How to Get Pictures in a Document to Align Side by Side in Word

Photographs, line drawings and other graphics add color and interest to text documents. Adding photos so they line up side by side, so you can compare and contrast pictures or to make a newsletter, is also possible. One method is to add each graphic through the Insert Picture tool on the same line. However, creating white space between the two is awkward and time consuming. Another method is to create a table with no grid lines and insert the pictures side by side in the table.

Instructions

Add a Picture

1

Open Word and a document. Move your cursor to where you want the two pictures to be located. Click the "Insert" tab and click "Picture."

2

Navigate to the first picture to add to your document in the "Insert Picture" dialog box. Select the picture thumbnail or file name and click "Insert." This adds the photo to the left side of your document.

3

Resize the left picture so there is room for the picture you want on the right. To resize a picture, select it so the picture handles appear. Picture handles look like circles and squares around the border of the photo. Hold your left mouse on any handle and drag to resize. To resize proportionally, hold down the "Control" key while dragging.

4

Place the cursor at the bottom-right of the left picture. Click on the "Insert" tab and click on "Picture." Select the second picture to add to the right. If the picture comes in too large, resize it so it can fit on the same line with the first picture.

Use a Table

5

Open Word and a document to work on. Move your cursor where you want the graphics to appear. Click the "Insert" tab and click "Table." Select a three by one table by selecting the white boxes in the drop-down menu.

6

Right-click on the table and then click on "Borders and Shading." Click the "Borders" tab and then click the "None" setting for the table borders. Click "OK" and the table borders still appear on screen as blue grid lines. This gives you a guide to adding your graphics.

7

Click in the left cell of the table and then click the "Insert" tab. Click "Picture" and select the graphic to be on the left.

8

Skip the middle cell of the table and add a picture to the right cell of the table. The middle cell becomes a buffer between the two cells. You can make a table cell wider or smaller by holding your left mouse button on a grid line and dragging. You can adjust the photo's size by selecting the photo and dragging the handles up, down, left or right.