Drawing tools like the rectangle, oval, and arrow are only three of many shapes found on the Drawing Toolbar; a toolbar found in most of the Microsoft Office applications including Word, Excel & PowerPoint. Drawing objects can add interest and impact to your intended message. In the example below, the impact of using a drawing object vs not using one is very apparent. The 'lock' that is shown can be found within AutoShapes. AutoShapes include several categories of shapes including lines, connectors, basic shapes, flowchart elements, stars and banners, and callouts.
|
THIS Lock it! |
 or
THIS? |
Have you ever wanted to insert the same drawing object several times in a row in your document, worksheet, or presentation? It's easy. Instead of clicking the drawing object button every time you want to insert the object, you can take advantage of the drawing object's "sticky" feature.
1. To view the Drawing toolbar, right-click any toolbar and
select Drawing.
2. To insert a drawing object once, you would select it on the toolbar and then
insert it into your document. To insert a drawing object several times, double-click
the drawing object button (such as Rectangle) on the Drawing
toolbar. The button stays selected or "sticky."
3. Insert your drawing object several times by clicking (and dragging if appropriate)
in the appropriate locations.
4. When you're finished inserting the objects, click the drawing object button
again, or press ESC.
You can also turn any of the drawing objects available from the AutoShapes button on the Drawing toolbar into "sticky" drawing object buttons. Simply click the AutoShapes button, point to a category (such as Flowchart), and a submenu of shapes opens up.
Drag the move handle at the top of the submenu to create a floating toolbar. Then double-click the drawing object button (such as Flowchart: Process). The button now stays "sticky."
