MicrosoftВ® Office ExcelВ® 2007 Inside Out (Inside Out (Microsoft))

After you create or insert a graphic object, Office Excel 2007 provides tools you can use to modify it. Most of these tools are on hidden Ribbon tabs that appear only when an object is selected.

Three types of hidden tabs exist, depending on the object you select: SmartArt Tools, Drawing Tools, or Picture Tools appear on a menu bar above the new tabs. All three types include a Format tab; SmartArt Tools includes an additional tab, Design, which is discussed in "Creating SmartArt" on page 358. The controls available on the Format tab change depending on the type of object selected.

When you select a picture or a piece of clip art, for example, you can use the Format tab under Picture Tools to make some rather extreme adjustments to the image. Although the source program that created an imported picture probably offers more control, you can do a fair amount of formatting from within Excel as well, such as changing its shape, adding a border, and adjusting brightness and contrast. Figure 10-27 shows the picture we imported in Figure 10-23.

Figure 10-27: This version of the Format tab appears when a picture is selected.

• Brightness and Contrast Offer control over the exposure of the selected picture.

• Recolor Offers color tinting options based on the current theme colors, plus Sepia, Grayscale, Washout, and more.

• Change Picture Lets you switch to a different image without changing the size or formatting of the selected picture.

• Reset Picture Discards any applied formatting and returns the selected picture to its original form.

• Picture Shape Offers a palette similar to the Shapes palette on the Insert menu. Select the shape you want to apply to the selected picture. This palette does not support live preview.

• Picture Border Applies a border to the picture and lets you select its color, size, and type.

• Picture Effects Displays a menu of special effects you can apply to the selected picture, including Shadow, Reflection, Glow, Soft Edges, and 3-D Rotation.

• Crop Displays handles on the picture that you can drag to change its displayed area. The Height and Width controls are linked so that changing one dimension causes the other to change proportionally.

As Figure 10-27 shows, simply resting the pointer on a thumbnail in the Picture Styles palette temporarily displays the selected picture using that style. The same functionality applies to most other palettes available on the Format tab. Here are some details about selected controls available on the Format tab:

When you select any other type of object (except for embedded objects), the Format tab under Drawing Tools appears, containing many of the same controls as the Format tab under Picture Tools, as you can see in Figure 10-28.

Figure 10-28: This version of the Format tab appears when any Shape, Text Box, or WordArt object is selected.

Here are details about the formatting controls available on the Format tab under Drawing Tools that are different from those on the Format tab under Picture Tools:

• Shape Fill This palette lets you select colors, textures, gradients, and even pictures you can use to fill the selected shape.

• Shape Outline This palette offers options you can apply to the outline of the selected shape, including color, line weight, and line style. Other than the name on the button, this palette is otherwise identical to the Picture Border palette, described earlier.

• Shape Effects Displays a menu of special effects you can apply to the selected picture, including Shadow, Reflection, Glow, Soft Edges, and 3-D Rotation. Other than the name on the button, this palette is otherwise identical to the Picture Effects palette, described earlier.

The Format tab under Drawing Tools and the Format tab under Picture Tools contain groups covered elsewhere in this book. For more about the Insert Shapes group, see "Using the Shapes Tools" on page 345. To read about the WordArt group, see "Creating WordArt" on page 356. For information about the Arrange group, see "Positioning Objects" on page 387.

Formatting Text in Graphics

Most of what you can do with text in cells applies to text in graphics as well. You can use the tools in the Font group on the Home tab to accomplish most of what you need to do in either cells or text-capable objects. However, you can employ a few additional text-formatting options when working with text in objects.

To see what we're talking about, click Shapes on the Insert menu, draw any kind of two-dimensional object such as a rectangle, and then type some text. Drag through the text you just typed to select it, then right-click the selected text, and finally click Font to display the Font dialog box like the one shown in Figure 10-29.

Figure 10-29: The Font dialog box offers a few formatting options not found elsewhere.

The Font dialog box shares many of the same controls found in the Format Cells dialog box that you use to format text in cells. The Font dialog box additionally offers the following options:

• Double Strikethrough This effect draws two lines through the middle of the selected text.

• Offset When the Superscript or Subscript effect is turned on, Offset offers precise control over the distance of selected text from the baseline, as shown in Figure 10-29.

• Small Caps This effect changes lowercase characters in selected text to small capital letters, as shown in Figure 10-29. Text typed as capital letters is unaffected.

• All Caps This effect changes all the selected lowercase characters into capital letters, as shown in Figure 10-29.

• Equalize Character Height This effect changes the size of each selected character so they all occupy the same amount of vertical space, as shown in Figure 10-29. Characters with descenders are moved above the baseline.

• Character Spacing On the Character Spacing tab in the Font dialog box, this effect lets you expand or condense the space between characters of selected text by a specified number of points, as shown in Figure 10-30.

• Kerning This effect applies special spacing rules to correct problematic character pairs and lets you specify a font size above which kerning is applied.

Figure 10-30: Adjust the space between letters in graphic objects using the Character Spacing tab.

In Figure 10-30, the first text box is formatted as usual; kerning was applied to the second text box. The effect is subtle, but you can see that the spacing between each letter pair in the second box is a little tighter. Kerning is particularly noticeable when applied to large display fonts and logos.

Applying Compression to Pictures

When you import pictures using the Picture button on the Insert tab, you can choose to optimize the storage of these bitmap images, along with your worksheet, to decrease the amount of disk space they consume. Clicking the Compress Pictures button on the Format tab under Picture Tools displays a dialog box of the same name; clicking its Options button displays the Compression Settings dialog box. Figure 10-31 shows both.

Figure 10-31: Apply compression settings to any imported picture.

Here are details about the options in the Compress Pictures and Compression Settings dialog boxes:

• Apply To Selected Pictures Only Ordinarily, all the images in your workbook are compressed at once. Select this check box to compress only the currently selected images.

• Automatically Perform Basic Compression On Save Excel applies compression whenever you save your workbook. To prevent this, clear this check box.

• Delete Cropped Areas Of Pictures This discards any nonvisible portions of pictures you have cropped using the options in the Size group on the Format tab under Picture Tools. This is the default setting and is nonreversible.

• Target Output options These options allow you to specify the number of dots per inch (dpi) to suit your output requirements: Print, Screen, or E-Mail.

Using the Format Shape Dialog Box

Most of the graphic formatting controls you need are right up front on the Ribbon-the "dashboard" of Excel. The Ribbon offers easy access to buttons and palettes as well as live preview functionality. However, a few additional options are not available on the Ribbon. To access them, right-click any graphic object (except an embedded object), and click either Format Shape or Format Picture to display the dialog box shown in Figure 10-32. (The command is Format Picture when you select clip art or an inserted picture, but the dialog box is the same either way.)

Figure 10-32: The Format Shape dialog box offers central control of graphic-object formatting.

Not only does the Format Shape dialog box offer a few additional controls, but you might also find it convenient, because you can leave it open and move it out of the way while you work. For more information, see the sidebar "A Dialog Apart" on the next page.

The categories on the left side of the Format Shape dialog box are always the same, no matter what type of object you select. However, the options available in each category change based on the object type. For example, the settings in the Text Box category are unavailable when you select a picture.

Although you don't get the full "mouse hover" live preview functionality you get using the Ribbon, you do see results on the worksheet after you make a change in the Format Shape dialog box. You can change settings in each category listed on the left, and you'll see your progress reflected in the selected graphic object in real time, not after you dismiss the dialog box. This is a departure from "old" dialog box functionality, in which you can make all the changes you want but clicking the Cancel button discards anything you did while the dialog box was open. But you'll notice there is no Cancel button, or even an OK button, in the Format Shape dialog box. Your changes apply instantly, but you can also undo instantly by clicking the Undo button on the Quick Access Toolbar. It gets better: With the Format Shape dialog box open, you can select different objects on the worksheet; click Ribbon tabs and buttons; use the Quick Access Toolbar; display other dialog boxes; and even change worksheets. The Format Shape dialog box functions like a toolbar or a task bar that you can drag anywhere on your screen (or off your screen and onto a second monitor's screen, if you have one).

Much of what you'll find in the Format Shape dialog box is self-explanatory, but we'll hit the high points for you in the following sections, which will also serve to describe some of the inner workings of equivalent Ribbon-based controls.

Formatting Fills and Lines

The first two categories in the Format Shape dialog box, Fill and Line Color, contain options that change the controls displayed in the dialog box, as shown in Figure 10-33. For example, in Figure 10-33 you can see the differences between the controls available when the Gradient Fill and Picture Or Texture Fill options are selected. As always, any changes you make in the dialog box are reflected immediately in the selected object.

Figure 10-33: Each option causes different controls to appear in the dialog box.

Gradient Fills Gradient Fill is the third option in the Fill category in the Format Shape dialog box; a gradient fill consists of two or more colors, cross-fading from light to dark. You can choose from a number of presets in the Preset Colors drop-down list, or you can customize your own. In the Type drop-down list, select from Linear, Rectangular, Radial, or Path, which follows the contours of the selected object. You can select a fill direction for any gradient type except Path. You can specify an angle from 0 to 359.9 degrees, which is the point from which a gradient emanates. The Direction settings are presets of the Angle setting; both settings are applicable only to linear gradients.

Gradient Stops You can create complex, nonlinear gradients using the Gradient Stops option, which lets you specify up to 10 intervals of gradation using varying amounts of color and transparency. To get an idea how they work, select any of the more colorful samples in the Preset Colors list, and then look at the Gradient Stops drop-down list. For example, the preset named Rainbow has seven gradient stops, each set to a different color. The Stop Position control determines where along the gradient path the selected stop comes into play. For example, if you wanted to create a three-color gradient, you could add stops at 50 percent and 100 percent for a fairly even gradient or at 10 percent and 80 percent to emphasize the middle color. You can also use the Transparency slider to add varying amounts of transparency to each gradient stop. For example, you could set a shape to be 0 percent transparent on one end of the scale and 80 percent on the other end, revealing varying amounts of the worksheet below the shape.

Picture or Texture Fill Selecting the Picture Or Texture Fill option in the Fill category in the Format Shape dialog box reveals the controls shown on the right in Figure 10-33. You can select one of the preset textures in the Texture drop-down list, or you can import an image from a file on disk, a piece of clip art, or even the current contents of the Clipboard by clicking the appropriate Insert From button. The Tile Picture As Texture option repeats an image as needed to fill the selected shape, or if not selected, it places a single instance of an image in the center of the selected shape. The Tiling Options let you offset the image from the edges of the shape, giving you control over the percentage of offset from the left, right, top, or bottom of the shape.

Line Colors and Styles The Line Color and Line Style categories in the Format Shape dialog box don't contain any surprises; these categories are where you control the formatting of lines and arrows. You can create gradient lines and compound lines; you can specify different styles of dashed lines and arrowheads; you can add square, round, or flat caps to the end of lines; you can specify a percentage of transparency to solid lines; and you can specify round, bevel, or miter intersections where lines meet.

Applying Shadows

You can use the Shadow category in the Format Shape dialog box to add depth to any graphic object. In Figure 10-34, we created a shape and right-clicked it, then clicked Format Shape and clicked the Shadow category, and then applied shadow effects. When you click the Presets button, a palette appears with a number of built-in shadow configurations. After you apply a shadow effect, you can modify it using the sliders in the dialog box.

Figure 10-34: You can create an infinite number of shadow effects using the Format Shape dialog box.

Applying 3-D Effects

Click the 3-D Format category in the Format Shape dialog box to apply three-dimensional effects to the selected shape. If you apply one of the Bevel presets, several formats are applied to the selected object: color and amount of depth and contour, surface type, and lighting type. In Figure 10-35, we created a shape and applied the Convex preset from the Top drop-down list.

Figure 10-35: Start with a basic shape, and give it depth.

With the controls in the 3-D Rotation category, you can control the attitude of the selected shape in all three dimensions. We'll describe the controls in the two 3-D categories in the Format Shape dialog box in detail.

• Bevel (in the 3-D Format category) Controls the amount of "extrusion" applied to the selected shape, giving it the appearance of having a beveled edge. You can create extrusions on both sides; the Top drop-down list controls the front of the shape, and the Bottom drop-down list controls the back, as shown in Figure 10-36. (To see the results of the Bottom settings, you must rotate the shape using controls in the 3-D Rotation category.) The Width settings control the width of the beveled edge, and the Height settings control the distance the bevel is extruded from the surface of the shape.

• Depth (in the 3-D Format category) Controls the thickness and color of the shape. (To see the results of the Depth settings, you must rotate the shape using controls in the 3-D Rotation category.)

• Contour (in the 3-D Format category) Controls the size and color of a raised border applied to the perimeter of the selected shape.

• Surface (in the 3-D Format category) Includes two palettes you can use to select types of surface treatment and lighting effects. Materials include surfaces such as plastic and metal, translucent, and special effects such as soft edge and wireframe. Choose from lighting effects such as Three-Point, Sunset, and Chilly, and choose the angle from which the light originates.

• Rotation (in the 3-D Rotation category) Contains controls to adjust the position of the selected object in three-dimensional space. The x-axis is horizontal, the y-axis is vertical, and the z-axis is front to back.

• Perspective (in the 3-D Rotation category) Controls the amount of foreshortening applied to a shape, if applicable. Foreshortening makes shapes that are closer look larger. You use this control to make shapes appear to tilt forward or backward. It is easiest to start by clicking one of the Perspective options in the Presets drop-down list; then you can change the angle of foreshortening using the Perspective controls.

• Keep Text Flat (in the 3-D Rotation category) Prevents any text typed in a shape from rotating along with the shape, effectively separating the text from the shape.

Figure 10-36: You can "extrude" 3-D bevels from both the front and the back of a flat shape.

Formatting Pictures

The Picture category in the Format Picture (or Format Shape) dialog box contains Brightness and Contrast sliders, which give you control over exposure characteristics of bitmap images. Also, a Recolor drop-down list offers a number of special effects, as shown in Figure 10-37.

Figure 10-37: The Recolor drop-down list offers special effects you can apply to bitmap images.

Formatting Objects That Contain Text

Besides objects you actually create with the Text Box button on the Insert tab, many of the objects you can create in Excel are de facto text boxes. Figure 10-38 shows two objects, one created with the Text Box tool and another created with one of the Star tools in the Shapes palette. Both objects are subject to the influence of the Text Box controls in the Format Shape dialog box, as are most two-dimensional shapes and even WordArt and SmartArt objects.

Figure 10-38: The Text Box category of the Format Shape dialog box offers controls not found on the Ribbon.

The Text Layout controls perform some of the same tasks as the buttons in the Alignment group on the Home tab of the Ribbon. You can see in Figure 10-38 that both the Middle Align and Center buttons on the Ribbon are highlighted, indicating that the selected objects have those attributes applied. The corresponding setting in the Vertical Alignment category in the dialog box is also selected.

If you select the Resize Shape To Fit Text check box, the object shrinks (or expands) to fit the text it contains, as typed and formatted. The Internal Margin settings add or decrease the amount of space between the edge of a shape and the text it contains. The Columns button displays a dialog box you can use to create columns of text within any text-capable object, as shown in Figure 10-39.

Figure 10-39: You can create columnar text boxes using the Format Shape dialog box.

You have two ways to select objects containing text: Either you select the text area or you select the entire object. When you select the text area, you can edit it; when you select the object, you can move it. You tell the difference by looking at the object's border. When you click a shape created using the Text Box tool on the Insert tab, the border is a dashed line at first, indicating the text area is ready for editing. Click the border of the box, and the border changes to a solid line, indicating the object is now selected:

For shapes other than text boxes, it depends on whether the shape contains text: Click near the text, and the text area is selected; otherwise, the shape is selected. If a non-text-box shape doesn't contain text, you can't activate the text area, but you don't need to do so-just start typing after you select the object to create a text area.

Formatting Embedded Objects

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, objects you create using the Object button on the Insert tab cannot be formatted using the Format Shape dialog box, and they do not display additional formatting tabs on the Ribbon. So to apply formatting to embedded objects, right-click an embedded object, and click the Format Object command (or Format Picture, depending on the object). When you do so, a dialog box like the one shown in Figure 10-40 appears. Note that, depending on the type of object selected, some of the options available in this dialog box will have no effect.

Figure 10-40: Your formatting options are more limited with embedded objects.

For more information about embedded objects, see "Inserting Other Objects" on page 366.

The Colors And Lines tab in the Format Object dialog box gives you control over the style, color, and weight of the object's border, as well its fill color and pattern. In Figure 10-40, we applied a gradient fill to an embedded Microsoft Equation Editor object and added 75 percent transparency and a 3-point border. In general, the options available in this dialog box are self-explanatory, but here are a few facts that might be less obvious:

• The Color options on the Colors And Lines tab include 56 standard colors that are not controlled by the current theme settings.

• On the Colors And Lines tab, the Fill Effects option in the Color drop-down list displays the Fill Effects dialog box, which you can use to add patterns, gradient fills, pictures, or textures, such as wood, marble, canvas, and even a paper bag effect, to your objects.

• If you apply a pattern using the Pattern tab in the Fill Effects dialog box, the color you select for the foreground is assigned to the pattern itself and is reflected in the sample pattern thumbnails displayed in the dialog box. The color you select for the background is assigned to the white areas of the pattern.

• On the Picture tab, the Color drop-down list in the Image Control area includes the same options you can find using the Recolor button on the Format tab under Picture Tools, described in "Formatting Graphics" on page 368.

• Click the Reset button on the Picture tab to return all settings to their original values.

• Click the Compress button on the Picture tab to display the Compress Pictures dialog box, which includes the same options as in the Compression Settings dialog box, described in "Applying Compression to Pictures" on page 373.

• The settings on the Properties tab allow you to specify how Excel handles objects when editing the underlying cells on a worksheet. For details about the equivalent options in the Size And Properties dialog box, see "Positioning Objects" on the next page.