You spared no expenses in taking nice photos or making good drawings. Now you want to proudly place them into your Microsoft Word document. Everything is going smoothly for the first couple of pages. The pictures are inserted beautifully and the texts and captions look perfect!
But then the one thing you were afraid of happens anyway. Traumas from the past pop up again. You break out in a sweat and are at a loss for what to do. You are staring at the screen in despair: How is it possible that the images you had placed so neatly are all scrambled after you have corrected texts and paragraphs?
Anybody who has worked with Microsoft Word will recognise this problem. And just because this is so recognisable, Microsoft must have some kind of solution, right? Yes indeed, there is a solution. Several solutions, even! Nonetheless, something else often needs to happen first, before something actually happens.
Tip:
Read this blog carefully before you start working on your manual.
File formats in Microsoft Word
Photos and illustrations are created and saved in various file formats. The most common formats are .EPS (Encapsulated Postscript), .AI (Adobe Illustrator) and JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). But MS Word cannot handle all file formats!
To use an illustration, MS Word gives you a choice of eleven different file formats. Not all of them are equally useful in a manual. We, for instance, prefer to use .PNG. A .PNG is compression free, which results in less quality loss than with, for example, a JPEG illustration. Another advantage of PNG files is the transparent background. However, the higher quality and the transparent background cause a PNG file to be larger than a JPEG.
Properties of images
Have you determined which file formats you want to use for your manual? Let’s move on to the properties that MS Word links to an image. If you insert an image, MS Word places it automatically into a text line. As a matter of course, new properties are given to the image. These are the so-called ‘Layout options’. These options determine how an image is placed and how it relates to the text.
MS Word has three general categories:
- In text line: The image behaves as if it were an ordinary punctuation mark and is moved along with the text. The image remains part of the text. You can, for example, press ENTER to move the image to the next line or page.
- With text wrapping: The text wraps around the image, making sure it stays clear of the image.
- Floating: The image appears in front or behind the text. Inserted images initially always appear floating in front of the text.
Every category has its peculiarities. We prefer the category ‘With text wrapping’. Why? Because we love structure. Text should not get in the way of beautiful images. In addition, with this layout option you can group the image with the caption, which is a good property. If something moves, the image and the caption stay and keep having fun together. Pretty useful, right?
Images in tables
For the real enthusiasts there is the possibility of placing images in tables. A table is, after all, a large ‘frame’ with fixed dimensions. That is, if you give the table the right properties. If you work with a table, you can also place texts and ‘arrow’ parts of the image without everything shifting again!
Foxiz Academy provides in Microsoft Word training courses
Does this sound too good to be true and are you now thinking: “I would like to know more about this?” Well, you can!
In our training course Microsoft Word we explain more about a.o. the use of quick sections, tables, images, and the use of styles. In short: we cover a large part of the possibilities of Word that are important for your profession!
Writing well in MS Word remains a profession in its own right.
Curious about the possibilities of Microsoft Word and what the Foxiz Academy could do for you? Get in touch with us!