Section 18.4. Drawing Graphic Objects in Charts

18.4. Drawing Graphic Objects in Charts

You may find that shapes are more trouble than they're worth because they can quickly gunk up a worksheet. But there is one area where graphic objects become extremely usefulin your charts. With the right shapes, you can break out of Excel's limiting rules for labeling and highlighting data and add eye-catching arrows and shapes .

Excel lets you draw on a chart object in the same way that you draw on a worksheetusing the Drawing toolbar. Best of all, once you draw a shape in a chart box, it stays locked into that box. That means if you move the chart, the shape follows along, remaining in the appropriate position. Figure 18-12 demonstrates some of these techniques.

Figure 18-12. This chart features a half- dozen graphical elements. A logo floats in the top-right corner, while a starburst announces the results in the bottom-right. A callout points to a sudden change in the data, and a combination of a textbox, arrow, and ring highlights where the two lines cross.

Here are a few ways that Excel's drawing features can enhance your charts:

• Use arrows to point to important places on a chart. This technique works well if you need to highlight a single data point.

• Use circles or squares around an import region on the chart. This technique works well if you need to highlight a section containing multiple data points.

• Use callouts to add descriptive text explaining why a chart line takes a sudden dive or turns upward suddenly.

• Add picture objects, like logos or a themed background (for example, show a picture of a beach in a chart that tracks favorite vacation destinations). Picture objects are much more flexible than the chart fill features you learned about in Chapter 17 because you can place them anywhere and you don't need to resize or distort them to make them fit the chart size .

GEM IN THE ROUGH
WordArt and Organization Charts

Excel includes a few more frills on the Drawing toolbar. These include the WordArt button, which inserts a WordArt object, and the Insert Diagram button immediately next to it, which inserts special types of organization diagrams.

Neither one of these frills are really a part of Excel. Instead, they are Office-wide features that you can use in any Office application. In fact, it usually makes more sense to drop these types of objects into a free- flowing Word document or a PowerPoint presentation than an Excel spreadsheet. However, if you're looking for something a little different, they're worth checking out.

The WordArt feature lets you insert fancy text. WordArt text is three-dimensional, has a fancy textured fill, and curves or slants. The big problem with WordArt is that it's usually hard to read, especially in printouts. To insert a WordArt object, just click the WordArt button, choose from one of the 30 styles, enter your text, and click OK. You can also tweak the color , the font, and change the shadow or 3-D effect.

Organizational charts are a little more interesting. They let you insert a pre-made diagram that consists of multiple linked shapes. When you click the Insert Diagram button, you'll see the Diagram Gallery shown in this box, with its six choices. You can then choose a diagram type, click OK to insert it, and begin adding text and new levels.