Adding Text to Shapes

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One of the great aspects of PowerPoint is that you can treat the shapes as text boxes too. This becomes useful when you want to type some text within a shape and ensure the text does not overflow the boundaries of the shape. By being able to enter text within the shape, PowerPoint will ensure the text stays contained and you do not have to worry about fixing it.

The following steps will help you add text to the shapes in PowerPoint.

Step 1 − Right-click on the shape to which you want to add the text and select the Edit Text option.

Step 2 − Start typing the text into the shape. Once you are done, click the cursor anywhere outside the shape.

An alternative way of adding text to shape is to select the shape and start typing directly. Once you have the text within the shape you can format the text using the font related features available in PowerPoint.

Format Added Shapes

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PowerPoint offers formatting features for shapes along the same lines as pictures. This consistency in the features makes it easy for people to grasp the functionality and also makes PowerPoint very versatile. The shape formatting features in PowerPoint can be accessed from the Format ribbon once the shape is selected. The formatting features are grouped under the Arrangeand Size section in the Format ribbon.

Shape Arrangement Features

The table given below describes the various shape arrangement features available in PowerPoint.

S.No	Feature & Description
1	Bring Forward Moves the shape layer up. Bring Forward moves the shape up by one layer, Bring to Front makes the shape layer the topmost.
2	Send Backward Moves the shape layer down. Send Backward moves the shape down by one layer, Send to Back makes the shape layer the bottommost.
3	Selection Pane This opens up the Selection Pane sidebar where you get a better idea of the layers and can work with arrangements better.
4	Align Aligns the shape with various references in the slide.
5	Group Allows multiple shapes to be grouped together to create on single object or ungroup them to split them into individual shapes.
6	Rotate Rotates shape by a specific angle.

Shape Sizing Features

The table given below describes various shape sizing features available in PowerPoint.

S.No	Feature & Description
1	Shape Height/ Width Used to change the height and width of the shape. When you edit these parameters from the ribbon, the aspect ratio is always maintained

Editing Added Shapes

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Just like images and pictures, PowerPoint also supports editing of shapes inserted in the presentation. The shape editing features in PowerPoint can be accessed from the Format ribbon once the shape is selected. The editing features are grouped under the Insert Shapes and the Shape Styles section in the Format ribbon.

Insert Shape Features

The table below describes various insert shape features available in PowerPoint.

S.No	Feature & Description
1	Shape List Adds another shape to the slide.
2	Edit Shape Replaces the shape completely, or use the edit points to change the existing shape.
3	Text Box Inserts a text box anywhere in the slide.

Shape Styles Features

The table below describes various shape style features available in PowerPoint.

S.No	Feature & Description
1	Shape Fill Selects the shape fill color and style. You can add a single solid color from the palette, or a picture, gradient or texture.
2	Shape Outline Selects the shape border color, thickness and style.
3	Shape Effects Adds special effects to the shape like reflection, 3D rotation, bevel, shadow, etc.
4	Predefined Styles These are a combination of the style features that can be applied to the shape with a single click.

Adding Shapes to Slide

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PowerPoint supports the addition of shapes in presentations. It also includes Shapes like basic geometric shapes, flowchart components, arrows, callouts, lines and other predefined special shapes. These shapes also double up as text boxes as they support adding text to them directly. Besides, you can also use these shape to crop pictures to shape.

Given below are the steps to add a shape in PowerPoint.

Step 1 − Go to the Illustrations group under the Insert Tab.

Step 2 − Click on the Shapes dropdown to view the available shapes.

Step 3 − Select the shape you want to insert. This will change the cursor to a + sign.

Step 4 − Click and drag on the slide to create the shape. As you drag, the shape will show up on the slide. Continue to drag and adjust the size and the symmetry of the shape.

Inserting a Screenshot

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One of the interesting features about PowerPoint is that you can insert a screenshot of one of your applications into your presentation without having to use any other program. Given below are the steps to insert a screenshot.

Step 1 − Go to the Images group in the Insert Ribbon.

Step 2 − Click on the Screenshot dropdown to look at full screen snaps of all the applications running on your computer’s desktop.

Step 3 − Select one of the screenshots to add it directly on to your presentation.

Step 4 − If you do not want the entire screen and just a portion of it, you can use the Screen Clipping option.

 

The Screen Clipping option will automatically move the focus to the program immediately below PowerPoint. So while using this option, ensure that you have the right screen behind the PowerPoint program.

Format Added Pictures

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PowerPoint offers many image formatting features that can help shape the image to suit your needs. The picture formatting features in PowerPoint can be accessed from the Format ribbon once the picture is selected. The formatting features are grouped under the Arrange and Size section in the Formatribbon.

Picture Arrangement Features

The following table describes various picture arrangement features available in PowerPoint.

S.No	Feature & Description
1	Bring Forward Moves the picture layer up. Bring Forward moves the picture up by one layer, Bring to Front makes the picture layer the topmost
2	Send Backward Moves the picture layer down. Send Backward moves the picture down by one layer, Send to Back makes the picture layer the bottommost
3	Selection Pane This opens up the Selection Pane sidebar where you get a better idea of the layers and can work with arrangements better.
4	Align Aligns the picture with various references in the slide.
5	Group Allows multiple images to be grouped together to create on single object or ungroup them to split them into individual pictures.
6	Rotate Rotate picture by a specific angle.

Picture Sizing Features

The following table describes various picture sizing features available in PowerPoint.

S.No	Feature & Description
1	Crop Allows you to crop the image. The cropping can be freehand, based on aspect ratio or any of the predefined shapes.
2	Shape Height/ Width Used to change the height and width of the image. When you edit these parameters from the ribbon, the aspect ratio is always maintained.

Editing Added Pictures

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PowerPoint supports images or pictures as content and offers some standard image editing features. The picture editing features in PowerPoint can be accessed from the Format ribbon once the picture is selected. The editing features are grouped under the Adjust and Picture Styles section in the Format ribbon.

Image Adjustments

The following table describes various picture adjustment features available in PowerPoint.

S.No	Feature & Description
1	Remove Background Automatically removes the unwanted sections in the image. This is similar to the magic tool in some of the other photo editing programs. You can click on different regions on the image to define the area to be removed.
2	Correction Allows you to change the brightness and contrast on the image and also change the image sharpness.
3	Color Allows you to change the color on the image by changing the saturation or tone. You can also make the image monochromatic based on different hues to match the theme of your presentation.
4	Artistic Effects Adds artistic effects to the image like plastic wrap, glowing edges, etc.
5	Compress Picture This can change the image resolution to manage the file size.
6	Change Picture Replaces the current picture with a different one.
7	Reset Picture Removes all the adjustments done on the image.

Picture Styles

The following table describes various picture style features available in PowerPoint.

S.No	Feature & Description
1	Picture Border Manages the picture border - color, weight and style.
2	Picture Effects Adds effects to the picture like reflection, shadow, etc.
3	Convert to SmartArt Graphic Transforms the picture into the selected SmartArt.
4	Quick Styles Pre-defined styles with different picture borders and effects.