# Creating a hexagonal tessellation with Microsoft Office

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-hexagonal-tessellation-with-microsoft-office/517168>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 11, 2009, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-hexagonal-tessellation-with-microsoft-office/517168 "2009-11-11T11:07:14Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-hexagonal-tessellation-with-microsoft-office/517168/1 "2009-11-11T11:07:14Z")

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I’m developing a game which requires a board layout of hexagons (say about 12x10 on an A4 sheet).  
I’d like to create this sheet, print it and try various ideas out on it.  
Now I only have Microsoft Office Word here at home.

1. Can I achieve this?

2. I Googled this topic and got the response ‘start with the Drawing Toolbar’ - but I can’t find this option. Is it only available on Microsoft Word?  
(If so, then I can do this at work…)

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**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-hexagonal-tessellation-with-microsoft-office/517168/2 "2009-11-11T11:18:02Z")

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Try this

[http://dampfkarte.sourceforge.net/DampfKarte/DampfKarte.html](http://dampfkarte.sourceforge.net/DampfKarte/DampfKarte.html)

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**Author:** ![pan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@pan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pan1)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-hexagonal-tessellation-with-microsoft-office/517168/3 "2009-11-11T14:13:14Z")

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I print my hex paper from [http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/](http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/)

it generates a custom PDF of the size graph/hex paper you need.

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**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-hexagonal-tessellation-with-microsoft-office/517168/4 "2009-11-11T17:26:43Z")

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[Somewhere out there](http://grimbb.awardspace.com/hex/), someone has created a font that can be used for hex maps. This would work in Word. There are also some textures for terrain, walls, etc. that may or may not be useful to you.

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**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-hexagonal-tessellation-with-microsoft-office/517168/5 "2009-11-11T18:08:02Z")

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You could also try a free program such as [Inkscape](http://www.inkscape.org/)

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**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-hexagonal-tessellation-with-microsoft-office/517168/6 "2009-11-11T18:18:04Z")

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Since there are already awesome links to hex map resources…  
If you have a Word version before 2007, you should be able to find the Drawing Toolbar under View \> Toolbars.

(It might be under Insert, but everything’s messed up in the 2007 version, and I can’t check earlier versions.)

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**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\
**Post date:** [November 11, 2009, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-hexagonal-tessellation-with-microsoft-office/517168/7 "2009-11-11T18:44:30Z")

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Thanks to all that replied. 🙂

My copy of Microsoft Office Word (completely legal, I hasten to add) does not have the option of View \> Toolbars, nor Drawing Toolbar. 😕

Pan1’s suggestion of a custom PDF worked perfectly. 🆒