Adding WordArt
WORDART IS A GALLERY of styles that apply special effects to text. More than just fonts and colors, WordArt actually makes a graphic element out of your text. For example, you can stretch your text to fit a predefined shape, such as an arc. You can also stretch the text similar to the text at the beginning of Star Wars, as shown in Figure 12-27.
Figure 12-27. A WordArt graphical element.
Follow these steps to add WordArt to your worksheet:
1. | Choose Insert > Text > WordArt. Excel opens the WordArt gallery (see Figure 12-28). Figure 12-28. WordArt gallery.
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2. | Select one of the WordArt thumbnails that reflects the style you want to add to your worksheet. Excel adds a text box containing the words Your Text Here in the style you selected to the center of the worksheet. |
3. | With Excel’s text selected, type your own text in the WordArt object. Excel replaces the Your Text Here text with your own text and adds a new tab, Drawing Tools Format. |
4. | With the WordArt selected, you can use the Drawing Tools Format > Shape Styles Dialog Box Launcher to make adjustments to the color, outline, and effects of your WordArt. |
The Text Effects button applies a number of special effects, such as adding shadows, bevels, reflections, and transformation. The Drawing Tools Format > WordArt Styles > Text Effects > Transform tool can change the shape of the text in your WordArt graphic into anything from a wave to a triangle, or even a circle, as shown in Figure 12-29.
By default, WordArt is inserted on a rectangular background, but you can change the background shape. Choose Drawing Tools Format > Insert Shapes > Edit Shape and select the background shape you want to see. Excel will modify the background shape of your WordArt, as shown in Figure 12-30, without changing the rest of the formatting.
Caution
| You will not see the background changes take effect unless your WordArt includes a background color. |