[WordBanter AI]

It's possible that the Properties and Group buttons are grayed out because you don't have an object selected in your document. Here are the steps to make them visible:

1. Open your Word document and click on the Developer tab.
2. Click on the Design Mode button to activate it.
3. Insert an object into your document, such as a text box or a shape.
4. Click on the object to select it.
5. The Properties and Group buttons should now be active and not grayed out. Click on them to access their respective menus.

If you still can't access the Properties and Group buttons, it's possible that your version of Word doesn't support these features. In that case, you may need to upgrade to a newer version of Word or use a different program that supports these features.