Convert a chart created in a previous version of Microsoft Office to a SmartArt graphic or shape

This article details the conversion of a chart created in earlier versions of Microsoft Office to a SmartArt graphic or shape

By using Microsoft Office Excel 2007 or Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, you can convert a chart that you created in a previous version of Microsoft Office to a SMARTART graphic or a group of shapes, and also You can keep the chart unchanged.

By using Microsoft Office Word 2007, you can convert a chart that you created in earlier versions of Microsoft Office to a SmartArt graphic, but you cannot convert multiple charts to individual shapes, and you cannot convert only one chart to a SmartArt Graphics-When you convert a chart, the entire document and all of the charts in the document are converted to the Office Word 2007 file format.

If you do not convert an existing chart, you can leave it in the 2007 Microsoft Office System Documentation and continue to edit, resize, and move the chart using earlier versions of Microsoft Office. Also, use the 2007 Office version of the product to apply to the theme colors theme colors: A collection of colors used in a file. Theme colors, theme fonts, and theme effects form a theme. will also apply to existing charts. However, to use the 2007 Office version of the program to change parts of a chart that you created in earlier versions of Microsoft office, you must first convert the chart.

Overview of converting a chart to a SmartArt graphic

After you convert an existing chart to a SmartArt graphic, you can use all of the available design tools and formatting tools for any SmartArt graphic. When you convert, you apply an appropriate layout to an existing chart, a SmartArt style (Quick Style: A collection of formatting options that make it easier to format documents and objects.) and the current topic theme: A combination of theme colors, theme fonts, and theme effects. Themes can be applied to files as a set of independent options. Color, and so on, you can change all of these things.

Transformations may significantly alter the appearance of existing charts, but animations added to existing charts before conversion may not play as expected after conversion. In addition, some layouts of a SmartArt graphic have a fixed number of available shapes, so if the number of shapes in an existing chart is greater than the number available, some of the data may not be displayed. For example, in the Venn diagram provided in earlier versions of Microsoft Office, the number of top-level shapes you can use is unrestricted, but the basic Venn SmartArt graphic layout can only have up to seven top-level shapes. In this case, the Text pane at the bottom of the SmartArt graphic displays "The item labeled Red ' X" is not displayed in this SmartArt graphic and will not be saved as a message. However, the data is not lost, and you can see it if you switch to another layout, which is an unfixed shape in a SmartArt graphic.

If you convert an existing chart to a SMARTART graphic and then open it in a previous version of Microsoft Office, the chart will be treated as a picture that cannot be edited. If you reopen the converted chart in the 2007 Office version of the program, the converted chart changes to a SmartArt graphic that you can edit again.

Overview of converting a chart to a shape

If you want the new shape to look the same as an existing chart, or if you want to edit the chart either by using earlier versions of Microsoft office or 2007 Office versions, you can convert existing charts to individual shapes. Individual shapes are not treated as charts, and animations are deleted when the chart is converted (except for animations that apply to the entire chart as an object). However, you can add animations again after you convert the chart to a group of shapes.

You can use the options on the Drawing Tools tab to format a single shape that you can edit, and these options are available for all shapes. This tab is not part of the SMARTART tools, and the layout, color, and SmartArt Quick Styles libraries are not available for individual shapes.

Convert chart

Tip If you also want to keep a copy of a document in the original file format, save the document with a different name before you convert the chart and all other content in the document.

For the following 2007 Office version programs: Excel and PowerPoint

Open the document that contains the existing chart you want to convert, and then double-click a shape in the chart.

Do one of the following:

To convert the chart to a SmartArt graphic, click Convert to SmartArt Graphic, and then click Convert.

To convert the chart to a separate shape, click Convert to shape, and then click Convert.

For more information about dialog box options, click in the Diagram Transformation dialog box.

Tip If you change your mind and want to cancel the conversion to a SMARTART graphic or shape, click Undo on the Quick Access Toolbar.

For Office Word 2007

In Office Word 2007, you cannot convert a single chart to a group of shapes, but if you choose not to, you can still edit, resize, and move the entire chart (instead of a single component of the chart) in Office Word 2007, as in earlier versions of Word. To convert a chart, you must convert the entire document, which converts all the charts in the document to a SMARTART graphic.

Open the document that contains the existing chart you want to convert.

Click Microsoft Office buttons, and then click Convert.

All the charts in the document are converted to SMARTART graphics, and the new converted file replaces the old file.