Rotating Drawing Objects

Word 2007 allows you to create drawing objects in your document. These objects are positioned on what is termed the drawing layer, which is separate and distinct from the text that appears in a document. You generally create such objects by using the Shapes tools in the Illustrations group on the Insert tab of the Ribbon.

You can rotate a drawing object to any degree you desire. Simply follow these steps:

1. Select the drawing object. You will see a series of handles and controls appear around the object.
2. Position the mouse pointer over the green dot connected to the object. This is the rotation control, and the mouse pointer should change to a small circular arrow.
3. Click on the rotation control and drag the object in the direction you want it rotated.
4. Press Esc when you are done rotating the object, or click somewhere else in your document.

If you know exactly how much you want to rotate the drawing object, you can also do the following:

1. Right-click on the drawing object. Word displays a Context menu.
2. Choose the Format AutoShape option from the Context menu. This displays the Format AutoShape dialog box.
3. Make sure the Size tab is selected. (Click here to see a related figure.)
4. Change the value in the Rotation box as desired.
5. Click on OK.

You should note that Word allows you to insert text within an AutoShape. Rotating the AutoShape, however, does not result in the text within the AutoShape being rotated.