Knowledge Base

Text Won't Wrap Around Frame or Text Box in Header/Footer

Article ID: 121918

Article Last Modified on 8/17/2007

Microsoft Word 6.0 Standard Edition
Microsoft Word 6.0a
Microsoft Word 6.0c
Microsoft Word 95 Standard Edition
Microsoft Word 95a
Microsoft Word 6.0 for Macintosh
Microsoft Word 6.01 for Macintosh
Microsoft Word 6.01 for Macintosh
Microsoft Word 98 for Macintosh
Microsoft Word 6.0 Standard Edition

This article was previously published under Q121918

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Word, when you insert a frame or text box into a header or footer, you cannot wrap the header and footer text around that object. Also, the frame or text box may obscure or overwrite the header and footer text.

For example, this behavior occurs when you align the text on the left, insert an object before the text, and then apply a frame to the object.

CAUSE

This behavior is by design, because if text could wrap in the header or footer of a Word document, text in the main document would have to move out of the way.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use any of the following methods:

Format the paragraph with an indent to offset the text to the left or right of the framed object. -or-
Insert a table into the header, and then place the graphic in one cell and the text in the other cell. -or-
Move the framed object to another location, away from the text.

MORE INFORMATION

In Word 98 Macintosh Edition, if you set the Wrapping Style of a text box in the header or footer to Tight (on the Wrapping tab of the Format Text Box dialog box), it behaves as if you set the Wrapping Style to Through. Once set, you cannot change this behavior.

For additional information about objects in headers and footers, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

106518 Header or Footer Text Overlaps Page Number

Additional query words: frame text header graphic covering obscuring

Keywords: kbformat kbframe kblayout kbprb KB121918