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Go to ‘Lines’ option under auto shapes menu and find the ‘freeform’ tool. Click on the corners of the shape in succession till you complete the loop. For example, in the following image – click on points 1,2,3,4 and return to 1. In the Lines section, the Freeform tool is second from the right between Curve and Scribble. The icon is a bit like a rounded rectangle with a bite taken out of the top right corner. Use this to draw around the object, clicking to create new points on it, and then double click to finish it. Draw with the Pen tool Draw straight line segments with the Pen tool The simplest path you can draw with the Pen tool is a straight line, made by clicking the Pen tool to create two anchor points. You can edit any path using the Pencil tool and add freeform lines and shapes to any shape. Add to a path with the Pencil tool Select an existing. Click on the line tool and draw a line. While the line is still highlighted, choose the line color tool. Pick a new color. The arrow tool allows you to draw arrows in many directions. Draw a few arrows. The rectangle and oval tools allow you to draw those shapes.
Most of you already know that you can quickly add a horizontal line to a Word document by typing three hyphens and pressing Enter—but there's more. There are several line keyboard shortcuts and a built-in feature that lets you add predefined but artistic (fancy) lines.
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From the keyboard, basic lines
2003 | 2007 | 2010 |
Select AutoCorrect from the Tools menu. On the AutoFormat As You Type tab, uncheck Border Lines in the Apply | In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. Click AutoCorrect Options in the AutoCorrect Options section. On the AutoFormat As You Type tab, uncheck Border Lines in the Apply | In Word 2010, click the File tab, click Options (under Help) and then click Proofing in the left pane. Click AutoCorrect Options in the AutoCorrect Options section. On the AutoFormat As You Type tab, uncheck Border Lines in the Apply |
Horizontal Line feature, artistic linesThose lines are certainly functional, but Word can draw lines that are a step (or two or three) up from the basic lines shown above. Choose Borders and Shading from the Format menu and click the Horizontal Line button at the bottom of the resulting dialog box. (It might take a few seconds for all the lines to load.) Just double-click a line to insert it—that's all there is to it. You can choose from several. This feature's a bit harder to find in 2007 and 2010. On the Home tab, click the Borders and Shading drop down (in the Paragraph group) and select Borders and Shading.
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![Freeform Freeform](https://www.indezine.com/products/powerpoint/learn/shapes/images/freeformdrawing2011_05.jpg)
Also see
- How to add a drop-down list to an Excel cell (TechRepublic)
- 10 all-purpose keyboard shortcuts to boost your Word efficiency (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
- Six clicks: Microsoft Word tricks to make you an instant expert (ZDNet)
- 10 Microsoft Word tips to boost your productivity and help you get more work done (TechRepublic)
- Microsoft Office tip: The new AutoSave may not be as useful as you think (ZDNet)
- Six tips for fitting Word content on a single page (TechRepublic)
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Free Drawing Program For Mac
Let's summarize: For whatever reasons some of the customizable toolbar buttons in Word:Mac 2011don't work. Jim recommends to save in a current file format (Jan 22), says that 'some of the tools work only on object from old versions of office or newer versions' (Jan 23) and recommends to customize a toolbar (Feb 13). John explains, that these tools cannot work on a toolbar, not in any Office version, not in any file format, and recommends to create an AutoText Item and use a macro.
I am a physicist, started dealing with computers with punch cards and PL Fortran and have been working with personal computers since the 1980s. I am familiar both with Windows and OS X, an experienced user of several programs including Office for Windows and Mac and I know how to customize an application.For me, it's a real bother that Word:Mac 2011 offers capabilities that don't work in the end, while Microsoft doesn't waste any words on it. I have really wasted time trying out. Anyway, thanks for your contributions. I will create an AutoText Item for a line (which doesn't solve the problem for freehand curves) and stop discussing.
Mac Draw Program
Special thanks to Bob for his comments, which make me feel not to be a jerk. BTW: A drawing accessory in a word processing program is in a way important, when you have to draw a lot, e.g. multiple freehand curves using a pen tablet.Maybe I'll use OpenOffice or NeoOffice in the future.