How to Align and Group Graphic Objects in Excel 2013
When you’re dealing with two graphic objects in Excel 2013, one on top of the other, and you want to align them with each other, you can use the options on the Align command button’s drop-down menu on the Format tab of the Drawing Tools or Picture Tools contextual menu after selecting both of them in the worksheet.
The alignment options on this button’s drop-down menu include
Align Left to left align the graphic on the top layer with the one underneath
Align Center to center the graphic on the top layer with the one underneath
Align Right to right align the graphic on the top layer with the one underneath
Align Top to top align the graphic on the top layer with the one underneath
Align Middle to center vertically the graphic on the top layer with the one underneath
Align Bottom to bottom align the graphic on the top layer with the one underneath
Distribute Horizontally to equally distribute the selected graphic objects (three or more) horizontally
Distribute Vertically to equally distribute the selected graphic objects (three or more) vertically
Sometimes you need to work with more than one graphic object. If you find that you’re constantly selecting two or more objects at the same time in order to move them or rotate them together, you can make life a lot simpler by grouping the graphics. When you group selected graphic objects, Excel then makes them into a single graphic object, which you can then manipulate.
To group a bunch of graphics together, select them all (either by Shift+clicking or Ctrl+clicking each one). After they are selected, right-click the object on the top layer and then choose Group→Group from the object’s shortcut menu or choose the Group option from the Group Objects command button’s drop-down menu on the Format tab of the object’s particular Tools contextual menu.
Excel indicates that the selected graphics are now grouped in the worksheet (and for all intents and purposes, are a single graphic object) by placing a single set of sizing handles around the perimeter formed by all the former separate graphics and by giving them a group number in the Selection task pane.
You can then manipulate the grouped graphic as a single entity by moving it, sizing it, rotating it, and so forth, as you would any other object.
The great thing about grouping a bunch of different objects is that Excel never forgets that they were once separate objects that you could independently manipulate. This means that you can always turn them back into separate graphics by ungrouping them.
To do this, right-click the composite graphic object and then choose Group→Ungroup from its shortcut menu or choose the Ungroup option from the Group Objects command button’s drop-down menu on the object’s particular Tools Format tab.
Excel shows that the composite object is once again separated into many different objects by displaying sizing handles around each object’s perimeter. You can then deselect them all and manipulate each one once again independently by selecting it alone before moving, resizing, or rotating it.
If you decide that you want the now- independent objects to be joined as a group once again, you can do this by right-clicking any one of the graphics in the erstwhile group and then choosing Group→Regroup from its shortcut menu or choosing the Regroup option from the Group Objects command button’s drop-down menu’s Format contextual tab.
The figure illustrates grouping in action. For this figure, both the triangle and star graphics below are selected and then Group from the Group Objects button’s drop-down menu was chosen.
In grouping the two objects together into one, Excel created a new Group 5 object in the Selection task pane that consists of Right Arrow 2 and 5-Point Star 3. After grouping the two graphics, not only will the triangle move whenever you reposition the star, but the triangle will also resize when you modify the shape, and it would rotate together with the star if you were to turn the star on its head.
Excel Glossary
active cell
The worksheet cell that contains the cell cursor. Each worksheet can have only one active cell.
Excel Glossary
AutoComplete
A feature that looks at the entries that you make in a worksheet column and automatically duplicates them in subsequent rows whenever you start a new entry that begins with the same letter or letters as an existing entry in that column.
Excel Glossary
AutoCorrect
A feature that alerts Excel 2007 to common typing errors and your own typing errors (that you specify) and tells the program how it should automatically fix them for you.
Excel Glossary
AutoFill
An Excel 2007 feature that quickly creates a series of entries based on the data you enter in one or two cells. AutoFill works with days of the week, months of the year, yearly quarters; consecutive series of numbers; and formulas. You also can add your own custom AutoFill series.
Excel Glossary
AutoFilter
A feature in Excel 2010 that enables you to temporarily hide everything in a table except the records you specifically want to view, based on criteria you specify.
Excel Glossary
Backstage view
A new feature in Excel 2010 — accessible from the green File tab — that enables you to manage files and to view the properties and stats about the workbook file you're editing.
Excel Glossary
cell
The intersection of a column and row in the worksheet.
Excel Glossary
cell address
The cell identifier, determined by its column letter(s) followed by the row number, as in cell A1, the very first cell of each worksheet at the intersection of column A and row 1.
Excel Glossary
cell cursor
The black border that surrounds the active cell in a worksheet.
Excel Glossary
clip art
Readymade drawings, illustrations, and photos offered by Microsoft for use in Microsoft Office applications.
Excel Glossary
Compatibility Checker
A utility in Excel 2007 and 2010 that you use to find potential compatibility issues if you plan to save an Excel workbook file in the older Excel 97–2003 file format.
Excel Glossary
current cell
The worksheet cell that contains the cell cursor. Each worksheet can have only one current cell.
Excel Glossary
data table
A range of cells in a worksheet in which you enter a series of possible values that Excel plugs into a formula so you can perform what-if analysis on the data.
Excel Glossary
dialog box
A rectangular window with settings and commands that appears when you click a dialog box launcher or certain other commands on the Ribbon.
Excel Glossary
dialog box launcher
A small icon in the lower-right corner of a group of command buttons on the Ribbon that you click to access a dialog box with additional related settings and commands.
Excel Glossary
function
A part of a formula that takes a number of specific arguments and then returns a single value based on those arguments.
Excel Glossary
gallery
A drop-down list of thumbnail selections that appears when you click certain command buttons on the Ribbon.
Excel Glossary
group
A section of a tab on the Excel 2007 Ribbon that organizes related command buttons into subtasks normally performed as part of the tab's larger core task. The name of a group appears at the bottom of the group, such as the Font group on the Home tab.
Excel Glossary
hyperlink
Specially formatted text that anyone can click to jump to Web sites, move to other cells or workbooks, or create an e-mail message.
Excel Glossary
keyboard shortcuts
A combination of keys that you can press to execute certain commands, as opposed to finding and clicking the commands' buttons on the Ribbon or elsewhere.
Excel Glossary
Live Preview
A feature in Excel 2007 that enables you to point to thumbnails on a drop-down gallery to see how a new font, font size, table style, or cell style would look on your selected data before you actually apply it.
Excel Glossary
macro
A series of commands or actions in Excel that are recorded and saved together in a file. You can run the macro whenever you need to perform the task.
Excel Glossary
Name box
The left-most section of the Formula bar that displays the address or name of the current cell.
Excel Glossary
pivot table
A special type of table unique to Excel 2007 that enables you to summarize large amounts of data and pivot or rearrange the table's data to display different summaries of the information it contains.
Excel Glossary
Ribbon
A new feature of the Excel 2007 interface that replaces the menus and toolbars of previous versions; appears at the top of the Excel window, just below the title bar.
Excel Glossary
ScreenTip
A small window that displays descriptive text when you point to but don't click a command on the Ribbon or other objects in a worksheet.
Excel Glossary
sheet tabs
Small tabs near the bottom of a worksheet that you click to move between the worksheets in a workbook. You can assign descriptive names to sheet tabs.
Excel Glossary
slicers
New graphic objects in Excel 2010 that enable you to quickly filter the contents of a PivotTable on more than one field.
Excel Glossary
SmartArt
A type of graphic object in Excel 2007 that gives you the ability to quickly and easily construct graphical lists and diagrams in the worksheet.
Excel Glossary
sparklines
Tiny graphs (miniature charts) that fit within a single cell in the worksheet, used to show basic trends in data.
Excel Glossary
Status bar
A horizontal bar that appears at the bottom of the Excel 2007 window and keeps you informed of Excel's current mode. In addition, you can use the Status bar to select a new worksheet view and to zoom in and out on the worksheet.
Excel Glossary
tabs
The various "pages" of Excel 2007's Ribbon interface that you click to display command buttons relating to the tab's name, such as Page Layout and Formulas.
Excel Glossary
template
A pre-designed worksheet that can be used as a basis for creating new worksheets.
Excel Glossary
WordArt
Stylized text objects that you use to add pizzazz and emphasis to headings and other text in Excel 2007 worksheets.
Excel Glossary
workbook
The basic file type that you create when you use Excel 2007. A new workbook consists of three worksheets by default.
Excel Glossary
worksheet
The main document that you work in when you enter data into cells within Excel 2007. A worksheet is stored in a workbook file.
Excel Glossary
worksheet area
The portion of an Excel 2007 worksheet in which you enter cell data and add objects such as charts and graphics.
Excel Glossary
XPS XML Paper Specification
A file format developed by Microsoft that enables people to open and print documents in XPS Reader without access to the original programs with which the documents were created (such as Excel).
Excel Glossary
Zoom slider
An object on the Status bar in Excel 2007 that enables you to increase the magnification in a worksheet or shrink it down to get an overall picture of the worksheet data.
