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: Setting Default Attributes for Lines and Arrows.

Setting Default Attributes for Lines and Arrows

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 8, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

1

Glenn adds lines and arrows regularly to flowcharts that he creates in Excel. He is wondering if there is a way to set a default line weight, color, and arrowhead, as it gets tedious to change the attributes all the time.

Setting defaults for AutoShapes (such as lines and arrows) is quite easy in Excel. Just follow these steps:

  1. Draw your line or arrow as you normally would.
  2. Format the line or arrow so that it appears just as you want it to.
  3. Right-click on the line or arrow. Excel displays a Context menu.
  4. From the Context menu select Set AutoShape Defaults.

That's it. For the rest of your current Excel session your lines and arrows will be drawn using your desired formats.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3357) 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: Setting Default Attributes for Lines and Arrows.

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

Getting Audible Feedback

You can add a bit of sound to your editing tasks by turning on Word's sound capabilities. This tip shows where this ...

Discover More

Displaying Latitude and Longitude

If you work with geographic data, you may need a way to display latitude and longitude in a worksheet. This tip examines ...

Discover More

Changing the Start Screen's Theme

You'll spend a lot of time viewing the Start screen in Windows. If you want to change up things, you can modify which ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2013 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Adding Drop Shadows

Want your shapes to really "pop" off the page? Add a drop shadow to them, as described in this tip.

Discover More

Getting Rid of Fixed Objects

Some dialog boxes in Excel refer to "fixed objects" in worksheets. What are they and how do you get rid of them?

Discover More

Styles for Lines, Dashes, and Arrows

Create a simple drawing object, and Excel makes some assumptions about how that object should appear. Excel provides a ...

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}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) 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 five less than 6?

2019-07-12 18:15:18

Lester

How can you make the default stick for ever, not just for "the current Excel session" ??

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 SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.