MS Word

Create a Series of Linked Text Boxes

The Problem:

I'm using a set of six text boxes to present a case study alongside the main text of my report. The trouble is, I'm still writing the report, so the size of the text boxes keeps changing, and I'm forever having to bump text along from one of them to the nextor back to the previous one. It feels like I'm never going to get the darn thing finished.

The Solution:

The finishing is up to you, but Word can handle flowing the text from one text box to another if you link them together:

  1. Create the text boxes (It sounds like you've done this step already.)

  2. Enter the text in the first text box. In most cases, it's easiest to create and edit the text in a separate document in which you can see it all at once, and then paste it into the first text box when it's complete.

  3. Right-click the frame of the first text box, and choose Create Text Box Link from the shortcut menu. The mouse pointer changes to a pouring jug. Click the next text box in the sequence to establish the link. Word flows the text to this text box.

  4. Right-click the frame of the second text box, and repeat the linking procedure for the following text box. Repeat as necessary.

Once you've linked text boxes, you can navigate from one to another by right-clicking and choosing Next Text Box or Previous Text Box from the shortcut menu, or by using the Next Text Box and Previous Text Box buttons on the Text Box toolbar. To unlink a text box from the next text box, right-click its frame and choose Break Forward Link from the shortcut menu.