How to Draw on Microsoft Word?

If you’ve ever wanted to convey a concept visually rather than verbally, you can use Microsoft Word’s “Draw” function to do so.

Using the mouse or touch tools, you can make your own custom drawings in Word. If you’re not an artist, you can use pre-made shapes and drawings that you can customize to your taste.

Here’s how to do both in Microsoft Word.

Using the Drawing Tools in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word users have access to two sets of drawing tools. Insert shapes or lines into your Word document and group them to create simple, block-like images. If you’re making a diagram or a flow chart, for example, you may want to do this.

Alternatively, you can use pen drawing tools to turn Word into your own personal canvas. This will allow you to make freehand drawings if you have a touchscreen device or a graphics tablet.

To insert shapes, go to the ribbon bar and select the Insert tab. Instead, use the Draw tab for freehand sketches.

Adding Shapes to Microsoft Word

Insert shapes if you are not confident in your freehand drawing abilities or if you want to make diagrams in Word.

There are hundreds of pre-set shapes to choose from. You can draw standard shapes like squares and circles, as well as insert arrows, stars, speech bubbles, and other elements. To insert a shape, navigate to the Insert tab on the ribbon bar and then to the Shapes button.

This will show the different shape choices in a drop-down menu for you to choose from.

1. To pick one of the pre-set shapes or line choices, press on it—at this stage, your cursor will shift.
2. Once this happens, draw onto your Word document directly to insert the shape or line you selected. This allows you to select the appropriate size for your shape.
3. After inserting and selecting the shape, Word will navigate to the Format tab on the ribbon bar. You can format your shape from here.
4. To add text to a shape, for example, start typing while the shape is selected—the text will be inserted within the shape.

Using the Format tab, you can also adjust the color and design of your shape, as well as the position and alignment of any inserted text.

Creating Freehand Drawings in Word

If you want to make more unique Word sketches, you can draw on a Word document with different pen drawing tools. This can be accomplished with a mouse or trackpad, or more specifically with a touchscreen monitor or graphics tablet.

1. To begin, select the Draw tab from the ribbon bar. This will show you the available pen drawing tool choices.
2. Under the Tools tab, there are three drawing choices. Draw with Touch to start drawing with one of the pen tools, Eraser to turn to the eraser function, or Click to select your drawings as items for moving, copying, or deleting.
3. The Pens tab displays a list of available pens for drawing. Pencil, Pen, and Highlighter are the three drawing pens available.
4. Using the Pencil method, as anticipated, inserts a smoother, less detailed drawing line into your paper. The Pen tool, on the other hand, produces lines that are smoother, stronger, and more defined. The Highlighter tool can be used to add color and emphasis to your drawings.
5. In the Pens category, many pre-set colors and designs are already available—select one of these to begin drawing. You can also make your own by pressing the Add Pen button and choosing one of the tools from the drop-down menu.
6. This will introduce a new pen style with a settings drop-down menu to the Pens category. You can adjust the thickness and color of the pen tool from here, with a preview of the pen design at the right.
7. In the future, you can edit these by hovering over a pen layout and clicking the arrow icon in the bottom-left corner.
8. After you’ve selected and configured your drawing pen tool, you can begin drawing directly on your Word document.

Creating a Drawing Canvas in Word

Word helps you to draw on a Word document with no restrictions. However, if you want to draw on a much smaller region of your Word document, you can insert a drawing canvas.

A drawing canvas collects all of your drawings into a single object that can be transferred, resized, or copied elsewhere. To do so, click the Drawing Canvas button in the Draw tab’s Insert portion.

The canvas will be inserted into your Word document as a result of this. You will only be allowed to draw within the canvas object’s borders; anything drawn outside of this will be ignored.

Designing Microsoft Word Documents

Though Microsoft Word was not developed with drawing in mind, you can still use shapes, lines, and freehand pen drawings to create simple images. You can use shapes to make a flow chart or diagram, or you can use free-hand sketches to demonstrate your creative drawing abilities.

You can insert and modify images in Microsoft Word as well but keep in mind Word’s primary intent. If you’re creating new papers, you might choose to use building blocks to speed up the process.