Diagram Conversion

When you double-click a diagram shape in a document that was created by using the 2003 or earlier version of one of the following Microsoft Office programs: Excel, PowerPoint, or Word, you are asked if you want to convert the existing diagram to a SmartArt graphic, convert the existing diagram to shapes, or click Cancel to keep the diagram as it is.

Note In Microsoft Office Word, you cannot convert a diagram to individual shapes, so this dialog box does not appear. When you convert the entire document (by clicking the Microsoft Office Button , and then clicking Convert), any diagrams in the document are converted to SmartArt graphics, and the old file is replaced by the new converted file.

In the Diagram Conversion dialog box, click one of the following:

• Convert to SmartArt graphic Click this option to use the new functionality of SmartArt graphics and edit the diagram by using the Microsoft Office system. The conversion may significantly alter the look of your existing diagram, and animations that you added to your existing diagram may not play as expected after they are converted.

  If you convert your existing diagram to a SmartArt graphic, you can use all of the design and formatting tools available for any SmartArt graphic, including those under SmartArt Tools. The conversion applies an appropriate layout, a default SmartArt Style, and colors from the current theme to your existing diagram, all of which you can change.

  If you convert the diagram to a SmartArt graphic and then open the diagram in an earlier version of Microsoft Office, the diagram is treated as a picture and cannot be edited. If you later reopen the converted diagram in one of the Office release programs, it will no longer be a picture - it will be an editable SmartArt graphic.

  You can convert diagrams that were created in Microsoft Excel 2002 or Microsoft Office Excel 2003, Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 or Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003, or Microsoft Word 2002 or Microsoft Office Word 2003.

  Tip If you change your mind and want to reverse the conversion to a SmartArt graphic or convert to Shapes instead, click Undo on the Quick Access Toolbar.

• Convert to Shapes Click this option if you want the new shapes to look the same as the existing diagram, and you want to edit the diagram by using either an earlier version of Microsoft Office or the Office release. The individual shapes will not be treated as a diagram, and any animation with the exception of one applied to the entire diagram (As One Object) will be removed upon conversion. As One Object animations are applied to the entire group of shapes and remain after converting to shapes.

  You can convert the existing diagram to individual, editable shapes. These shapes can then be formatted by using the options on the Drawing Tools tab, which are available for all shapes. This tab is not part of the SmartArt Tools, and the Layout, Colors, and SmartArt Quick Styles galleries are not available for the individual shapes.

  Tip If you change your mind and want to reverse the conversion to individual shapes or convert to a SmartArt graphic instead, click Undo on the Quick Access Toolbar.

• Cancel Click Cancel to keep the diagram functionality and continue to edit the existing diagram, without converting it, by using an earlier version of Microsoft Office. Note that if you do this, you will not be able to edit the diagram by using one of the Office release programs. However, you can resize or move the diagram, and any changes in theme colors that are applied to the document will also be applied to the diagram. To use one of the Office release programs to edit a diagram that was created in an earlier version of Microsoft Office, you must first convert the diagram.

Conversion options table

The following table summarizes the different options that you can choose in the Diagram Conversion dialog box.