Though you don't see it on the screen, Word 97 and Word 2000 superimpose an invisible grid on your page. All graphics objects automatically align themselves to this grid, which can sometimes make repositioning an object exactly where you want it a bit difficult. But if you hold down <Alt> while you click and drag an object, you override the grid settings and can place the object anywhere on the page.

Caption: To alter grid settings for graphics in Word, select
Draw-Grid on the Drawing toolbar

You can also change such grid settings as horizontal and vertical sizing to suit your needs. To do this, display the Drawing toolbar (if it's not already visible) by right-clicking any toolbar and selecting Drawing. Click the Draw button on the toolbar, then select Grid from the pop-up menu. This will display the Snap to Grid (Word 97) or Drawing Grid (Word 2000) dialogue box. In this box you can change the settings for horizontal and vertical spacing, as well as for the horizontal and vertical origins of the grid (these control how close to the edge of a page you can position graphics). In Word 2000, you can display the grid on your screen, to make aligning graphics objects even easier. The grid won't print.