How to Type on a Picture in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word provides a variety of tools for combining pictures and text in documents. The simplest way to put text on a photo or image in Word is by setting the picture's "Wrap Text" option to "Behind Text." If you'd like more options, such as the ability to rotate the text, you can create either a text box or Word Art object and set the background to transparent. The text box is the most straightforward method if you want to insert a block of text, while Word Art, which allows you to add artistic effects to text, is ideal for short titles and captions.

To allow text to wrap over a picture, select the picture. The "Layout Options" menu will be displayed near the picture. Click on the menu and choose "Behind Text." This option will cause the picture to be treated as background and text will flow over the picture as you type. You can insert blank lines and tabs to control where text is positioned on the picture.

Use the "Text Box" menu in the "Text" command group on the "Insert" tab to add a text box to a document. The box allows you to type in text and change the font or size, just as you would in other parts of the document. Set the "Fill" option to "No Fill" and the "Line Option" to "No Line" to make the text appear directly on the picture. Alternatively, you can go to the "Shape Styles" command group on the "Format" tab and set "Shape Fill" to "No Fill" and "Shape Outline" to "No Outline." You can dynamically move, resize and rotate the text box using the same controls along the edge of the text box that are used to interact with pictures.

You can access WordArt from the "Text" group of commands in Word. Select a style from the menu and type your text into the box. Like the text box, you can enter a word, sentence or paragraph and format the text font and size as well as using the object's handles to change the text size, location and orientation. When the object is selected, you can use options in the "WordArt Styles" group on the "Format" tab to apply a variety of styles and effects to the text, including shadow, glow, bevels, reflection and 3-D rotation. You can also specify fill colors and patterns, as well as outline colors for the text.