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ConnectorFormat object (Excel)

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Contains properties and methods that apply to connectors.

Remarks

A connector is a line that attaches two other shapes at points called connection sites. If you rearrange shapes that are connected, the geometry of the connector will be automatically adjusted so that the shapes remain connected.

Connection sites are generally numbered according to the rules presented in the following table.

Shape type Connection site numbering scheme
AutoShapes, WordArt, pictures, and OLE objects The connection sites are numbered starting at the top and proceeding counterclockwise.
Freeforms The connection sites are the vertices, and they correspond to the vertex numbers.

Use the ConnectorFormat property of the Shape object to return a ConnectorFormat object. Use the BeginConnect and EndConnect methods to attach the ends of the connector to other shapes in the document. Use the RerouteConnections method of the Shape object to automatically find the shortest path between the two shapes connected by the connector. Use the Connector property to see whether a shape is a connector.

Note

You assign a size and a position when you add a connector to the Shapes collection, but the size and position are automatically adjusted when you attach the beginning and end of the connector to other shapes in the collection. Therefore, if you intend to attach a connector to other shapes, the initial size and position that you specify are irrelevant.

Likewise, you specify which connection sites on a shape to attach the connector to when you attach the connector, but using the RerouteConnections method after the connector is attached may change which connection sites the connector attaches to, making your original choice of connection sites irrelevant.

Example

To figure out which number corresponds to which connection site on a complex shape, you can experiment with the shape while the macro recorder is turned on and then examine the recorded code; or you can create a shape, select it, and then run the following example. This code will number each connection site and attach a connector to it.

Set mainshape = ActiveWindow.Selection.ShapeRange(1) 
With mainshape 
 bx = .Left + .Width + 50 
 by = .Top + .Height + 50 
End With 
With ActiveSheet 
 For j = 1 To mainshape.ConnectionSiteCount 
 With .Shapes.AddConnector(msoConnectorStraight, _ 
 bx, by, bx + 50, by + 50) 
 .ConnectorFormat.EndConnect mainshape, j 
 .ConnectorFormat.Type = msoConnectorElbow 
 .Line.ForeColor.RGB = RGB(255, 0, 0) 
 l = .Left 
 t = .Top 
 End With 
 With .Shapes.AddTextbox(msoTextOrientationHorizontal, _ 
 l, t, 36, 14) 
 .Fill.Visible = False 
 .Line.Visible = False 
 .TextFrame.Characters.Text = j 
 End With 
 Next j 
End With

The following example adds two rectangles to myDocument and connects them with a curved connector.

Set myDocument = Worksheets(1) 
Set s = myDocument.Shapes 
Set firstRect = s.AddShape(msoShapeRectangle, 100, 50, 200, 100) 
Set secondRect = s.AddShape(msoShapeRectangle, 300, 300, 200, 100) 
Set c = s.AddConnector(msoConnectorCurve, 0, 0, 0, 0) 
With c.ConnectorFormat 
 .BeginConnect ConnectedShape:=firstRect, ConnectionSite:=1 
 .EndConnect ConnectedShape:=secondRect, ConnectionSite:=1 
 c.RerouteConnections 
End With

Methods

Properties

See also

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