Displaying the AutoShapes Menu

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated March 7, 2015)

3

If you have used Excel for any length of time, chances are pretty good that you are already familiar with AutoShapes and how to add them to your worksheets. If you have quite a few AutoShapes to insert in a document, you may find it handy to work with a floating AutoShapes menu instead of using the AutoShapes option on the Drawing toolbar. There are two ways you can display the floating AutoShapes menu. The first involves the use of the Drawing toolbar to get started:

  1. Display the Drawing toolbar. (Click on the Drawing option on the Standard toolbar.)
  2. Click on the AutoShapes option on the Drawing toolbar. The AutoShapes menu appears.
  3. Position the mouse pointer over the bar at the top of the AutoShapes menu.
  4. Click and drag the AutoShapes menu away from the Drawing toolbar.
  5. Release the mouse button. You now have a floating AutoShapes menu. (See Figure 1.)

    6. Figure 1. The AutoShapes menu.

The other method of displaying the floating AutoShapes menu is even a bit simpler:

  1. Choose Picture from the Insert menu. Excel displays a submenu.
  2. Choose AutoShapes from the submenu. Excel displays both the Drawing toolbar and the floating AutoShapes menu.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3250) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Copying a Worksheet

Need to make a copy of one of your worksheets? Excel provides a few different ways you can accomplish the task.

Discover More

Underlining Tabs In Numbered Lists

When Word creates an automatically numbered list, it removes some of your formatting flexibility. One thing you can't ...

Discover More

Adjusting Row Height for Your Text

Want Excel to automatically adjust the height of a worksheet row when it wraps text within the cell? It's easy to do, ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Taking a Picture

Excel allows you to capture portions of your worksheet as a picture that you can then use in a variety of other ways. ...

Discover More

Changing the Axis Scale

When creating a chart, you may want to adjust the default scaling that Excel applies to an axis. This is relatively easy ...

Discover More

Inserting from a Camera or Scanner

One of the ways you can insert graphics into a worksheet is by grabbing them from a digital camera or a scanner. This tip ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is seven minus 2?

2017-01-27 11:34:50

Willy Vanhaelen

@walter

The last paragraph of this tip: This tip (3250) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Since Excel 2007 the stand alone tool bars don't exist any more. They are replaced by the ribbon remember :-)

2017-01-26 17:14:46

walter

In 2010 Excel, shape tool is under Inset>illustration group. But I cannot select and pull it out to make a stand alone tool bar for "shape tool"

2017-01-26 17:13:13

walter

I'm using 2010 Excel. I see shape tool under Inset>illustration group. But I cannot select and pull it out to make a stand alone tool bar for "shape tool"

This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.