Shapes

Presentation Effects

To make changes to an AutoShape, you must first select it by clicking on it. You will know that it is selected because you will see handles around the shape:

To move the shape, simply drag it to the desired location.

To change the size or proportion of the shape, click on a handle and drag it to resize. Remember, hold down the Shift key if you want the shape to retain its proportions.

To change the fill color of the shape, click the downward arrow next to the Fill Color button on the Drawing toolbar. Click on one of the colors in the current color scheme, or click More Fill Colors to select another choice.

To change the color of a shape’s outline, click the downward arrow next to the Line Color button on the Drawing toolbar. Click on one of the colors in the current color scheme, or click More Line Colors to select another choice.

To change the style of a line or of a shape’s outline, click the Line Style button on the Drawing toolbar. Click on the line style you want. You can choose between various thicknesses, as well as double and triple lines.

To change a line or a shape’s outline to be dashed, click the Dash Style button on the Drawing toolbar. You can choose between various kinds of dashes; click on the style you want.

To add a shadow to your AutoShape, click the Shadow button on the Drawing toolbar. Select the type of shadow you want.

To give your AutoShape a 3-D look, click the 3D button on the Drawing toolbar. Select the type of 3-D effect you want. (Note: the 3-D effect only works with certain kinds of AutoShapes.)


	What are AutoShapes?	PowerPoint comes with a set of ready-made shapes, lines and arrows you can use in your presentations. The shapes can be resized, rotated, flipped, colored, and combined with other shapes. Many can have 3-D effects or shadows added to them.

	How do I add an AutoShape?	To add an AutoShape to a slide: 1) Click on the Autoshapes menu on the Drawing toolbar. You will see several categories of shapes to choose from: 2) Point to the desired category (e.g., Lines, Basic Shapes, Block Arrows). (Note: The More AutoShapes category takes you to the Clip Gallery.) 3) A flyout menu listing shapes in that category will appear; click on the shape you want. 4) The shape is now “loaded” and can be drawn on your slide. Simply drag the mouse across your slide until the shape is the size you want, then release the mouse button. Hold down the Shift key while you drag if you want to make sure the shape keeps the same proportions. Shortcut: Rectangles and ovals, lines and arrows are very commonly used AutoShapes. Because of this, those four AutoShapes are also located directly on the Drawing toolbar just to the right of the AutoShapes menu. Simply click the icon to load the shape.

	How do I make changes to an AutoShape?	To make changes to an AutoShape, you must first select it by clicking on it. You will know that it is selected because you will see handles around the shape: To move the shape, simply drag it to the desired location. To change the size or proportion of the shape, click on a handle and drag it to resize. Remember, hold down the Shift key if you want the shape to retain its proportions.
		To change the fill color of the shape, click the downward arrow next to the Fill Color button on the Drawing toolbar. Click on one of the colors in the current color scheme, or click More Fill Colors to select another choice.
		To change the color of a shape’s outline, click the downward arrow next to the Line Color button on the Drawing toolbar. Click on one of the colors in the current color scheme, or click More Line Colors to select another choice.
		To change the style of a line or of a shape’s outline, click the Line Style button on the Drawing toolbar. Click on the line style you want. You can choose between various thicknesses, as well as double and triple lines.
		To change a line or a shape’s outline to be dashed, click the Dash Style button on the Drawing toolbar. You can choose between various kinds of dashes; click on the style you want.
		To add a shadow to your AutoShape, click the Shadow button on the Drawing toolbar. Select the type of shadow you want.
		To give your AutoShape a 3-D look, click the 3D button on the Drawing toolbar. Select the type of 3-D effect you want. (Note: the 3-D effect only works with certain kinds of AutoShapes.)
		To add text to an AutoShape, select it and start typing. The text becomes part of the shape — if you rotate or flip the shape, the text does it too.
		To group AutoShapes together so that you can work with them as if they were one object, shift-click to select all of the AutoShapes, then click on the Draw menu on the Drawing toolbar and select Group: To ungroup a grouped collection of AutoShapes, select the collection, click on the Draw menu on the Drawing toolbar, and then select Ungroup. Shortcut: many AutoShape formatting options are also available in the Format AutoShape dialog box, which appears if you simply double click the AutoShape you want to format.
Copyright © 2002, Bloomsburg University Virtual Training Help Center. All rights reserved. This material may not be used without written permission. Contact Dr. Mary Nicholson at mjnich@bloomu.edu