Add a shadow to shapes and other objects in visio

Newer versions Office 2010

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Add shadow effects to objects in your drawing with just a few clicks in the Format Shape pane.

1. Right-click the object that you want to get a shadow, then click Format Shape.

2. In the Format Shape pane, click Effects and click Shadow.

3. Click Presets and choose one of the default shadow effects. You can customize them using the other commands here.

   

   Use the sliders or number boxes to adjust how it looks:

   • Color    lets you change the shadow's color.

   • Transparency    turns the shadow darker (lower numbers) or lighter (higher numbers).

   • Size    makes the shadow shorter or longer.

   • Blur    makes it fuzzier (higher numbers) or sharper (lower numbers).

   • Angle    rotates the shadow as if the light source causing the shadow is rotating around the shape.

   • Distance    changes how high the object appears to be above the shadow (making a gap between the shape and the shadow).

Tip: If your shadow appears to cover another object on the drawing, you can bring that object forward so the shadow appears to fall behind it. Click the object and then click Home > Arrange > Bring to front.

Another friendly reminder: Use visual effects carefully, so that they don't distract from your drawing's information.

You can apply shadows to the shapes in your drawing and easily change the color, style, pattern, size, position, and angle of those shadows.

Task	Action
Apply a shadow to a shape	Select the shape that you want to apply a shadow to. On the Home tab, in the Shape group, click Shadow, and select the color that you want.
Change the style, pattern, size, or position of a shadow	Select the shape with the shadow that you want to change. On the Home tab, in the Shape group, click Shadow, and select Shadow Options. In the Shadow dialog box, select the formatting options that you want. Click Apply and then click OK.
Remove the shadow from a shape	Select the shape with the shadow that you want to change. On the Home tab, in the Shape group, click Shadow, and select No Shadow.