Forum Discussion

kpinks's avatar
kpinks
Copper Contributor
Jul 20, 2026

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?

 

2 Replies

  • Charles_Kenyon's avatar
    Charles_Kenyon
    Bronze Contributor

    I join Jamony in recommending creating the desired shape, selecting it, and saving as a Building Block. 

    I would recommend saving as a Text Box or AutoText.

    If for use in multiple documents or by multiple users, it should be stored in a Global Template (https://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm#Global).

    See also:

    If you have different shapes that you wish to store, you could also use the Building Blocks Gallery Content Control which can give you a menu of your shapes in your document. That Content Control can, itself, be stored as AutoText allowing you to use the AutoComplete feature to insert into a document.

     

     

  • You want to reuse custom assembly symbols from Word’s Shapes menu rather than rebuild them in every document. Word does not provide a supported way to add user-created entries to the built-in Shapes gallery. In desktop Word, create the object with Insert > Shapes; use Freeform or Scribble if needed, add text or images, then Ctrl-select the components and choose Shape Format > Group > Group. Select the object and choose Insert > Quick Parts > Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery. Give it a name and category, and save it in Normal.dotm or a dedicated template when Word prompts for the storage location. You can then insert it from Insert > Quick Parts in later documents. Quick Parts and AutoText can store text and graphics, making them the supported reusable-content alternative. If several people need the same symbols, distribute a controlled Word template containing those building blocks.