Using Shapes, Lines, Icons, and Text Boxes in Excel

Adding eye-catching, data-supporting, explanation-providing shapes, lines, icons, and text boxes to your Excel worksheets is incredibly easy.

To begin, just go to the Insert tab, and under the Illustrations button, find the Shapes and Icons buttons. We'll be using the Shapes tool to create Text Boxes, too. Though there's also a Text Box tool on the Insert tab, I prefer using Shapes for my text boxes because you have more formatting options for the box itself, you can make the box from any shape—an ellipse, a triangle, even an arrow. Overall, using shapes just means you can create a much more effective, attention-getting device than a plain text box.

But first, let's look at drawing and formatting shapes in general.

Starting with a Rectangle shape, I can set the fill color quickly, if the default dark blue isn't what I need. This is done from the Shape Fill button on the Shape Format ribbon.

I can also change the shape, and here I've changed it to an oval—intent on using it as a circle around an important set of numbers on the worksheet. All I have to do is remove the fill and apply a Shape Outline color and adjust the Weight of the line to have the visual impact I need. Well, that and I need to resize the oval so it draws attention to the numbers I need highlighted, but without blocking out adjacent cells.

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Next, an arrow can draw attention to anything in your worksheet, and the arrow shape—rather than an arrow line—can be easily resized and redirected by dragging its handles.

You can also use the orange circular handles to change the thickness of the arrow and the size of the arrowhead.

And then, of course, to give the arrow—or any shape you've drawn—more impact, you can apply a Shape Effect.

When it comes to lines, there are more options than just a straight line—with or without an arrowhead at either or both ends. You can draw curved and angled lines, too, and adjust their angles, weight, and color, using tools found on the Shape Format ribbon.

Earlier, I mentioned prefering using shapes and typing inside them, versus using the Text Box tool. Here's why—you can format the type to any size, alignment, font, or color, and resize the shape so that all of the text appears within it. You can also apply any colored fill to the shape, and then apply Shape Effects to make the shape pop, and more importantly, match any adjacent formatting in charts and diagrams.

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Last, I'm adding an Icon. The dialog box that appears also offers stock images, cutout people, stickers, illustrations, and cartoon people, and you can select and insert any that appear and then move and resize them as you would any graphic on your worksheet. The icons, however, come in many categories, and can be converted to shapes—which means you can apply fills, outlines, and Shape Effects, too.

Here, I've added a map icon, and after applying a fill, I click the Convert to Shape tool so that I can do more—like apply a beveled Shape Effect and then a Gradient fill.

My creativity is unleashed and my worksheets are much more interesting—all thanks to the Shape and Icon tools.