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Circle a Cell on Your Worksheet

November 17, 2023 - by

Circle a Cell on Your Worksheet

Problem: Excel offers an excellent calculation tool. However, I know that some people are visually oriented, and their eyes glaze over when they look at a large white sheet with black numbers. I want to use graphics to call attention to certain numbers.

Strategy: You can add graphics to a worksheet by using Shapes. Follow these steps:

  • 1. Select Insert, Shapes dropdown. Choose the oval.

  • 2. Left-click fairly far above and to the left of the cell where you want to use the graphic.

  • 3. Drag down and to the right. in the worksheet and drag to draw an oval.

To draw an oval around the word Recommendation, start above and to the left of the word.
Figure 1432. Start above and to the left.

Drag down and to the bottom right of the word. The oval will encircle the word.
Figure 1433. Drag down and to the right.

Gotcha: Although the shape is transparent as you drag, when you release the mouse button, the Shape is filled with theme color 1 and covers up text.

You would think that choosing from the top row in the Shape Styles gallery would solve the problem, especially since the thumbnail shows letters showing through the shape. However, that thumbnail refers to text box text, not cell text.

  • 4. Select Drawing Tools Format, Shape Fill dropdown and choose No Fill to allow the cell text to show through.

Additional Details: If you will be drawing many shapes and you want them all to be transparent, right-click the first shape and choose Set as Default Shape. Any additional shapes you draw will have similar fill and line colors.

Results: Excel will add an attention-grabbing shape to the worksheet. This will draw the reader’s eye to the conclusion.

After drawing the shape, the solid fill covers the word behind the shape.
Figure 1434. Shapes are filled by default.

In the Shape Styles gallery, choose white with purple outline. But the white is a solid fill and you still can not see the word behind the shape.
Figure 1435. The built-in styles don’t allow text to show through.

Open the Shape Fill dropdown menu and choose No Fill. Finally, you can see through the shape to see the word that you were trying to circle.
Figure 1436. Choose No Fill

Right-Click on the shape and choose Set as Default Shape
Figure 1437. Make future shapes transparent.

This article is an excerpt from Power Excel With MrExcel

Title photo by Lea L on Unsplash