Changing Shapes in Microsoft Graph

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 7, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Microsoft Graph is a simple graphing program provided with Word. It includes the ability to view your graph data in both spreadsheet and graph formats. The graphs you create can be inserted directly into your documents.

Once you have defined the type of chart you want to use to display your data, you may want to change the actual shapes used for a particular data series. You can change shapes for most three-dimensional chart types, but not for the two-dimensional ones. You can change shapes for a data series by following these steps:

Right-click on any element of the data series you want to change. Microsoft Graph displays a Context menu.
Choose Format Data Series from the Context menu. Microsoft Graph displays the Format Data Series dialog box.
Make sure the Shape tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Shape tab of the Format Data Series dialog box

Select a shape you want to use for the data series.
Click on OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (707) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Added Spaces when Dragging and Dropping Paragraphs

When using Word's editing tools, you may notice some extraneous spaces left where you don't want them. This tip addresses ...

Discover More

Taking Bold Text into Account in a Sort

If you have some data in a worksheet that is bold, you may want to sort that data based on the text attribute. This is ...

Discover More

Tools to Boost Motivation and Productivity

Sometimes a writer needs motivation to keep ploughing ahead in their craft. Word doesn't really include any tools to help ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (menu)

Including Datasheet Rows or Columns in a Chart

Controlling which datasheet information is graphed in a chart.

Discover More

Starting Microsoft Graph

Microsoft Graph is a simplistic graphic tool that you can use to quickly add graphs to your document. Here's how to start ...

Discover More

Specifying Colors in a Chart

Microsoft Chart is a handy program that allows you to display numbers and charts without the need for Excel. If you need ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is six minus 4?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.