33 min read

Shapes

Lines, flowchart shapes, formatting, grouping, and connectors.

Shapes on the open-day cover

Insert \to Shapes draws rectangles, arrows, callouts, and flowchart boxes on top of the page. James draws a rectangle around Saturday 14 March 2026 so families see the date before reading policy text. Shape fill colours the inside; Shape outline sets the border. Transparency lets text show through lightly. Rotation and Alignment (Shape Format tab) position shapes precisely.

Order, group, and connectors

Bring forward and Send backward stack shapes when they overlap. Group (Ctrl+click two shapes \to Group) moves logo and highlight box together. Selection Pane (Home \to Select \to Selection Pane) lists every object — rename shapes like "DateHighlight" to find them later. Shape connectors link flowchart boxes; arrows stay attached when you move boxes — useful for a simple "Register \to Tour \to Q&A" diagram on the open-day page.

Hands-on steps

Goal

$Highlight the open-day date with a shape.$

$James Okonkwo adds this to NorthgateHandbook.docx as part of one polished student handbook, policy pack, and open-day collateral before families arrive.$

Insert rectangle

Where

InsertShapes

Do this

Insert \to Shapes \to Rectangle . Drag around the date text on the cover.

You should see

$Rectangle appears.$

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