objects Archives | PowerPoint Tips Blog

Reorder objects in the Selection pane in PowerPoint 2013

September 15, 2013 by Ellen Finkelstein Leave a Comment

As you build a slide’s design, you may add a lot of objects to it. Complex animation may especially include many objects.

Do you spend a lot of time reordering objects? By that I mean moving an object behind or in front of another object? Usually, the way I reorder objects is to right-click an object and choose Send to Back, Send Backward (1 layer), Bring to Front, or Bring Forward (1 layer).

But sometimes I want to bring an object forward a few layers, but not to the front. It can be time-consuming and confusing to get the order right.

In PowerPoint 2013, you can use the Select pane and simply drag objects where you want them. It’s a great new feature! (I’ve been asking for it, too. Do you think that Microsoft listened to me?)

Here are the steps:

On the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Select, Selection Pane to display the Selection task pane on the right.
Either select an object on a slide or select it in the Selection pane.
Drag it upward to move it forward. Drag it downward to move it backward.

You can even change the order of objects within groups!

Watch the video to see how I reorder objects in the Selection pane.

Put objects exactly on top of each other

March 13, 2002 by Ellen Finkelstein Leave a Comment

Certain effects require that you put objects one on top of the other. For example, to create my quiz game, you need to put AutoShapes exactly in the same place, one on top of the other. You might also want to use transparency to blend two objects that are in the same place.

The technique is also useful for creating concentric geometric figures, such as a smaller circle centered inside a larger circle. You can create some beautiful effects this way.

The best way that I’ve found to do this is to use the Align and Distribute feature. Follow these steps:

Select both objects (you need at least two objects selected to use this feature).
If you want to center the objects on the slide, choose Draw>Align or Distribute>Relative to Slide.
From the Drawing toolbar, choose Draw>Align or Distribute>Align Center, which aligns the objects horizontally.
With objects still selected, choose Draw>Align or Distribute>Align Middle, which aligns the objects vertically.

This is the sun AutoShape with a From Center gradient, copied and pasted several times and centered using this technique.

sun AutoShape with a From Center gradient

Nudging Objects Slightly

March 6, 2002 by Ellen Finkelstein 16 Comments

Are you frustrated when you try to move an object on a slide just a little bit? Objects on a slide snap to a grid, but maybe you find it difficult to move them the small amount needed. Here are some techniques:

Choose Draw>Nudge on the Drawing toolbar, then choose Up, Down, Left or Right to move the selected object one grid unit.
Press Ctrl with one of the arrow keys to move the selected object in increments of .02 inches.
Press Alt while you drag an object to disable the grid completely and allow total control.

In PowerPoint 2002 and later. you can make the grid visible and control its spacing. Choose Draw>Grid and Guides and then change the settings in the Grid and Guides dialog box. Click OK when you are finished.

Align objects perfectly

February 6, 2002 by Ellen Finkelstein 1 Comment

While several of my other tips mention the use of the Align feature in PowerPoint, I’ve never covered it by itself. If you insert objects on a slide and want them to be aligned, you need to know about this feature — and many people don’t; they’re still using the arrow keys.

First insert the objects on your slide. Then decide how you want to align them. By their left sides? Along the tops?

Here’s a slide with buttons down the right side that badly need aligning.

badly aligned buttons

I want to align their right sides. Note that the result will align all the buttons with the rightmost button, which is the Editing button.

Select all the objects.Then choose Draw > Align or Distribute from the Drawing toolbar. Choose one of the options. I chose Align Right, but you can also choose Align Left or Center. For horizontal alignments, you can also choose Align Top, Middle, or Bottom.

For PowerPoint 2007, select the objects, click the Format tab, and choose the Align button in the Arrange group. Then choose one of the Align options.

If your objects aren’t evenly spaced from each other, do one more step. With the objects still selected (you need at least 3 for this process), choose Draw > Align or Distribute > Distribute Vertically (for this example) or Horizontally.

For PowerPoint 2007, click the Format tab, and choose the Align button in the Arrange group. Then choose one of the Distribute options.