Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Creating an AutoShape.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 17, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365
In addition to working with numbers and text within cells of a workbook, Excel allows you to highlight your worksheets by adding simple drawings. One classification of drawing objects you can add are called, simply, Shapes. In many respects Shapes can be considered simple drawing objects because they are very simple to create, even though they appear complex. Excel defines quite a few different Shapes (over 150), all selectable by using the tools on the Insert tab of the ribbon.
When you click on the Shapes tool (in the Illustrations group) you actually display a series of menus from which you can pick the shape you want. For instance, let's say you wanted to draw a heart. You would click on the Shapes tool, look in the Basic Shapes category, then click the heart shape.
Once you select a shape, you draw it by positioning the mouse pointer at one corner of where you want to place the shape, clicking the mouse button, and dragging until you reach the opposite corner. When you release the mouse button the shape appears on the screen.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8108) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Creating an AutoShape.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here:
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