Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Drawing Lines.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 8, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Excel provides tools that allow you to create a number of shapes that were previously only available through the use of a drawing program. One of these shapes is a line. (Yes, the simple line!) Here's the easiest way to create your line:
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2460) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Drawing Lines.
Save Time and Supercharge Excel! Automate virtually any routine task and save yourself hours, days, maybe even weeks. Then, learn how to make Excel do things you thought were simply impossible! Mastering advanced Excel macros has never been easier. Check out Excel 2010 VBA and Macros today!
You can add all sorts of objects to your workbooks, including video clips. Here's the pros and cons (along with the ...
Discover MoreGot some images that you want to appear in a worksheet based on the result displayed in a cell? Figuring out how to ...
Discover MoreWant the title of your chart to change based upon what is placed in a worksheet cell? It's easy; just add a formula to ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2015-12-10 22:08:49
Dave Onorato
Hint: If you also hold the Shift key as you draw a line, it becomes perfectly vertical, horizontal or diagonal on 45°.
And, it works on any shape. Hold shift while drawing an oval and it becomes a perfect circle, rectangles become squares, etc.
And this works across the MS Office apps, most every version!
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here:
Comments