A problem with text boxes and free space on the page

[andrei_kho]

Hello,

I have a problem with text boxes in Word XP. When I create a text box,
the text on the page OUTSIDE of this box does not move freely to the
previous page if it is an empty space there. For example, if I have a
page 1 with the text and place a big text box on the next page (page
2), some text from the bottom of page 1 appears to be "sucked into" the
page 2 and a free space at the bottom of page 1 appears. When I try to
copy and paste text from page 2 into this free space, it does not work.
Since I sometimes have 2 text boxes at the page and do a lot of text
editing, these free spaces are very annoying.

Anyone knows how to allow text to move freely from one page with text
boxes to another?

Thanks,

Andrei

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

A text box must be anchored to a text paragraph. In order to put a text box
on page 2, you must have some text on page 2.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[andrei_kho]

I do have text on the page 2 when I insert a text box there. What I do
not understand how to prevent Word from moving part of my text from the
previous page and disallowing me to put it back there. Perhaps, it is a
way to suppress this "anchoring"?

 

[Jay Freedman]

I do have text on the page 2 when I insert a text box there. What I
do not understand how to prevent Word from moving part of my text
from the previous page and disallowing me to put it back there.
Perhaps, it is a way to suppress this "anchoring"?

Hi Andrei,

No, there is no way to suppress anchoring. Every text box must have an
anchor in a regular text paragraph, and the text box must stay on the same
page as its anchor. This is a design requirement of Word and can't be
changed.

If you go to Tools > Options > View and check the box for "Object anchors",
then put the cursor inside the text box, you will see the anchor symbol in
the left margin. You can drag the anchor to a later paragraph, and the text
between the old and new anchor positions will then be allowed to move back
to fill the previous page.

To avoid having to do this multiple times, wait until the regular text is
complete and all editing has been done before trying to position any text
boxes.