Excel 2010 Bible

Chapter 22: Enhancing Your Work with Pictures and Drawings

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FIGURE 22.2

This Shape was drawn on the worksheet. Its name (Quad Arrow 1) appears in the Name field.

Tip
You can also insert a Shape into a chart. Just select the chart before you choose the Shape from the gallery and
then click inside the chart to insert the Shape. When a chart is selected, the Chart Tools contextual tab also
displays an icon to access the Shapes gallery: Chart Tools ➪ Layout ➪ Insert ➪ Shapes. n

A few Shapes require a slightly different approach. For example, when adding a FreeForm Shape

(from the Lines category), you can click repeatedly to create lines. Or click and drag to create a

nonlinear shape. Double-click to finish drawing and create the Shape. The Curve and Scribble

Shapes (in the Lines category) also require several clicks while drawing.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when creating Shapes:

l (^) Every Shape has a name. Some have generic names like Shape 1 and Shape 2, but others
are given more descriptive names (for example, Rectangle 1). To change the name of a
Shape, select it, type a new name in the Name field, and press Enter.
l To select a specific shape, type its name in the Name field and press Enter.
l (^) When you create a Shape by dragging, hold down the Shift key to maintain the object’s
default proportions.
l (^) You can control how objects appear onscreen in the Advanced tab of the Excel Options
dialog box (File ➪ Excel). This setting appears in the Display Options for This Workbook
section. Normally, the All option is selected under For Objects Show. You can hide all
objects by choosing Nothing (Hide Objects). Hiding objects may speed things up if your
worksheet contains complex objects that take a long time to redraw.