Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Changing How Arrows Look.

Changing How Arrows Look

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 23, 2024)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

The Insert tab of the ribbon (click Shapes in the Illustrations group) allows you to place arrows within your workbook. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Shapes tool on the Insert tab of the ribbon.

Once an arrow is placed where you want it, you can easily change the way the arrow looks by following these steps:

  1. Select the arrow by clicking on it. (You can tell if the arrow is selected by whether there are handles at each end of the arrow line.)
  2. Display the Format tab or Shape Format tab of the ribbon. (This tab is visible only after you select the arrow you previously placed in the worksheet.)
  3. Click the Shape Outline tool in the Shape Styles group. Excel displays a palette of options.
  4. Choose the Arrows option, and you'll see a variety of choices for how the arrow should appear. Pick the option that represents what you want, and it is applied to the line. (See Figure 2.)

    5. Figure 2. The Arrows option within the Shape Outline tool.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9456) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Changing How Arrows Look.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Highlighting Text Using the Keyboard Only

Highlighting text, using the Highlight tool, is a great way to mark up a document. Normally you need to use the toolbar ...

Discover More

Editing File Properties

Files are the basis of how information is stored on a disk drive. In order for files to be organized and effectively ...

Discover More

Creating a Year-to-Date Comparison Chart

Excel is an excellent tool for keeping track of data over time. If you have information you are keeping by year, you may ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Creating an Organization Chart

Graphics are often added to worksheets to make it easier to understand the data contained in the worksheet. Sometimes, ...

Discover More

Non-Tiled Background Pictures

Background pictures are repeated over and over again (tiled) by Excel. If you want them to not be tiled, you may be out ...

Discover More

Adding Drop Shadows

Want your shapes to really "pop" off the page? Add a drop shadow to them, as described in this tip.

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 7 + 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.