Objects can be positioned in relation to the grid of the worksheet, as well as in relation to other shapes appear on it. To ungroup any objects that have been grouped together, first click to select the group in question and then click Picture Tools – Format (or Drawing Tools – Format) → Group → Ungroup:Īfter ungrouping a group, you can quickly reform it by selecting one of the objects that a member of the previous group and clicking Picture Tools – Format (or Drawing Tools – Format) → Group → Regroup. Once two or more graphical objects are grouped together, any changes made to the group will be applied to all of its members – including size, position, and more: Next, click Picture Tools – Format (or Drawing Tools – Format) → Group → Group: To do this, select each graphical object that you would like to group (hold the Ctrl key while clicking on each object). If you would like to work with multiple objects as a group, such as moving them all at the same time, you can group them together. If you would like to change how these objects are arranged, click and drag them around in this list to shift their location: This task pane will list all of the graphical objects that exist on the current worksheet and how they are currently arranged: To do this, click Picture Tools (or Drawing Tools) – Format → Selection Pane:
If you would instead like to move a selected graphical object to the bottom or top of the stack of layers, the Bring Forward → Send to Front, or Send Backward → Send to Back commands can be used:Īlternatively, you can view and interact with the various graphical objects that exist on layers within the worksheet by opening the Selection task pane. To do this, first click to select the object that you would like to work with and then click Picture Tools – Format (or Drawing Tools – Format) → Bring Forward or Bring Backward: Get the diagram looking exactly as you will want it to appear, because after step 4, Excel will stop automatically formatting the SmartArt. Choose a color scheme from the Design tab. Type sample text of about the correct length in the shapes. You can manipulate a layer and how it interacts with others by moving it forward or backward in the stack of layers – just like moving the top-most card in a deck below the next and vice-versa. Build a SmartArt graphic with the correct number of shapes. When a graphical object is added to a worksheet, it is added to its own layer so that it can overlap any existing objects.
Topic Objectives In this topic, you will learn: Over the course of this topic, you will learn all about layering and grouping graphical objects in Microsoft Excel 2016. Using layers, you can choose which object overlaps another, while grouping allows you to group multiple graphical object together so that you can adjust their properties all at the same time.
#How to use microsoft excel as a tool for graphic art how to#
Once you have added graphical objects to a worksheet, it is important to know how to organize their positioning in relation to one another.