Assembling a portfolio is an ideal way to show off your work, but when your achievements exist in digital format, printing them out can be a hassle. Instead, use Microsoft Word to create an electronic portfolio. With a single file, corral all your photographs, sketches, poems and other pieces together, while taking advantage of Word's quick-start templates and familiar menu items. Show off your work without paying to print or duplicate your materials, all with Microsoft Word.

  • Assembling a portfolio is an ideal way to show off your work, but when your achievements exist in digital format, printing them out can be a hassle.
  • With a single file, corral all your photographs, sketches, poems and other pieces together, while taking advantage of Word's quick-start templates and familiar menu items.

Open Microsoft Word. Click the "File" tab. Click "New." Click the "Brochures and booklets" button.

Double-click the "Catalogs" file folder. Click one of the "Product catalog" templates and click the "Download" button. After a few moments, the booklet opens in a new Word window.

  • Double-click the "Catalogs" file folder.
  • Click one of the "Product catalog" templates and click the "Download" button.

Click the "View" tab. Click "Two Pages" so you're able to see what's included in the template. Click a text box on one of the pages, then move your cursor to the outline of the box and click again to select the box itself. Press the "Delete" button on the keyboard. Repeat to remove all of the text boxes, headers and subheadings.

Remove all of the image placeholders included on the booklet.

Click the "Insert" tab on the Ribbon. Click the "Picture" button. Browse to where the first image or document file is located on your computer. Double-click the file name to add it to the Word document. If you want to insert multiple pictures or files from the same folder, you can save time by pressing and holding the "Ctrl" key, clicking each file name until all the pictures are selected, then click the "Insert" button to insert them all at once.

Click a picture to open the pink "Picture Tools" tab. Click the "Wrap Text" icon on the Ribbon. Select the "Through" option. The picture may shift slightly on the page. This setting allows you to grab and drag the picture anywhere on the page -- when an image is first imported, it's brought in as an inline object and cannot be dragged. Repeat the process on each portfolio piece, then drag it into place.

  • Remove all of the image placeholders included on the booklet.
  • Click the "Wrap Text" icon on the Ribbon.

Click the small drop-down arrow on the "Text Box" button on the "Insert" tab of the Ribbon. Click "Draw Text Box." When the cursor turns into a plus sign, draw a small rectangle on the page. Move the rectangle under one of the portfolio items such as a photograph, by clicking the edge of its frame and dragging it.

  • Click the small drop-down arrow on the "Text Box" button on the "Insert" tab of the Ribbon.
  • Move the rectangle under one of the portfolio items such as a photograph, by clicking the edge of its frame and dragging it.

Type the caption inside the text box, such as the name and date of the piece. Highlight the caption. Click the "Home" tab and use the options such as text size and italics to format the caption. Repeat to add captions throughout the portfolio.

Click one of the design elements included on the template, such as a solid rectangle bar running up the side of the page. The orange "Drawing Tools" tab opens. Click one of the colours in the "Shape Styles" section of the Ribbon to change the colour, creating your own portfolio theme. Repeat to change the design elements on the rest of the pages.

  • Click one of the design elements included on the template, such as a solid rectangle bar running up the side of the page.

Add additional pages to the portfolio by placing the cursor in the bottom-right corner of the last page and pressing the "Ctrl" and "Enter" keys together, adding a page break. Repeat to add additional pages.

Click the "File" tab. Click "Save As." Type a name for the portfolio in the "File name" box and click the "Save" button.