10. Organize and arrange content
In this chapter
Word 2019 provides many tools for organizing and arranging the content of a document. For example, you can use outlining tools to display the hierarchy of content within a document, and you can rearrange content in the Navigation pane and in Outline view. Word also has positioning and alignment tools you can use to precisely position objects and control their alignment and stacking order.
You can also use the table functionality in Word to control the positions of blocks of information on the page in nested tables. For example, a table with two columns and two rows can hold a set of four paragraphs, four bulleted lists, or four tables in a format in which you can easily compare their data.
This chapter guides you through procedures related to reorganizing document outlines, arranging objects on a page, and using tables to control page layout.
Reorganize document outlines
When you create a document, you can divide the document into logical sections by using headings. Heading styles define not only formatting but also outline levels. These outline levels are visible in the Navigation pane and also in Outline view.
See Also
For information about formatting headings by using styles, see “Apply built-in styles to text” in Chapter 4, “Modify the structure and appearance of text.” For general information about styles, see “Create and modify styles” in Chapter 15, “Create custom document elements.”
Manage content in the Navigation pane
When working in Print Layout view, you can display a hierarchical structure of the document headings in the Navigation pane. By default, the Navigation pane displays document content styled as Heading 1, Heading 2, or Heading 3. You can display up to nine heading levels in the Navigation pane. (The display is controlled by the outline level rather than by the heading name.) If you use custom styles, you can set the outline levels of the styles to control the Navigation pane content.
You can reorganize document content by dragging headings in the Navigation pane. You can also promote, demote, or remove sections by using commands on the Navigation pane shortcut menu.
You can work with a document in the Navigation pane in much the same way you can in Outline view
To display the Navigation pane
On the View tab, in the Show group, select the Navigation Pane check box.
To change the outline levels displayed in the Navigation pane
Right-click anywhere in the Navigation pane, select Show Heading Levels, and then select the lowest outline level that you want to display.
To move a document section in the Navigation pane
In the Navigation pane, drag the heading of the section you want to move to the new location. (A bold horizontal line indicates the drop location.)
Manage content in Outline view
When you format headings by using Word’s built-in heading styles, it’s easy to view and organize the document in Outline view. In this view, you can hide all the body text and display only the headings at and above a particular level. You can also rearrange the sections of a document by moving their headings. When you display a document in Outline view, Word displays the document with a hierarchical structure, and the Outlining tab appears on the ribbon between the File and Home tabs.
A document in Outline view
The indentations and symbols used in Outline view to indicate the level of a heading or paragraph in the document’s structure don’t appear in the document in other views or when you print it.
To easily reference paragraph styles while working in Outline view, you can display the style area pane to the left of the document. For information about displaying and resizing the style area pane, see “Display different views of documents” in Chapter 2, “Create and manage documents.”
Double dotted lines indicate collapsed content
You can use commands in the Outline Tools group of the Outlining tab to do the following:
Display only the headings at a specific level and above. Word displays a double dotted line under the heading if the document contains text below it.
Collapse or expand a specific heading.
Expand the entire outline to display the document in its entirety.
Promote or demote headings or body text by changing their level.
Move headings and their text up or down in the document.
Tip
You can select the buttons in the Master Document group to create a master document with subdocuments that you can then display or hide. The topic of master documents and subdocuments is beyond the scope of this book. For information, use the Tell Me What You Want To Do text box.
To display a document in Outline view
On the View tab, in the Views group, select Outline.
To change the outline levels displayed in Outline view
On the Outlining tab, in the Outline Tools group, in the Outline Level list, select Level n, where n is the lowest level of heading you want to display.
Press Alt+Shift+n, where n is the lowest level of heading you want to display.
To collapse or expand a single document section in Outline view
Position the cursor in the heading of the section you want to collapse or expand. Then do either of the following:
On the Outlining tab, in the Outline Tools group, select the Collapse or Expand button.
Press Alt+Shift+Minus Sign to collapse the section or Alt+Shift+Plus Sign to expand the section.
To expand the entire document in Outline view
On the Outlining tab, in the Outline Tools group, in the Show Levels list, select All Levels.
Press Alt+Shift+A.
To promote or demote a heading in Outline view
Position the cursor in the heading you want to promote or demote. Then do either of the following:
In the Outline Tools group, select the Promote or Demote button.
Press Alt+Shift+Left Arrow to promote the heading or Alt+Shift+Right Arrow to demote the heading.
Tip
Promoting or demoting a heading also promotes or demotes subheadings within that section to maintain the content hierarchy.
To move a document section in Outline view
Select the plus sign to the left of the heading to select the section. Then do either of the following:
In the Outline Tools group, select the Move Up button or Move Down button as many times as necessary to move the section to the target location.
Press Alt+Shift+Up Arrow or Alt+Shift+Down Arrow as many times as necessary to move the section to the target location.
To close Outline view
On the Outlining tab, in the Close group, select Close Outline View to display the document in Print Layout view.
Arrange objects on a page
In previous chapters, you learned basic ways to position an object, such as a picture or shape, on a page. When you position an object on a page, text wraps around that object by default. You are not limited to the basic settings you’ve explored thus far, however. In fact, you can position objects and change text-wrap settings in several ways.
The Position gallery of layout options is available for most objects from the contextual Format tool tab. These options position the object in a specific location relative to the page margins.
The Position gallery offers several preconfigured position options
The Layout Options menu, which appears when you insert or select an object, provides text-wrapping options.
From the Layout Options menu, you can quickly set a text-wrapping option
The standard text-wrapping options include the following:
In Line with Text As its name suggests, when you choose this option, the object is placed in line with the text. The text does not wrap around the object.
Square When you choose Square, text wraps around the object in a square shape.
Tight Choose this option if you want text to wrap more tightly around the object.
Through The effects of this setting are most obvious when you insert an irregularly shaped object. When this option is selected, text appears to go through the object, filling in any blank spaces within it.
Top and Bottom This option places the object on its own line, with no text on either side of it.
Behind Text When you choose this option, the object is placed behind, or underneath, any existing text.
In Front of Text This setting lays the object on top of existing text, thereby obscuring it.
You can display the Layout dialog box from either the Position menu or the Layout Options menu. The Text Wrapping tab of the Layout dialog box offers the same text-wrapping styles as the Layout Options menu. In addition, you can fine-tune text-wrapping settings—for example, indicating whether text should wrap on both sides of the object and how far the object should be from the text.
For more exact text wrapping, configure the settings on the Text Wrapping tab
For more position settings, including settings you can use to specify whether the position is absolute or relative (more on that in a moment), you can use the commands on the Position tab of the Layout dialog box. The available positions vary based on the selected text-wrapping option.
You can fine-tune position settings on the Position tab
When you choose a text-wrapping option other than In Line With Text, you can specify that an object be positioned in a specific location on the page or relative to a page element, or you can anchor it to a paragraph so it moves with the content.
You can also use alignment commands to align objects with the margins and with each other. You can access these commands from the Align menu on the Format tool tab.
The picture is aligned with the top and left page margins
You can move an object manually by dragging it to another position on the page. To make it easier to align objects, you can display a grid that divides the page content area into squares of specific dimensions.
You can display a grid to help with aligning objects
You can change the grid settings in the Grid And Guides dialog box. You can choose whether to display alignment guides, such as margins, and whether items should be snapped, or automatically aligned, to the grid or to other objects. You can also change the size of the grid.
If you insert several objects and then position them so that they overlap, they are said to be stacked. The stacking order (which object appears on top of which) is initially determined by the order in which you inserted the objects, but it can also be determined by other factors, such as the type of text wrapping assigned to each object. If all the objects have the same kind of text wrapping, you can change their order. You do so by using buttons in the Arrange group on the Format tool tab, or from the Selection pane, which displays a list of all the objects on the page.
You can manage objects from the Selection pane
To display the Selection pane
On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Select, and then in the list, select Selection Pane.
Select the object. Then on the Format tool tab, in the Arrange group, select the Selection Pane button.
To select an object
On the page, select the object.
In the Selection pane, select the object’s name.
To position an object on a page
Select the object.
On the Format tool tab, in the Arrange group, select the Position button to display the Position gallery and menu.
In the Position gallery, point to a thumbnail to display a live preview of that option’s effect on the position of the object. When you find the position you like, select the corresponding thumbnail.
Or
On the Position menu, select More Layout Options to display the Position tab of the Layout dialog box. In the Horizontal and Vertical areas, specify the absolute or relative position you want. Then select OK.
To change the way text wraps around an object
Select the object, and then select the Layout Options button that appears next to the selected object.
In the Layout Options gallery, select the text-wrapping option you want to apply.
Or
Select the object.
On the Format tool tab, in the Arrange group, select the Wrap Text button and then select More Layout Options to open the Layout dialog box with the Text Wrapping tab displayed.
In the Wrapping style area, choose the text wrapping you want to apply.
In the Wrap text area, indicate whether the text should wrap on both sides, on the left side only, on the right side only, or on the largest side only.
In the Distance from text area, specify the minimum distance between each side of the object and the text.
Select OK.
To anchor an object to a paragraph or page
Position the object next to or within the paragraph you want to anchor it to, or in the position where you want to anchor it.
Select the object.
On the Format tool tab, in the Arrange group, select the Wrap Text button, and then do either of the following:
To anchor the object to the paragraph, select Move with Text.
To anchor the object to the page location, select Fix Position on Page.
To align an object on the page
Select the object.
On the Format tool tab, in the Arrange group, select Align, and then select one of the six alignment options at the top of the menu.
The Align menu provides easy access to all the alignment options
Tip
When objects have a text-wrapping setting other than In Line With Text, you can use the options on the Align menu to align multiple objects horizontally or vertically. You can also distribute selected objects equally between the first and last objects in the selection.
To display or hide gridlines in the content area
On the Format tool tab, in the Arrange group, select the Align button, and then select View Gridlines.
To change grid settings
On the Format tool tab, in the Arrange group, select the Align button, and then select Grid Settings to open the Grid And Guides dialog box.
You can specify the location and functionality of the on-screen alignment guides and grid
Make any changes you want, and then select OK.
To manually move an object
Select the object.
Drag the selected object to the target location.
Tip
If the grid is displayed and has been configured to allow snapping, the object will snap to the nearest gridline when it is dropped. To move an object without snapping it to the grid, hold down the Ctrl key while pressing an arrow key. The object will move in tiny increments.
To change the stacking order of objects
Select the object that you want to move.
On the Format tool tab, in the Arrange group, do one of the following:
Select the Bring Forward button to move the selected object one position closer to the top of the stack.
In the Bring Forward list, select Bring to Front to move the object to the top of the stack.
Select the Send Backward button to move the selected object one position closer to the bottom of the stack.
In the Send Backward list, select Send to Back to move the object to the bottom of the stack.
To hide objects on the page
Open the Selection pane. The eye icon to the right of each object indicates that it is currently visible on the page.
In the Selection pane, do either of the following:
To hide one object, select the eye icon to the right of the object name.
To hide all the objects in the document, select the Hide All button.
The eye icon changes to a small horizontal bar, indicating that an object is hidden.
To display hidden objects
In the Selection pane, do either of the following:
To display one object, select the bar icon to the right of the object’s name.
To display all the objects in the document, select the Show All button.
Use tables to control page layout
Most people are accustomed to thinking of a table as a means of displaying data in a quick, easy-to-grasp format. But tables can also serve to organize content in creative ways. For example, suppose you want to display two tables next to each other. The simplest way to do this is to first create a page-width table that has only one row and two columns, and then insert one of the tables you want to display in the first cell and the other table in the second cell. When the outer table borders are hidden, these nested tables appear side by side.
These tables are nested within the cells of a one-row, two-column table
As with regular tables, you can create a nested table in one of three ways:
From scratch
By formatting existing information
By inserting Microsoft Excel data
And just like with other tables, you can format a nested table either manually or by using one of the ready-made table styles.
Tip
You can use tables to organize a mixture of elements such as text, tables, charts, and diagrams. For more information about creating tables, see Chapter 5, “Organize information in columns and tables.”
To create a nested table
In a document, position the cursor where you want to insert the nested table.
On the Insert tab, in the Tables group, select the Table button.
In the Insert Table gallery, select the box corresponding to the size of table you want for the container table.
ImportantIt’s inadvisable to create a container table of more than two columns. The procedures in this topic assume a two-column container table.
Create or locate the first table you want to nest within the container table, and click anywhere within it.
On the Layout tool tab, in the Table group, click Select, and then click Select Table.
On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, select Cut or Copy to move or copy the selected table to the Clipboard.
TipPress Ctrl+C to copy the selected content to the Clipboard.
In the container table, right-click the left table cell, and then under Paste Options, select the Nest Table button to insert the table you copied into the cell and adjust the height of the container table to fit the nested table.
Create or locate the second table you want to nest within the container table, and then cut or copy the table to the Clipboard.
In the container table, select the right table cell, and then on the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, select Paste to insert the second table as a nested table.
TipPress Ctrl+V to paste the most recently copied content from the Clipboard.
To format a nested table
Point to the container table, and then click or tap the table selector that appears just outside of its upper-left corner to select the table. (Be sure you select the container table and not the nested table.)
On the Design tool tab, in the Borders group, in the Borders list, select No Border to remove the borders from the container cells.
Key points
If you take the time to apply heading styles to a document, you can use the document’s outline to rearrange its sections, either in Outline view or in the Navigation pane.
You can position an object in relation to the text that surrounds it and in relation to other objects on the page.
By using tables in creative ways, you can place information in non-linear arrangements for easy comparison or analysis.
Practice tasks
Before you can complete these tasks, you need to copy the book’s practice files to your computer. The practice files for these tasks are located in the Word2019SBSCh10 folder. You can save the results of the tasks in the same folder.
The introduction includes a complete list of practice files and download instructions.
Reorganize document outlines
Open the ReorganizeOutlines document in Print Layout view, and then perform the following tasks:
Display the document in Outline view.
In the Word Options dialog box, set the style area pane width to 1”, and then return to the document.
Use the commands on the Outlining tab to display only level 1 headings.
Expand the General Administration section, and then collapse it again.
Show all levels of the outline.
Promote the Contact Information heading to level 1, and then demote it back to level 2.
Move the Warehouse section up so that the heading and the text within it appear above the Office heading.
Close the outline to display the document in Print Layout view.
Open the Navigation pane.
In the Navigation pane, drag the Warehouse heading back to its original location, below the Office section.
Close the document, saving your changes if you want.
Arrange objects on a page
Open the ArrangeObjects document in Print Layout view, display formatting marks, and then perform the following tasks:
With the cursor next to the first word in the second paragraph, There, insert the Bamboo1 picture from the practice file folder.
Use the buttons in the Position gallery to position the picture in the top center of the page, with square text wrapping.
Use the picture’s Layout Options menu to set the text wrapping to Tight.
Use the commands on the Text Wrapping tab of the Layout dialog box to set the text wrapping to Right only, with a 0.5″ gap between the picture and text on all sides.
Use the commands on the Position tab of the Layout dialog box to set the picture at a horizontal absolute position 2 inches to the right of the left margin, and a vertical absolute position 2 inches below the top margin.
With the cursor again next to the first word in the second paragraph, insert the Bamboo2 picture from the practice file folder.
Use the buttons in the Position gallery to position the picture in the middle of the page, with square text wrapping.
Anchor the picture so that it moves with the text.
Select the paragraph containing the Bamboo2 picture and move it to the end of the document. Notice that the picture moves with the paragraph.
Undo the move.
Anchor the picture so that it is in a fixed position on the page.
Select the paragraph containing the Bamboo2 picture and move it to the end of the document. Notice that this time, the picture stays where it was on the page.
Undo the move.
Use the commands on the Align Objects menu to align the Bamboo2 picture on the left side of the page.
Display the gridlines.
Drag the Bamboo2 picture to the upper-left corner of the document, on top of the Bamboo1 picture, using gridlines to align it.
Hide the gridlines.
Bring the Bamboo1 picture to the front of the stack.
Open the Selection pane and use it to hide either picture. Notice that the eye icon changes to a small horizontal bar to indicate that the object is hidden.
Redisplay the object.
Close the document, saving your changes if you want.
Use tables to control page layout
Open the ControlLayout document in Print Layout view, display formatting marks, and then perform the following tasks:
With the cursor on the line above the Consultation Fee table, insert a table that contains two columns and one row.
Cut the Consultation Fee table, and right-click in the left cell of the table you just created.
Use the options on the shortcut menu to nest the table into the container table.
Cut the Trip Charges table, and then click (don’t right-click) in the right table cell of the container table.
Use any method described in this chapter to nest the Trip Charges table into the container table.
Remove the borders from the container table.
Close the document, saving your changes if you want.