Now that we know how to insert AutoShapes, we can edit them. Remember that basic editing rules, like cut, copy, and paste, also apply to AutoShapes.

 

The easiest way of editing an AutoShape is by moving it around in the drawing canvas. You can drag and drop AutoShapes to any location in the canvas without changing any of its other properties.

 

You can also change the AutoShape’s shape, orientation, or size. Take a look at the sample AutoShape on the right. You can see that it has three kinds of handles: yellow diamonds, a green circle, and white circles. (These handles are visible immediately after you insert the shape; you can bring them into view at any time by clicking on the shape.) Here’s what each of the handles does:

 

-          Click and drag the green circle to rotate the AutoShape. Your cursor will turn into a circular arrow.

-          Click and drag either of the yellow handles to change the AutoShape’s shape. The new shape will display as a dotted line as you move your cursor around. Your cursor will look like the regular pointer with no end.

-          Click and drag any of the white handles to resize the shape. Your cursor will turn into a crosshair, and once again you will be able to see the new size of the shape as a dotted line.

 

 

 

Nearly all shapes have the white handles; other shapes may or may not have the green or yellow handles depending on the shape type.

 

You can change some of these properties from the Draw menu on the Drawing toolbar.

 

 

Right now, we’re only going to cover the basic editing options in this menu.

-          Order: You can place shapes on top of each other by dragging and dropping them onto the same location. You can use this menu to send a shape all the way to the front, all the way to the back, one level forward, or one level back.

-          Grid: This option allows you to show a grid on the drawing canvas. You can set the size and margins for the grid. You can also control if objects are automatically aligned on the grid.

-          Nudge: Moves the selected object(s) a notch down, up, right, or left.

-          Align or Distribute: Aligns shapes together; for example, you could align the heart to the left side of the arrow. You can also use this menu to distribute shapes equal distances from each other. These options are not possible if In line with Text wrapping is chosen.

-          Rotate or Flip: Rotate or flip the selected shape(s). These commands are more precise (ie, 90 degrees) than manually rotating a shape.

-          Text Wrapping: This is the same menu we used for wrapping text around pictures.

 

Another way to customize AutoShapes is by adding colour to it. To change the colour of the lines of the AutoShape, click to select the AutoShape. Then, click the drop-down arrow in the Line Colour button () on the drawing toolbar and click the colour you want. (Clicking the main part of the Line Colour button will make the line the colour that is already displayed.) Here’s an example:

 

 

You can also change how the shape is filled in by clicking the Fill Colour button () on the drawing toolbar. Once again, just make sure your shape is selected, and then click the drop-down arrow button to pick your colour. (Clicking the fill button itself will fill in the shape with the colour that’s there already.) Here’s an example:

 

 

You can also click the More Fill Colours button to choose a custom colour. Or, you can click Fill Effects to choose a pattern for the fill. You can see what that dialog box looks like by looking at the sample on the right.

 

This dialog box has four tabs: gradient, texture, pattern, and picture. You can use one or more of these options to create custom fills for your AutoShape. The possibilities are endless!

 

If you’ve created a simple line or arrow (from the AutoShapes menu or from the toolbar buttons), you can use the appropriate buttons on the drawing toolbar to change effects for those objects.

 

The   button will expand into a list of line weights and styles

 

 

Similarly, the   button will expand into a list of dashed line styles.

 

 

Last but not least, the  button lets you pick a different kind of arrow. (You can only use this menu if you have inserted a line arrow.)

 

 

You can also change your AutoShape at any time by selecting it, and then clicking the Draw menu. Click the Change AutoShape menu, and then click the category and shape you want.

 

 

That’s the before picture; here’s what happens to the shape after we have clicked the command:

 

 

You can see that our line and fill colour choices have been applied to this new shape. You can now edit this shape using all the methods we just talked about.

 

There will be times when the shapes are too different for the process to work. If this happens, you may have to create a shape from the beginning.

 

Remember that you can put as many AutoShapes as you want in a drawing canvas, and edit each one of them separately.