word
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