How To Create a Word Cloud in Microsoft Word

Word clouds, also known as tag clouds, are a creative way to visualize text data. They display a list of words, with the importance of each word signified by its size or color.

Unfortunately, creating a word cloud directly in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Office 365 is not supported as a built-in feature as of my last update in September 2021.

However, don’t despair. There are numerous online generators and add-ins available that you can utilize. Let’s delve into how you can create a word cloud using these resources, and even explore how to do it without an add-in.

Word Cloud in Word

Word Cloud Generators

Word cloud generators are available online and offer a quick, easy solution. Wordclouds.com and Jason Davies’ Word Cloud Generator are popular choices. Here’s a general step-by-step process:

  1. Collect the text data you want to use and copy it to your clipboard.
  2. Visit the online word cloud generator.
  3. Paste your copied text into the text box provided.
  4. Adjust settings such as shape, color, and font to your liking.
  5. Once you’re satisfied with your word cloud, download or screenshot it.
  6. Paste your word cloud into your Microsoft Word, Excel, or Office 365 document.

Creating a Word Cloud in Excel with an Add-in

If you’re working with Excel, the ‘Pro Word Cloud’ add-in is a powerful tool. Here’s how to use it:

  1. Open Excel and click on ‘Insert’ > ‘Get Add-ins’.
  2. Search for ‘Pro Word Cloud’ in the Office Add-ins store.
  3. Click ‘Add’ to install the add-in.
  4. Once installed, select your text data.
  5. Click on ‘Pro Word Cloud’ on the Home tab.
  6. Customize your word cloud and click ‘Create Word Cloud’.

Creating a Word Cloud Without an Add-in

If you’d prefer not to install an add-in, you can still create a word cloud using Python. This requires some coding knowledge. The Python library wordcloud is specifically designed for this task:

  1. Install necessary Python packages with pip:
    pip install wordcloud matplotlib
  2. Create your word cloud with a Python script:
    from wordcloud import WordCloud
    import matplotlib.pyplot as plt    # Replace this with your text
    text = “word cloud data”wordcloud = WordCloud().generate(text)plt.imshow(wordcloud, interpolation=‘bilinear’)
    plt.axis(“off”)
    plt.show()
  3. Save and run your script to display your word cloud. You can screenshot the result and paste it into your document.

Word Frequency in Word Clouds

The size of a word in a word cloud represents its frequency in the text data. Word cloud generators usually remove common words (like ‘the’, ‘and’, ‘is’) to focus on the most meaningful words. You can often customize these settings.

In Conclusion

Though Microsoft Word, Excel, and Office 365 don’t offer built-in word cloud generators, you can create word clouds using online generators, Excel add-ins, or even Python.

Word clouds are a fantastic way to visualize text data, highlighting the most frequently used words.

Whether for business presentations, educational materials, or social media posts, a word cloud can add a visually engaging element to your content. Happy word cloud creating!