Introduction to Shapes and Objects |
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Shapes |
Shapes are geometric and non geometric objects that Microsoft PowerPoint provides to enhance the looks of slides. There are many types of shapes. The most basic shapes you can use are the rectangle, the ellipse, and the line. Besides these, you can find advanced or complicated shapes on the Drawing toolbar. To add a shape to a slide, click the desired button on the Drawing toolbar and draw in the desired location on the slide. |
A rectangle is a four-sided geometric figure you can use either as an independent aesthetic object in a slide or as a border around text or around another object. The most regularly used rectangle has two combinations of two parallel sides that are equal. A square is a special rectangle in which all four sides are equal. To draw a rectangle on a slide, on the Drawing toolbar, click the Rectangle button and either click the desired area on the slide or draw a rectangle on the slide. To draw a square, after clicking the Rectangle button on the Drawing toolbar, press and hold Shift. Then either click in the slide or click and drag to draw a square the size of your choice. If you click and start dragging to draw a rectangle, the origin would be where your mouse landed to where you released the mouse. If you want to draw the rectangle or shape using your origin (where you first clicked) as the center of the shape, press and hold both Alt and Ctrl, drag until you get the desired size, then release the mouse and release Alt and Shift.
A text box is a rectangular shape that contains text. The text can be any length. Like all other shapes we will review, a text box can be positioned anywhere on the slide, giving you ample opportunity to enhance a slide. The text box is the main place holder of text that displays in slides. As such, all main titles and bulleted lists on slides are stored in text boxes. The advantage of the text box is its flexibility with regards to its position and its ability to hold or "carry" text. Text that is stored in a text is moved when the text box is moved. To add a text box to a slide, on the Drawing toolbar, click the Text Box button and click anywhere on the slide. Then type the desired text.
An ellipse is a round geometric figure. A circle is a type of ellipse in which all opposite points use the exact same distance from the center:
If you click and start dragging to draw an ellipse or a circle, the origin would be where your mouse landed to where you released the mouse. If you want to draw an ellipse or a circle whose center would be the first point you clicked, press and hold both Alt and Ctrl, drag until you get the desired size, then release the mouse and release Alt and Shift.
Besides the rectangle and the ellipse, there are additional shapes you can use. To access these shapes, on the Drawing toolbar, you can click AutoShapes, position your mouse on a category and click the desired shape:
Before performing an operation on a shape, you should first select it. In the same way, if you want to perform a common operation of various shapes, you should first select them. To select a shape that is positioned on a slide, you can just click it. When a shape is selected, it displays 8 handles around: To select various shapes on the slide, click one. Press and hold Shift, then click each shape desired. When the selection is complete, release Shift. Each shape selected would have its own 8 handles
Resizing an object consists of changing its size. Before resizing an object, select it first. To resize various objects at the same time, first select them. Before resizing an object, position the mouse on one of its handles. To resize many selected objects at the same time, position the mouse on the handle of one them. The mouse pointer would change into one of the following cursors which can produce one of the following results:
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Practical Learning: Resizing Shapes |
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Moving Shapes |
Moving an object consists of changing its "physical" location on the screen or with regards to other objects. There are mainly two aspects involve with moving an object. Objects on the screen (this includes any application on the computer, not just Microsoft PowerPoint) use a three dimensional axis to position themselves. The Windows coordinate system deals with how an object relates to the other objects on its left, those on its right, those above it and those under it. Before moving an object, first click it to select it. Before moving a group of objects, first select them. To actually move an object or a group of objects, position the mouse on it. The mouse pointer would change into a cross cursor . You can then click and drag in the direction of your choice. The object or the group of objects would be moved. Once you get to the desired location, release the mouse and press Esc or click somewhere else. The objects on the screen are also positioned using a third dimensional axis. This is why you are able to have one window on top while the others are in the back. This axis uses the same origin as the origin axes. Based on this, if you have juxtaposed objects, that is, objects on top of each other, on a slide, you can specify what object should be positioned on top of which one. As obvious as it appears, only one object can be on top but if two objects are not juxtaposed, this detail is not important. To arrange the order of juxtaposed objects, right-click one of them, position the mouse on Order and you would receive four options. Imagine you have three objects positioned A on top of B and B on top of C:
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MOUS Topics |
S22 | Create a text box for entering text |
S51 | Insert hyperlink |
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