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Excel Worksheet Objects

How to add objects, such as shapes and images, to a worksheet. If you copy data from a website, objects might also be copied. See how to list the objects on a sheet, or select and delete them.

Objects on a Worksheet

If you copy data from a website, and paste it into Excel, a few objects from the website might also be copied to your Excel sheet. In the screen shot below, there is a "Top of Page" icon -- one of several that was copied along with the data.

This tutorial explains how to find the objects, select them, and quickly delete them.

Video: Show List of Objects on Worksheet

Watch this video to see how to show a list of objects, and select and delete the objects. Written instructions are below the video, along with the full video transcript.

Video Transcript

If you'd like to read the video transcript, click on the green check box below. When you're finished, you can click the check box again, to hide the transcript

Show List of Objects on Worksheet

To see a list of the objects that are on the active worksheet, you can open the Selection Pane:

1. On the Excel Ribbon's Home tab, in the Editing group, click Find & Select
2. In the drop down list of commands, click on Selection Pane

   

Excel Selection Pane

The Excel Selection pane opens, and usually it is docked at the right side of the Excel window.

To change the Selection pane's size or position, follow these steps:

• Width: To adjust the width of the Selection pane, point to its left border. When the pointer changes to a two-headed arrow, drag left or right, to make the pane wider or narrower.
• Position: To change the pane's position, point to the top of the pane, where its name is shown. When the pointer changes to a four-headed arrow, drag the pane to a different location.
  • You can drag the pane onto the Excel worksheet, close to where you're working
  • OR, drag the pane to the far left or right of the Excel window, until it snaps into place (docked). This usually happens when the centre of the pane is over the edge of the Excel window.

Select a Shape

In the Selection pane, you can see a list of all the shapes (objects) on the current worksheet.

To select a shape, or multiple shapes, follow these steps:

• In the list of shapes, click on one of the object names.
  • That shape will be selected on the worksheet.
• To select an additional shape, press the Ctrl key, and click on another object's name
  • Both shapes are selected on the worksheet
• To toggle a shape's selection on or off, press the Ctrl key, and click on the object's name

Select All Objects

To quickly select all the objects on a worksheet, you can use the Go To Special command.

1. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click Find & Select
2. Click Go To Special

   

3. In the Go To Special window, click on Objects, and click OK

   

4. All the objects on the worksheet will be selected.

Delete Selected Objects

After you select all the objects on a worksheet, or select a single object, you can delete it.

1. On the Ribbon's Home tab, click the Clear command
2. Click Clear All, to delete all of the selected objects.

Macros - Delete All Shapes

Here are two macros that will delete all of the shapes on an Excel worksheet.

These macros can save you time, but use them with caution -- read the warning below!

Warning: Be sure to make a backup copy of your Excel file before running either of these macros. You cannot undo the worksheet changes made by an Excel macro.

Active Sheet - Delete All Shapes

This macro deletes all shapes on the active sheet only. It does not affect any other sheets in the workbook.

Warning: Be sure to make a backup copy of your Excel file before running this macro.

Sub DeleteShapesSheet()
'deletes all shapes on active sheet only
Dim iSh As Long
With ActiveSheet
  For iSh = .Shapes.Count To 1 Step -1
    .Shapes(iSh).Delete
  Next
End With
End Sub

All Sheets - Delete All Shapes

This macro deletes all shapes, on ALL sheets in the workbook.

Warning: Be sure to make a backup copy of your Excel file before running this macro.

Sub DeleteShapesAllSheets()
Dim ws As Worksheet
Dim iSh As Long
For Each ws In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
  For iSh = ws.Shapes.Count To 1 Step -1
    ws.Shapes(iSh).Delete
  Next
Next ws
MsgBox "Done"
End Sub

Create Shapes for Macro Buttons

You can insert a shape, such as a rounded rectangle, on a worksheet, to use as button, to run a macro.

• On the Ribbon's Insert tab, click Shapes, then click the shape that you want to use as a button.

  

• Then, click on the worksheet, where you want the top left corner of the button to appear.
• A shape will appear, in the default size. The shape is selected, and you can see its name in the NameBox -- Rounded Rectangle 1, in this example.

  

Change the Shape Style

To make the shape look more like a button, you can add a Shape Style:

• Select the shape, and on the Ribbon, under Drawing Tools, click the Format tab
• NOTE: To select a shape after a macro has been assigned, right-click on the shape.

• In the Shape Styles section, click the More button, to open the gallery of styles.

• Then, click on one of the Style options, such as Intense Effect. It has a slight shadow, which gives it a 3D effect.

Bevelled Theme Setting

If you plan to make several shapes in the workbook, and want them all to have a bevelled effect, you can change one of the Theme settings.

• On the Ribbon, click the Page Layout tab
• In the Themes group, click Effects
• Click the Office 2007-2010 option.

Now, when you look at the Style Gallery, the bottom row shapes will have a bevelled effect, like the styles had in Excel 2007 and 2010.

Add Text to Button

To make it clear what the button does, add some text. In this example, the button will run a macro that toggles the column headings, from numbers, to letters, or letters to numbers.

To add text:

• Select the button (NOTE: To select a shape after a macro has been assigned, right-click on the shape.)
• Type the text for the button
• Click the button's border, to select the button again (This will take you out of the Text Editing mode, where you can see the cursor.)
• With the button selected, use the tools on the Ribbon's Home tab, to make the text bold, larger size, centered, or any other formatting.
• Click on the worksheet, away from the button, to deselect it.

Make the Button Run a Macro

To make the macro run a macro that has been stored in the workbook:

• Right-click on the button, and click Assign Macro

• In the list of macros, click the one that you want the button to run, then click OK

NOTE: To select a shape after a macro has been assigned, right-click on the shape.

Get the Sample File

Get the sample file for the Macro Button tutorial. The zipped file is in xlsm format, and contains macros.

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