Troubleshoot drawing objects and pictures

Importing

A graphic won't import.

You might not have the correct graphics filter installed in the correct folder, or the filter might be corrupted. Graphics filters are stored as files under C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Grphflt folder. Browse to this folder and rename the appropriate filter file with the .flt extension. Then perform a Detect and Repair installation of Microsoft Office.

How?

On the Help menu, click Detect and Repair.
To restore the program shortcuts to the Windows Start menu, make sure the Restore my shortcuts while repairing check box is selected.
Click Start.

Notes

This feature is not available for Office applications earlier than Office 2000.
This procedure detects and repairs problems such as missing files and registry settings associated with all installed Microsoft Office programs. It will not repair personal files, such as spreadsheets or documents.
If the Detect and Repair command does not fix the problem, you might need to reinstall Microsoft Office.

Appearance

The lines in my drawing are jagged.

Try the following:

Curved lines, and straight lines that are not absolutely vertical or horizontal, will have some degree of jaggedness on the screen. The curves will appear smooth on the printed page.
Curve and Freeform give your drawing a smoother look than Scribble .
Click AutoShapes on the Drawing toolbar, click Lines , and then click Curve or Freeform .
To view your drawing in more detail, increase the magnification in Zoom to 200 percent.
To have greater control when you draw, change your mouse setting to the slowest tracking speed in Microsoft Windows Control Panel.
Adjust the shape of freeforms to make them look smoother.
1. Increase the magnification in Zoom to 200 percent.
2. Click the shape, click Edit Points on the Draw menu, and then drag any vertex.
You can smooth freeforms by removing individual vertexes.
Click the shape, click Edit Points on the Draw menu, point to the vertex you want to delete, and then press CTRL as you click the vertex.

I can't resize an object.

Either the Resize object to fit text option or the Lock aspect ratio option is selected. Select the object and then do one of the following:

On the Format menu, click AutoShape or Text Box, and then click the Text Box tab. Clear the Resize AutoShape to fit text check box.
On the Format menu, click the command for the type of object you selected — for example, AutoShape or Picture. Click the Size tab, and then clear the Lock aspect ratio check box.

Colors within objects aren't smooth.

If your monitor is capable of showing only 16 colors, colors might not appear smooth. Objects are displayed best on monitors that have more than 256 colors.

I can't make an area transparent.

It might be difficult to see the transparent effect in a photograph or picture; the color you select might appear in a very small area. What might appear to be a single color, such as blue sky, can actually be a range of subtle color variations.

Text in a drawing object doesn't rotate or flip.

In Microsoft Excel, text that is attached to an AutoShape will move with the shape, but it will not rotate or flip — for example, appear at an angle or upside-down — when you rotate or flip the shape. To change the position of text within a shape, click the border of the shape, click AutoShape on the Format menu, and then select the options you want on the Alignment and Margins tabs.

Aligning and arranging

Freeforms I drew won't align evenly.

Instead of using the Align or Distribute (Drawing toolbar, Draw menu) command, try aligning the objects by moving them.
Hold down CTRL and press the ARROW keys to nudge the freeform in 1-pixel increments.
If Snap to Grid (Drawing toolbar, Draw menu) is selected, temporarily turn it off by pressing ALT as you drag a freeform.

I aligned my drawing objects, and they are stacked on top of each other.

Depending on the alignment option you click, objects will move straight up, down, left, or right and might cover an object already there. You can undo the alignment with the Undo command (Edit menu) and move the drawing objects to new positions before you align them.

Items on the Align or Distribute menu are dimmed, and I can't select them.

You must select at least two drawing objects to make the alignment options available and at least three objects to make the distribution options available.

I can't rotate a graphic.

Only drawing objects can be flipped or rotated. If you can convert an object to a drawing object by ungrouping it and then grouping it again, you can flip or rotate it. You can't convert a bitmap to a drawing object.

To convert an object, select it, click Ungroup on the Draw menu (Drawing toolbar), and then click Group.
If you can't convert the object, open it in another drawing program, rotate it there, and then save it. When you reopen it in Microsoft Excel, it will appear rotated.

Drawing

Freehand drawing is hard to control.

Try increasing the magnification in the Zoom box. It's easier to draw details at 200 percent.
Use the Freeform tool instead of the Scribble tool .
Try setting your mouse to the slowest tracking speed available in the Windows Control Panel. You have greater control when you draw at a slow speed.
You can adjust the shape of freeforms to make them look smoother.

Editing

I can't change the color of some parts of a picture.

If the image is a drawn picture (vector-based), select the picture and then click Recolor Picture on the Picture toolbar.
If the picture is clip art, try ungrouping the image, and then use the drawing tools to change the colors.

I can't ungroup an imported picture.

The image is a bitmap, which can't be ungrouped and converted to an object.

You can modify the image in an imaging program, and then insert it into your work.

I can't change an animated GIF picture.

You cannot crop or change the fill, border, shadow, or transparency of an animated GIF picture by using the Picture or Drawing toolbar or the Format Picture dialog box. Make these changes in an animated GIF editing program, and then insert the file again.

Moving and selecting

The AutoShape, Text Box, Picture, WordArt, or Object command isn't on the Format menu.

The AutoShape, Text Box, Picture, WordArt, or Object command is available only if you've first selected the drawing object, text box, imported graphic, text effect, picture, or other object you want to format.

I ungrouped a group of drawing objects and can't regroup them.

If you are working with multiple groups of drawing objects, make sure to select a drawing object in the group that you want to regroup. If you close Microsoft Excel and later want to regroup the objects, select the objects by holding down SHIFT as you click each object, and then click Group on the Draw menu (Drawing toolbar).

When I click a drawing object or graphic to move or edit it, a macro runs.

A macro has been assigned to run when you click the drawing object or graphic. To select the object without running the macro, do one of the following:

Right-click the object to select it and display a shortcut menu.
On the Drawing toolbar, click Select Objects , and then drag around the object to select it.

When I try to move a drawing object, it resizes.

To move an AutoShape that does not have text attached to it, drag the body or border of the shape, but not a sizing handle or the adjustment handle. If the AutoShape has text attached to it, or if it has no fill (for example, shows only the outline of the shape), drag its border. If you click the body of a shape that has attached text, you select the text.
To resize a selected AutoShape, drag one of the sizing handles or the adjustment handle. If you drag the center or the border of the shape, you will either select text in the shape or move the shape instead of resizing it.

I added a drawing object or graphic to my embedded chart, but it doesn't move when I move the chart.

You must select the embedded chart before you add a shape or graphic. Otherwise, the shape or graphic is added to the worksheet instead of the chart. Click the embedded chart first, click the command you want to use on the Drawing toolbar, and then click the chart.

Drawing objects and imported graphics aren't sorted with the underlying cells.

Size and placement The objects can be no taller than the row or no wider than the column you want to sort. For example, if you want to reorder rows of cells, objects can be no taller than a single row. If you want to reorder columns left to right, objects can be no wider than a single column. If necessary, adjust the row height or column width before you sort the data.

When you select the range of cells to sort, make sure you include all parts of the objects in the selection. For example, if an object extends into a blank row or column outside the filled-in cells you want to sort, include the blank row or column in the selection.

Settings The objects' settings may have been changed so that the objects do not move with cells. To set objects so that they can be sorted with cells, click Select Objects on the Drawing toolbar, and then drag around the objects you want to change. Click AutoShape, Picture, Text Box, WordArt, Control, or Object on the Format menu, and then click Move but don't size with cells on the Properties tab.

Printing

I can't print AutoShapes or objects copied or imported from other programs.

Right-click the object you want to print.
If an AutoShape has text attached to it, or if it has no fill (for example, shows only the outline of the shape), right-click its border.
On the shortcut menu, click Format object type, and then click the Properties tab.
Select the Print object check box.

Note If the object you want to print is an ActiveX control, you must display the Control Toolbox and change the control properties in design mode.