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Handling Rectangles, Ovals, Stars, and Other Shapes

Drawing a shape

Follow these steps to draw a shape:

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  On the Insert tab, click the Shapes button to open the Shapes gallery. You can also insert shapes from the Shapes gallery on the (Drawing Tools) Format tab.
  
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  Select a shape in the gallery. If you’ve drawn the shape recently, you may be able to find it at the top of the gallery under Recently Used Shapes.
  
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  Click and drag slantwise to draw the shape. Hold down the Shift key as you drag if you want the shape to retain its proportions. For example, to draw a circle, select the Oval shape and Hold down the Shift key as you draw.
  

Changing a shape’s size and shape

Selection handles appear on the corners and sides of a shape after you select it. With the selection handles showing, you can change a shape’s size and shape:

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  Hold down the Shift key and drag a corner handle to change a shape’s size and retain its symmetry.
  
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  Drag a side, top, or bottom handle to stretch or scrunch a shape.
  

Choosing a different shape

To exchange one shape for another, select the shape and follow these steps:

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  On the (Drawing Tools) Format tab, click the Edit Shape button.
  
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  You can find this button in the Insert Shapes group.
  
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  Choose Change Shape on the drop-down list.
  
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  Select a new shape in the Shapes gallery.
  

Changing a shape’s symmetry

A yellow diamond, sometimes more than one, appears on some shapes. By dragging a diamond, you can change a shape’s symmetry.
Follow these instructions to handle text box shapes:

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  Entering the text: Click in the shape and start typing. In Word, you can right-click and choose Add Text if you have trouble typing in the shape.
  
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  Editing the text: Click in the text and start editing. That’s all there is to it. If you have trouble getting inside the shape to edit the text, select the shape, right-click it, and choose Edit Text on the shortcut menu.
  

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  Changing the font, colour, and size of text: Right-click in the text and choose Font. Then, in the Font dialog box, choose a font, font colour, and a font size for the text.