Microsoft Excel: Change Shape Of Comment To A Star

Problem: As shown in Fig. 1172, you have a comment in a cell. Jazz up your spreadsheet by changing the shape of the comment into a starburst or any other AutoShape.

See all Microsoft Excel tips

Strategy: You can change the shape of a comment. Follow these instructions.

1) From the cell, right-click and select Edit Comment. Diagonal lines appear, as shown in Fig. 1173.

2) Click on the diagonal lines to change the comment from edit text mode to edit mode, as shown in Fig. 1174.

3) If you do not have the Drawing toolbar displayed, choose View – Toolbars – Drawing from the menu.

4) On the left side of the Drawing toolbar is a dropdown called Draw. Choose this dropdown. From the menu, select Change AutoShape.

5) From the flyout menu, choose Stars and Banners. From the next flyout choose Explosion 2, as shown in Fig. 1175.

The comment will change from a rectangle to a starburst, as shown in Fig. 1176.

6) Grab a corner white Fill handle and drag to make the shape large enough for the text, as shown in Fig. 1177.

7) Right-click the dots border and select Format Comment. On the Alignment tab choose to center horizontally and vertically, as shown in Fig. 1178.

Result: The comment will appear as a starburst, as shown in Fig. 1179.

Additional Information: Grab the green rotate handle and rotate until you have the shape that best fits the text, as shown in Fig. 1180.

Summary: Using the Draw button on the Drawing toolbar, you can control the shape of a comment.

Commands Discussed: View – Toolbars; Draw – Change AutoShape

See all Microsoft Excel tips

Images