8.9: Inserting and Modifying Shapes

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Many different types of shapes can be inserted into a PowerPoint slide to help illustrate concepts and draw attention. Want to emphasize a certain focal point on a slide? Draw an arrow and add a custom format! The basic shapes are found in the Drawing group of the Home tab, but more extensive selections exist from the Shapes drop-down Shapes list from the Insert tab. Shape categories include lines, geometric figures, arrows, stars, callouts, and banners. Once a shape is selected from the gallery, a cross-hair pointer allows the user to draw the shape on a slide. Shapes can be filled, stacked, aligned, grouped and merged using advanced formatting.

Many aspects of each shape can be further modified, including its line gradient, line color, fill color, weight, outline, shadow and other 3-D effects. Similar to other graphics, like clip art or a photo, a shape can be resized, relocated and reset to complement the design of the presentation. Text can be added to further annotate a shape and explain a concept.