Drawing in Excel (Basics & Application)

In this article, you will learn about drawing in Excel. More specifically, you will learn about the basics, drawing flow charts, and free-form drawings.

The basics of drawing involve drawing lines and shapes. You can use the Shapes feature inside the Insert tab to draw these in Excel.

Although Excel is not designed as a graphic design application, you can do basic drawings with it.

You can use the flowchart to show the decision points and visualize various processes. This provides a sequence of events, which aids in understanding a process more efficiently.

You can also draw freehand in Excel using the Draw tab.

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the Excel file here.

List of Basic Shapes of Drawing Tools in Excel

Excel has eight shape categories to help us draw.

1. Lines: This is used to connect different parts of a drawing.
2. Rectangles: This usually shows the main process field.
3. Basic Shapes: Used for decision-making illustration.
4. Block Arrows: This shows the direction for any process.
5. Equation Shapes: We utilize this to show the mathematical equation in any process.
6. Flow Chart: This is inserted to show a process from start to finish.
7. Stars and Banners: When we need to insert a decorative item, we use this category.
8. Callouts: This is used for notes and comments.

How to Insert Basic Shape Drawing in Excel

• Select Rectangle: Rounded Corners from the Insert tab. You will find it in the Shapes of the Illustrations group.

• Drag this in the sheet and draw a rectangle. You can select different colors from the Shape Format tab.

How to Use Drawing Tools to Draw Flowcharts in Excel

• Follow the previous steps to insert the rectangle with rounded corners. We are adding the flow chart below it.
• Select Line Arrow and draw in the worksheet.

• After that, the output will be similar to this.

• Finally, repeat this for other boxes.

Free Form Drawing in Excel

How to Enable Draw Tab in Excel

• Go to File >>> Excel Options >>> Customize Ribbon.
• Then select Draw from the Main Tabs section and press OK.

Read More: How to Use Drawing Tools in Excel

How to Draw Free Form Drawing in Excel

• Firstly, from the Draw tab, select the red pen and draw on the spreadsheet.

• You can convert this into a shape. To do this, click on the drawing and select the Ink to Shape option.

• Finally, the freehand drawing will be turned into a shape. Alternatively, there are two freeform shapes at the end of the Lines shape, which you can use for freehand drawing in Excel.

Read More: How to Remove Drawing Tools in Excel

Things to Remember

• You can make your charts more informative using the drawing feature in Excel.
• You can layer one shape over another and control the order using the Selection Pane feature under the Arrange group of the Insert tab.
• Always keep the shapes close to activating the connecting points.
• Although there is no limit on the maximum number of shapes in Excel, you should not use them unnecessarily to keep the Excel file size smaller.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does Excel have Smart Art?

Yes, Excel has a smart art feature. In the Insert tab, you will find the Smart Art feature under the Illustration group.

2. Is it possible to rotate, move, or resize a drawing object in Excel?

• Rotate: If you select any drawing object, you will see a rotate icon at the top. To rotate it, click and hold and move it in the desired direction.
• Move: Select the shape and hover the mouse pointer to the object. Then, the mouse cursor will change. Now, drag to move the object.
• Resize: After selecting the drawing object, you will see small rounded shapes around it. Hover the mouse pointer over this, and the mouse pointer will change. Then drag it to resize the object. Additionally, you can hold the Shift button and resize it to keep the aspect ratio constant.

3. Is there a way to group multiple objects in Excel?

You can select multiple drawing objects and right-click to bring up the context menu. After that, select Group.

Conclusion

In this article, we have discussed drawing in Excel. If you have any questions or suggestions about this, please feel free to comment below, and the ExcelDemy team will try to solve the issue as soon as possible. Thanks for reading, and keep excelling!

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