How to add and edit pictures and shapes, in Microsoft Word for Android

Would you like to make your document look more professional? Do you want to add elements to further describe the content? Do you need to illustrate an idea? You will surely need to add pictures and shapes in your document, and of course Microsoft Word handles them without any problem, even in their app for Android. Let's see how you can access these features and how you can use them on your Android smartphone or tablet:

Contents

1. How to insert pictures in Microsoft Word for Android
2. How to edit pictures in Microsoft Word for Android
3. How to insert shapes in Microsoft Word for Android
4. How to edit shapes in Microsoft Word for Android
5. Conclusion

NOTE: Before going any further, in order to format paragraphs in your document, launch Word and create a new document and enter text, or open an existing one - follow the links for the required steps.

How to insert pictures in Microsoft Word for Android

To be able to insert objects into your document, you first need to access the appropriate menu. Tap on the A icon in the menu bar, to do so.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

Now tap Home to access additional menus.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

A list of available options will pop up: tap Insert in this list.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

Now tap Pictures and find the picture you want to insert in the document.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

Your device's default file manager will open and let you choose a picture. Use it to find the picture you need, then tap on it to insert it in the document.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

That's it! The picture has been inserted, as you can see below.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

How to edit pictures in Microsoft Word for Android

After you have inserted and selected a picture in the document, the Picture menu opens up, where you have additional editing options. To apply a style to your picture, tap Styles on the menu.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

You will see a wide range of different 2D and 3D styles: tap the one you would like applied to your picture.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

To set how text wraps around your picture, tap Wrap Text on the Picture menu.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

You will again see a list of possible options for text wrapping. Choose the one you prefer: you can have your picture "In Line with Text" , have text surround it in a Square shape, make text wrap Tight or Through the picture (for non-square pictures), wrap at only "Top and Bottom" of the picture, or you can put the picture completely "Behind Text" or "In Front of Text".

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

You can also arrange your picture relative to other objects and text. Tap Arrange on the Picture menu to see related options.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

Here you can choose from six different options: "Bring Forward" and "Send Backward" move the picture one step forward or one step back, relative to other objects, while "Bring to Front" and "Send to Back" move it completely to the front or the back. "Bring in Front of Text" and "Send Behind Text" define the images position relative to document text.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

You can also crop your picture if you need to cut off parts from it. Tap Crop on the Picture menu to access the tool.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

Now you need to reposition the picture's black border, marking the crop area.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

Tap Crop again to crop the picture to its new size.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

If you made unwanted changes to your picture, you can reset it. Tap Reset on the Picture menu to see available options.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

Here you have two possibilities: "Reset Picture" removes all modifications and restores the originally inserted picture, while "Reset Size" only undoes cropping and resizing, restoring the picture to its original size, keeping any style changes.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

How to insert shapes in Microsoft Word for Android

To insert shapes into your document, tap Shapes on the Insert menu.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

You will see a long list of shapes you can insert into your document, starting with the most recently used ones and continuing with Lines, Rectangles, Basic Shapes, Block Arrows, Equation Shapes, Flowchart elements, Stars and Banners, and Callouts.

Tap any of these to insert them into the document.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

How to edit shapes in Microsoft Word for Android

After you have inserted and selected a shape in Word, the Shape menu is activated, where you can edit the shape. To apply a style, tap "Shape Styles".

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

Choose a style from the list and tap it to apply it to the selected shape.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

To change the shape's fill color, tap Fill on the Shape menu.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

Choose a color from the list and tap it to apply it to the selected shape.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

To change the shape's outline color, tap Outline on the Shape menu.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

Choose a color from the list, then tap it to apply it to the selected shape.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

To change text wrapping options, tap "Wrap Text" on the Shape menu.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

Tap the wrapping option you would like to use: the options are the same as in the case of pictures.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

To arrange your shape relative to other objects, tap Arrange on the Shape menu.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

Tap to choose how you would like to have your shape arranged. The options are the same as in the case of pictures.

Microsoft Word, Android, edit, add, pictures, shapes

Conclusion

You might think that inserting pictures and shapes into documents is not a big feature, but it is a very common task. Thankfully Word makes it easy for us and even gives us some options to customize the pictures and shapes. To top it off, there is a huge library of shapes, which could really come in handy to illustrate some more complicated ideas in a document. If you have any questions about Microsoft Office for Android don't hesitate to ask them below, in the comments section.