Eshrak Kader
Looking for ways to draw arrows in your Excel spreadsheet? Then, you’ve come to the right place. Typically, arrows indicate if a value is increasing or decreasing with respect to another value. Thus, adding visual depth and clarity to the information. With this in mind, this article demonstrates 3 easy ways how to draw arrows in Excel.
Download Practice Workbook
You can download the practice workbook from the link below.
3 Ways to Draw Arrows in Excel
Let’s consider the dataset shown in the B4:D13 cells. Here, the dataset shows the Product names and their Sales in January and Sales in February respectively. Now, we want to check if the Sales of some products in February is greater than that of in January. If so, we’ll draw an up arrow to indicate an increase, otherwise, we’ll insert a down arrow to indicate a decrease. So, without further delay, let’s see each method individually.
Here, we have used Microsoft Excel 365 version, you may use any other version according to your convenience.
Method-1: Draw Arrows Using Symbol Option
Let’s start with the most obvious way to add arrows in a cell. Simply put, let’s use Excel’s built-in Symbol Option.
1.1 Using Normal Text Font to Draw Arrows
Here, we’ll utilize Excel’s Symbol option to insert arrows in a cell. So, let’s begin.
📌 Steps:
- At the very beginning, go to the E5 cell >> click the Insert tab >> then, select the Symbol option.
This opens the Symbol wizard.
- Now, in the Font field, choose the (normal text) option >> next, in the Subset field, select Arrows from the list.
- Following this, choose an arrow according to your preference and hit the Insert button.
The results should look like the image shown below.
Lastly, repeat the same process for the other cells as shown below.
1.2 Using Wingdings Font to Draw Arrows
In a similar fashion, you can use the Wingdings font to insert arrows in a cell. So, let’s see it in action.
📌 Steps:
- To begin with, move to the E5 cell >> click the Insert tab followed by the Symbol option.
In an instant, the Symbol dialog box pops up.
- Next, select the Wingdings font >> enter 233 in the Character Code box, this selects the arrow shown below >> click the Insert button.
After completing the above steps, the output appears as shown in the screenshot below.
In a similar manner, repeat the same procedure for the other cells as depicted below.
1.3 Using Wingdings 3 Font to Draw Arrows
Another way to add an arrow into a cell involves using the Wingdings 3 font. The process is remarkably the same as the previous method so, just follow along.
📌 Steps:
- Initially, navigate to the E5 cell >> go to the Insert tab >> click the Symbol option.
After completing this step, the Symbol wizard appears.
- Now, choose the Wingdings 3 font >> type in 199 as the Character Code, to choose the arrow shown below >> hit the Insert button.
Likewise, insert the arrows into the cells and your output should look like the image given below.
Read More: How to Use Blue Line with Arrows in Excel
Method-2: Using Shapes Option to Draw Arrows
What if you want to add colorful arrows instead of these boring arrows? You’re in luck, our next method answers this very question. So, let’s go through the steps.
📌 Steps:
- Firstly, select the cell where you want an arrow. In this case, we’ve chosen the E5 cell
- Next, go to the Insert tab and click the Shapes drop-down.
- Now, in the Block Arrows section, choose the up arrow.
- Secondly, hold down the left mouse button and drag the cursor to draw an arrow. Here, you can move, resize and change the color of the arrow according to your preference.
- Thirdly, insert a down arrow following the same process as above.
- Finally, copy the arrows into their respective locations as shown in the screenshot below.
Read More: How to Change Cursor from Plus to Arrow in Excel (5 Easy Methods)
Method-3: Applying Conditional Formatting to Draw Arrows
If the first two methods are too much work and you’re in a hurry then, our next method will come in handy for you. Here, we’ll apply the Conditional Formatting Tool to insert arrows. Hence, let’s see the process in detail.
📌 Steps:
- To begin, go to the E5 cell and enter the expression given below.
=D5-C5
Here, the C5 and the D5 cells refer to the Sales in January and February respectively.
- Secondly, select the E5:E13 range of cells >> click the Conditional Formatting drop-down >> from the list, and choose the Icon Sets option.
This opens the New Formatting Rule dialog box.
- Next, choose the Format cells based on their values option.
- Then, in the Format Style field, choose the Icon Sets and Show Icon Only options.
- Following this, enter a suitable value, for example, we’ve chosen 100.
Eventually, your results should look like the picture shown below.
Read More: Up and Down Arrows in Excel Using Conditional Formatting
Draw Arrows in a Line Chart
Thus far, we’ve discussed how to draw arrows in a cell. What if you want to insert arrows in a Line Chart in Excel? Lucky you, the next method describes just this. Now, allow me to demonstrate this process in the steps below.
Considering the Monthly Revenue Earned dataset in the B4:C12 cells below. Here, we have a breakdown of the Revenue earnings for each Month from January to August.
📌 Steps:
- Firstly, select the B4:C12 cells >> go to the Insert tab >> in the Charts section, click the Insert Line or Area Chart drop-down >> choose the Line option.
Moreover, you can format the chart using the Chart Elements option.
- In addition to the default selection, you can enable the Axes Title to provide axes names. Here, it is a Breakdown of Revenue by Month.
- Now, add the Chart Title, for example, Month and Sales in USD.
- Lastly, you can disable the Gridlines option to give your chart a clean look.
This should generate the chart as shown in the picture below.
- Secondly, select any data point and right-click on the mouse to go to the Format Data Point option.
This opens the Format Data Point pane.
- In the next step, choose a color, for instance, we’ve chosen Orange.
- In turn, specify the End Arrow type as shown in the screenshot below.
Your Line Chart should look like the image given below.
Similarly, follow the same procedure for the other data points.
Subsequently, the result should look like the picture shown below.
Practice Section
We have provided a practice section on the right side of each sheet so you can practice yourself. Please make sure to do it by yourself.
Conclusion
I hope all of the methods mentioned above on how to draw arrows in Excel will now prompt you to apply them in your Excel spreadsheet more effectively. Please let me know in the comment section if you have any questions or feedback. Or you can check out our other articles related to Excel functions on this website.
