Text frames in the Drawing Environment of AppleWorks

You can use text frames to add labels or captions to a photo or an image. You can put your team's name on the shirt of a soccer player picture you get from another source. You can also place text precisely on the page.

Basic principles of text frames

You must enter at least one character to preserve the text frame you have created. If you do not, when you click on the document, the text frame will be lost. Make a new one. Feel free to repeat this error ad nauseum. I certainly did.

Text frames have 4 black square handles. Dragging a handle will allow you to alter the size or shape of the frame. The text in the frame is wrapped. The text will adjust to fit within the confines described by the outside line.

Click one time on the text frame to select it. Now you can change the font, size, style, color of the text inside without highlighting the text.

Colorful options: You can use the fill tool to color the background of the text frame. You can make the outside line show using the line tool. The pale grey outline you see on the computer will not appear when you print!

Drawing

You use text frames to add text in the drawing environment. To get a text frame click on the text tool (the letter A in the tool bar). Next, click one time on the document.

Use the arrow tool to position the text frame as you desire. With the handles active, you can make font and style changes just like in word processing. Or you can highlight the text inside the frame to make changes.

Text frames in Drawing will "grow" to the right. Stop typing before the right edge goes off the right side of the visible document and resize the frame. This will set the right perimeter. Now as you type the frame will increase downward.

If you discover that the right edge of the frame is no longer visible, use the arrow tool to drag the frame to the left until you can see the right handles. Resize using the right lower handle.

Notice that when you click inside the text frame or highlight text in a text frame, the main menu at the top of the screen will automatically switch to the Word Processing menu. To return to the Drawing environment menu: Click on the drawing page outside of any text frame(s).

To get the Text Ruler in a drawing page - Click inside a text frame or highlight the text inside a text frame. In CW4 and AW5 go View ... Show Rulers. Or click on the Text tool (Letter A). To get Rulers in AW6 go Format ... Rulers ... Show Rulers.

Text frames can be aligned and positioned using the graphic features like Align Objects and Object info. Be sure to first select the text frame using the Arrow tool.

Text frame in a card / text frame in a poster / Gradient text trick