Specifying an Order for Drawing Objects

When you create drawing objects in Excel, each object is drawn on its own layer. This means all objects are independent and can be moved on top of other objects. This means that once you have drawn a number of different objects you can reorder them so that they appear in the order that you desire. You can do this by following these steps if you are using a version of Excel prior to Excel 2007:

1. Select the pointer tool (the arrow) from the Drawing toolbar.
2. Using the mouse, point to the shape whose order you want to change. Small square boxes called handles appear at each corner in the shape.
3. Choose Order from the Draw menu on the toolbar. Excel displays a set of ordering commands.
4. Choose the ordering command that represents what you want to do.

If you are using Excel 2007, then you need to follow these steps, instead:

1. Click on the shape whose order you want to change. Small square boxes called handles appear around the perimeter of the shape.
2. Display the Format tab of the ribbon.
3. In the Arrange group, choose the ordering command that represents what you want to do.

You can also access the ordering commands by right-clicking on a drawing object and choosing Order from the resulting Context menu. In Excel 2007 you don't need to select Order; the ordering commands are directly accessible from the Context menu. There are four different ordering commands:

• Bring to Front. This option places the selected object on top of the layer stack, so it appears in front of any other objects.
• Send to Back. This option moves the selected object behind any other drawing objects.
• Bring Forward. This option simply moves the drawing object one step closer to the top of the layer stack.
• Send Backward. This option moves the drawing object one layer toward the bottom of the layer stack.