How to Place a Picture into Your File: Switch to Print Layout View

 Print Layout mode shows how your file will look when printed on paper, and, also approximately how it will look on the Kindle.  Page sizes look right, paragraphs look right, and pictures and illustrations are in their proper places.

But it is slow to work in Print Layout mode because the file is being re-formatted as you type, and pictures and illustrations are in your way.

So... when you are typing your manuscript, it is usually faster and easier to work with your file in Draft or Normal View because the text acts almost like a plain text file and also because pictures and illustrations are hidden from view, so they aren’t in your way.

But what happens when you want to insert a new picture into your file?

Let's look at an example:

Below is my Word file in Draft mode.  I have created a new paragraph and applied the "Illustration" tag to it (see blank paragraph mark).

Now, I go to My Pictures, and find, select, and copy the photo I want, then come back here, and paste the photo at the blank paragraph mark that I formatted earlier.

Now, my page looks like this:

Yes... it is exactly the same.

That can be VERY disconcerting, as you wonder what on earth happened to your picture!

The answer is to switch to Print Layout view.  We click View from the Menu at the top of the screen, then Print Layout.

Below shows our file in Print Layout view.  

Notice that the page and paragraphs now look neat and nice... just as we want them to appear on the printed page... or on our Kindle.

Our photo has appeared but LOOK AT IT!


It's off to one side, instead of centered as we expected, and it's not spaced properly.

That's because we have not yet placed it "in line with text".


We will show how to do that in the next article.