Word2007 rearrange or move a connector between shapes

A connector is a line that connects two shapes and remains connected to the shapes it connects to. There are three types of connectors: straight, elbow (angled) and curved. The connection point is at both ends of the connector, and when you move the mouse pointer over a shape, the other connection points are indicated as dots. Connection points appear as red dots in Microsoft Office Excel 2007 and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, in Microsoft Office Word 2007 and Microsoft Office It appears as a blue dot in Outlook 2007. These points indicate where you can connect a connector to a shape.

Example of shapes with rearrange connectors

Although connectors are always connected to shapes and move with shapes, you may want to automatically rearrange or manually move connectors to make connections more direct, and to avoid connecting lines between shapes.

Automatically rearrange connector lines to the nearest point between two shapes

1. Select the connected shape or the connector you want to rearrange.

If you have more than one connector connected to a shape, select only the connector you want to rearrange.

2. Under Drawing Tools, on the Format tab, in the Insert Shapes group, click Edit Shapes, and then click Rearrange Connectors.

Manually move a connection line

To move a connector manually, detach any one of the points from the shape, and then connect the endpoint to another connection location on the same shape, or connect it to another shape.

Click the connection line that you want to move, and then do one of the following:

To move an endpoint of a connector, drag the endpoint, and then click to connect it to another connection point on the same shape or to a connection point on another shape.

Connected connection points on the connector appear as red circles. Disconnected connection points on the connector appear as light blue (almost transparent) circles in office Excel 2007 and Office PowerPoint 2007, and in Office Outlook 2007 and Office Word 2007 as Green Circles 。

To detach the entire connector, drag it in the middle.

Comments

If you detach a connector, it still retains its shape and can only be manually reconnected to the connection point.

To prevent the endpoint of the connector from automatically locking and preventing it from moving as the shape moves, hold down ALT as you drag the endpoint. You can place the endpoint anywhere on the shape without connecting the endpoint to the shape, so if you move the shape again, the endpoint will not move.

Adjustment handle (adjustment handle: A diamond-shaped handle that adjusts the appearance of most AutoShapes without resizing them.) For example, a rounded rectangle can increase or decrease the extent of its circle. is a diamond handle that you can use to adjust the appearance of most shapes, but not resize them. If the control point of the connecting line is yellow, drag the handle to change the shape of the connector, but does not detach the connector.

You can also change the color, style, or thickness of the connector.