Why is it when you want to draw something in Word it creates that huge area and its really hard to contro;? Maybe I'm just thick but I only want to put a line in my footer :/

Is there a way to swtich it off and just draw without it?

Wow now it just works, hmpf, nevermind

Yes, you can turn it off.

Tools, Options, General, uncheck "Automatically create drawing canvas when inserting AutoShapes".

Oh, also, if you just want a line in your footer, don't use the drawing line at all.  Instead, select the top line of text in the footer and put an upper border on it by using Format/Borders and Shading.  Not only does this take up less computer space, but the line won't float around.

Whenever possible, use borders rather than drawing objects.

it is crap. really. believe me. It produces such ugly layouts.

Cheers for that Dana, great tips!