A more recent version of the Excel course is available here: Excel Course

Excel Course: Inserting Objects (shapes)

Shapes

To insert a shape, click on the "Insert" tab, then on "Shapes" and choose whichever shape you like.

insert shape excel inserting shapes

The shape will be inserted with default formatting.

shape excel inserting shapes

When you select the shape, the "Format" tab is displayed.

You can edit its formatting quickly using the predefined options.

predefined styles excel inserting shapes

You can also edit each part of the shape separately (in this case, the background color).

shape color excel inserting shapes

Modifying the outline:

shape outline excel inserting shapes

Various predefined effects:

predefined effects excel inserting shapes

You can even modify the shape without changing its style.

change shape excel inserting shapes

You can add text within the shape.

add text excel inserting shapes

Some examples of shapes in a variety of styles:

examples of shapes excel inserting

Editing Shapes

To rotate a shape, click on the green dot:

rotate shape excel inserting shapes

The yellow dots allow you to edit the width of certain parts of the shape (for arrows, this means editing the width of the arrow and the rectangular part).

edit widths excel inserting shapes edit widths2 excel inserting shapes

To edit the length/height of a shape, use the white dots.

edit length height excel inserting shapes edit length height2 excel inserting shapes

Another way to rotate shapes:

rotate shape2 excel inserting shapes
You can select and edit more than one shape at a time (Ctrl + click to select more shapes).