Microsoft KB Archive/168651

= XL97: How to Control the Placement of Objects =

Article ID: 168651

Article Last Modified on 10/11/2006

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 97 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q168651





SUMMARY
In Microsoft Excel 97, you can control how charts, drawing objects, AutoShapes, controls, and other objects contained in a worksheet are attached to the cells below them. This article explains how to set the Placement property for objects in your worksheets.



MORE INFORMATION
You can attach objects in worksheets to the cells below them using three different placement styles:   Placement                        Placement style                           value       xlConstant ---  Move and size with cells         1           xlMoveAndSize Move but don't size with cells  2           xlMove Don't move or size with cells   3           xlFreeFloating You can control how objects are attached to cells by using the Format dialog box, the Properties window, or by using Visual Basic macro code.

Using the Format Dialog Box to Control Placement
To format an object's placement style, follow these steps:
 * 1) Select the object.
 * 2) On the Format menu, click the first item. The name of the item corresponds to the type of object that is selected, for example, AutoShape, Control, Selected Chart Area, and so on.
 * 3) Click the Properties tab.
 * 4) Under Object Positioning, click the option for the placement style that you want to use.
 * 5) Click OK.

Using the Properties Window to Control Placement
This method applies only to controls contained in a worksheet. You cannot use this method to format the placement style of other types of objects.

To set the placement style for a control, follow these steps:
 * 1) Right-click the control. On the shortcut menu, click Properties.
 * 2) In the Properties window, double-click Placement.

The number to the right of Placement is selected.
 * 1) Type the appropriate placement value (shown in the table above) for the control. Then, press ENTER.

NOTE: If the Properties window is already visible, it is not necessary to right-click the control. Just select the control, and then double-click Placement to change its placement style.

If you set an invalid Placement value, you receive the following error message:

Unable to set the Placement property of the OLEObject class

In Microsoft Excel 97, the only valid Placement values are 1, 2, and 3.

Using Visual Basic Code to Control Placement
You can use the Placement Property in Visual Basic for Applications to control the placement style of an object. Here are some examples of how to do this: 'A control. ActiveSheet.Shapes("CommandButton1").Placement = xlMoveAndSize 'An embedded chart. ActiveSheet.ChartObjects("Chart 4").Placement = xlMove 'A drawing object or AutoShape. ActiveSheet.Shapes("Rectangle 3").Placement = xlFreeFloating

