Use the Text Pane to Build SmartArt

December 28, 2023 - by Bill Jelen

Problem: How do I create SmartArt?

Strategy: Initially, you shouldn’t worry about the graphics but should instead focus your attention on the text pane, where you can build bullet points of Level 1 and, optionally, Level 2 text.

Using the text pane is similar to building a slide in PowerPoint’s Outline view.

When you choose Insert, SmartArt and select a layout, Excel will draw a default layout and place the insertion cursor in the text pane.

To put words in your SmartArt, type bullet points into the Type Your Text Here panel. — Figure 1460. SmartArt starts out with bullet points that show [Text].

You can use these keys to navigate in the text pane:

Enter - Add a new shape at the same level as the current shape and immediately after the current shape.
Down Arrow - Move to the next shape without creating a new shape.
Tab - Demote the current shape one level. Pressing Tab on a Level 1 entry will change the entry to Level 2.
Shift+Tab - Promote the current shape one level. Pressing Shift+Tab on a Level 2 entry will change the entry to Level 1.
Delete - Pressing Delete when there is no text for a shape will delete the shape. Initially, you should focus all your attention on the text pane. As you type in the text pane, Excel will continue to render new shapes in the SmartArt graphic.

Additional Details: In most of the SmartArt layouts, Excel will ensure that every shape is the same size and that every shape has the same font size. This works best when you have similar-length text in each shape. For example, each shape contains a single word or concept. The font sizes are fairly large.

Type One, Two, Three in the text panel. Three shapes appear in the Smart ARt with One, Two, Three. — Figure 1461. With similar length points, the fonts are fairly large.

If you add a new shape with longer text, the font size in all the shapes will reduce to accommodate the longest entry. You can override this by using the Format ribbon tab as described in Switch to the Format Tab to Format Individual Shapes.

But then add a fourth bulletpoint with a long sentence. To fit the long sentence in the 4th shape, all of the short text in shapes one through three gets smaller. — Figure 1462. Add a longer entry, and all the font sizes reduce.

The text pane supports spell checking, formatting with the mini toolbar, and Cut and Paste.

Alternate Strategy: It is possible to edit text directly in each shape. To do so, you hide the text pane and use the Add Shape menu on the Design tab in order to build your graphic.

This article is an excerpt from Power Excel With MrExcel

Title photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash