Using WordArt in Excel

WordArt is a program that allows you to treat text as a graphic. You can use the program to add special effects and flourishes to text, and then insert the text—as a graphic—in your worksheet. It is useful for creating special text elements such as logos, mastheads, or titles. Don't confuse the program name (WordArt) with Microsoft Word; these are two entirely different programs, and you can use WordArt with Excel as easily as you can use it with Word.

How you access WordArt depends on the version of Excel you are using. Excel 97 includes WordArt 2.0, although it is not automatically installed when you install Word. You can tell if WordArt is installed by trying to access WordArt. If it is not installed, then you can run the Excel Setup program again and install WordArt on your system.

You access WordArt using either of these methods in Excel 97:

• Double-click on a graphic originally created with WordArt.
• Choose Object from the Insert menu. You will see the Object dialog box. Choose Microsoft WordArt 2.0 from the Object Type list and click on OK. You will see the WordArt dialog box.

When WordArt is running, you see the WordArt dialog box, and most of your Excel 97 menus and toolbars are hidden. When you are through using WordArt, you can exit the program simply by using the mouse to click somewhere else in your worksheet. (You can also press Esc to exit WordArt.)

Excel 2000 and later versions include a more integrated approach to WordArt. Follow these steps:

1. Make sure the Drawing toolbar is displayed.
2. On the Drawing toolbar, click on the Insert WordArt tool. You then see the WordArt Gallery. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The WordArt Gallery.

3. Select a general appearance that you want used for your text, and then click on OK. You then see the Edit WordArt Text dialog box. (See Figure 2.)



Figure 2. The Edit WordArt Text dialog box.

4. Enter the text you want used by WordArt, and click on OK.

At this point, the WordArt graphic is created and added to your worksheet. You should also see the WordArt toolbar, which includes commands specific to working with WordArt objects. To hide the toolbar, simply click a different place in your document, so that the WordArt object isn't selected.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3408) 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: Using WordArt in Excel.