Filling a Drawing Object

Summary: Adding a shape to your workbook is easy. If you want to fill the shape with a color, you'll want to follow the information provided in this tip. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)

When you have created a drawing object, you can fill it with a color of your choosing. This is easy to do by following these steps if you are using Excel 2007:

Select the shape you want to fill.
Make sure the Format tab of the ribbon is selected.
In the Shape Styles group, click the Shape Fill tool. Excel displays a color menu.
From the color menu, select the color you want to use.
If you do not see your desired color displayed, click on More Fill Colors to display a wider selection of choices.

If you are using an older version of Excel, follow these steps instead:

Select the drawing object you want to fill.
Click on the down-arrow next to the Fill Color tool on the Drawing toolbar. Excel displays a color menu.
From the color menu, select the color you want to use.
If you do not see your desired color displayed, click on More Fill Colors to display a wider selection of choices.

Once you select a color, Excel removes the color menu and fills the interior of the shape with the color selected. To remove a color you previously used, you can repeat the same steps, but in step 4 or 3 (depending on your version of Excel) choose No Fill.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2823) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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