Forum Discussion
Text boxes and images
Good morning, I use Word everyday to create Assembly and Test instructions. Is it possible to somehow add custom shapes to the "shapes" section?
Word does not let you add a custom shape to the built-in Shapes gallery. That gallery contains only the shapes supplied by Microsoft.
For a reusable assembly or test-instruction graphic, create the shape once, then select all of its parts and use Shape Format > Group > Group. With the grouped shape selected, go to Insert > Quick Parts > Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery. Save it as an AutoText or Quick Parts building block.
It will not appear under Insert > Shapes, but it can be inserted again from Insert > Quick Parts and remains editable after insertion. If several people need to use the same shapes, save the building blocks in a shared Word template (.dotx) rather than only in the local Normal template.