Question

'In MS Excel, charts can be formatted and customised to make them more attractive and meaningful.' Explain the procedure to change the shape style of a chart element. Also state various shape fill options available to the user for enhancing the appearance of a chart.

Hint:

Use Format tab, Shape Styles group, More button and a pre-defined style. Then list Shape Fill options: colour, no fill, picture, gradient and texture.

Answer 1

Step 1: Where the shape style is changed:
A chart element such as a bar, a plot area or a legend can be given a shape style.
The tools are on the Format tab, in the Shape Styles group.
Select the chart element first, then use the steps below. (1 mark)

Step 2: Procedure to change the shape style:
To see all the available shape styles, click the More button. (1/2 mark)
To apply a pre-defined shape style, click the style we want in the Shape Style box. (1/2 mark)
To apply a different fill, click Shape Fill and choose one of the options below.

Step 3: Fill option 1: Fill colour:
Under Theme Colours or Standard Colours, left click the colour we want.
If the colour is not in these lists, click More Fill Colours.
In the Colours dialog box, choose the colour on the Standard or Custom tab and click OK. Custom colours are added under Recent Colours and can be used again. (1 mark)

Step 4: Fill option 2: No Fill:
To remove the colour from the selected chart element, click No Fill. (1 mark)

Step 5: Fill option 3: Picture:
To fill the shape with a picture, click Picture.
In the Insert Picture dialog box, click the picture to use and then click Insert. (1 mark)

Step 6: Fill option 4 and 5: Gradient and Texture:
For a gradient effect, click Gradient and pick a style under Variations. For more styles, click More Gradients and choose the gradient option in the Fill category.
To use a texture fill, click Texture and select a texture. (1 mark)

Final Answer:
Shape style: Format tab, Shape Styles group, More button, pick a pre-defined style. Shape fill options: colour, no fill, more fill colours, picture, gradient and texture. 6 marks.