Select a shape or other object

Select objects, shapes, pictures or text boxes, to change or move them. Sizing handles indicate that a shape or object has been selected.

Which Office program are you using?

Excel

PowerPoint

Word

Tips for selecting shapes and objects

Excel

Click on the object to select it. If that does not select it, on the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Find & Select and do one of the following:

• To select objects that are hidden, stacked, or behind text, click Select Objects, and then draw a box over the objects.

• To open the task pane where you can select, multiselect, show, hide, or change the order of objects, click Selection Pane, and then click the options that you want.

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PowerPoint

Click on the object to select it. If that does not select it, on the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Select and do one of the following:

• To select all of the objects and placeholders on the slide, click Select All.

• To select objects that are hidden, stacked, or behind text, click Select Objects, and then draw a box over the objects.

• To open the selection pane, where you can select, multiselect, show, hide, or change the order of objects, click Selection Pane, and then click the options that you want.

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Word

Click on the object to select it. If that does not select it, on the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Select and do one of the following:

• To select all of the text in the document, click Select All.

• To select objects that are hidden, stacked, or behind text, click Select Objects. To select an object, click when your pointer becomes a selection arrow as it moves over an object. To select multiple objects, press and hold Ctrl while you click the objects that you want.

• To select text with similar formatting, click Select All Text with Similar Formatting.

• To open the task pane where you can select, multiselect, show, hide, or change the order of objects, click Selection Pane, and then click the options that you want. (This option is not available in Word 2007.)

Note: In Word 2007, the Select tools don't work on inserted images. To select images, we suggest that you insert the images into a drawing canvas. When you insert shapes and images in a drawing canvas, you can select them by dragging a box over the objects. For more information, see Add a drawing to a document.

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Tips for selecting shapes and objects

To do this	Do the following
Select multiple objects.	Press and hold SHIFT or CTRL while you click the objects.
Select an object that is under other objects and cycle forward through the stack of objects.	Select the top object, and then press TAB.
Select an object that is under other objects and cycle backward through the stack of objects.	Select the top object, and then press SHIFT+TAB.
Select objects that are part of a group.	Select the group, and then do one of the following: To select one object, click the object. To select multiple shapes in a group, press and hold SHIFT or CTRL while you click the shapes.
Cancel the selection of one object at a time.	Press and hold SHIFT or CTRL while you click each object.

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See also

Group or ungroup shapes, pictures, or other objects