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There are several ways to fix common SmartArt mistakes depending on what you're trying to fix.

What do you want to do?

Restore the default layout and color of your whole SmartArt graphic

If you customize multiple shapes in a single SmartArt graphic, you can quickly undo most of your customizations in one simple operation by restoring the default layout and colors of the whole SmartArt graphic.

  1. Click the SmartArt graphic to select it.

  2. Under SmartArt Tools, on the Design tab, in the Reset group, click Reset Graphic.

    SmartArt Tools - Reset

    If you don't see the SmartArt Tools or Design tabs, make sure that you've selected a SmartArt graphic.

  • To restore defaults for only one shape, right-click the shape that you want to remove customizations from, and then click Reset Shape on the shortcut menu.

  • When you restore defaults, not all of your customizations are removed. The table below identifies which customizations are removed and which are not.

Customizations not removed

Customizations removed

Text and any formatting changes made to it

Changes in shape geometry (such as changing a circle into a square)

Layouts for SmartArt graphics

Line and Fill styles (including fill color, gradient fills, line types, and colors)

Organization chart layouts

Effects (such as shadows, reflections, bevels, and glows)

Background color applied to the entire SmartArt graphic

Styles (both those applied to individual shapes and those applied to the entire SmartArt graphic)

Right-to-left directional changes applied to the entire SmartArt graphic

Resized shapes (shapes are returned to their original sizes)

Moved shapes (shapes are returned to their original positions)

Rotated shapes (shapes are returned to their original positions)

Flipped shapes (shapes are returned to their original positions)

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Restore the original shape of a single shape you changed in your SmartArt graphic

  1. Click the SmartArt graphic to select it.

  2. Right-click the shape you want to restore, and then click Reset Shape.

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Undo your most recent changes

To undo an action, do one or more of the following:

  • Click Undo Undo button on the Quick Access Toolbar.

    Quick access toolbar

    Keyboard shortcut  You can also press CTRL+Z.

  • To undo several actions at once, click the arrow next to Undo Undo button, select the actions in the list that you want to undo, and then click the list.

    All of the selected actions are reversed.

Note: Some actions can't be undone, such as saving a file. If you can't undo an action, the Undo command changes to Can't Undo.

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Keep your text, but start over with a new SmartArt graphic layout

  1. Click the SmartArt graphic whose layout you want to change.

  2. Under SmartArt Tools, on the Design tab, in the Layouts group, click the layout that you want.

    To see all of the available layouts within one type, in the Layouts group, click the More button next to the layout thumbnail. To see all types and layouts, click More Layouts.

    If you don't see the SmartArt Tools or Design tabs, make sure that you've selected a SmartArt graphic.

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