To make a single object, select the three textboxes and go to Format > Group > Group.

Ensure that the formatting of the upper and lower textboxes are identical.

You can manually format the font style instead of choosing a default effect. If you want to remove the automatic shadow effect, for example, click on the WordArt and go to Format > Text Effects > Shadow > No Shadow.

If you used WordArt, you’ll need to format it.

If so, transfer the first words of the lower textbox onto that line. The last line of the upper textbox can have really wide gaps, for example, if there is room for more words on that line and you used Shift+Enter.

You may need to transfer words from one textbox to the other as you adjust their widths.

You want even line spacing between the two parts of your paragraph, alignment at the right edge of your paragraph, and alignment between the left edge of the dropped cap and the left edge of the lower textbox.

Position the textboxes to form your paragraph.

That is, the lower textbox needs to be longer than the higher textbox.

You will need to adjust the widths of your textboxes.

Once they are joined, you can change the text wrap to something else.) (They need to be free-floating so you can position them.

Select each textbox and go to Format > Wrap Text > In Front of Text.

Select each textbox and go to Format to set the Shape Fill and Shape Outline to No Fill and No Outline, respectively.

Place the remaining lines of the paragraph in another textbox.

If the paragraph needs to be justified full, place your cursor at the end of the paragraph and press Shift+Enter to make the last line justified.

For example, if the drop cap will have a height of three lines, put the first three lines of the paragraph in one textbox.

Put the first lines of the paragraph in one textbox.

Use Insert > Text Box or Insert > WordArt. You may prefer WordArt for the single letter.

Put the first letter in its own textbox.

Here are the step-by-step directions, then following these you can find some screenshots that illustrate key steps: Just group them together when you’re done and you’ll have a single object for your end result. The trick is to join three textboxes together (actually, I prefer to use WordArt for the drop cap, but in Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, and 2013, the distinction is fairly moot).Īs long as you’re using a textbox, using three textboxes really isn’t a problem. You can’t click it.įortunately, there is a way around this problem.

If you try the intuitive thing, it doesn’t work: Highlight the first letter of the textbox, go to the Insert tab, and the Dropcap button is grayed out. (Inserting a drop cap at the beginning of a chapter is easy doing it in a textbox is another matter.) It’s not easy to insert a drop cap into a textbox in Microsoft Word.

How to insert text box in word