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Home » subtract

Customize slide objects to the extreme

February 15, 2014 by Ellen Finkelstein 1 Comment

powerpoint-tips-customized-slide-objects-1

Do you want to take customization of slide objects to the extreme? You can customize slide objects in 2 big ways:

  • Combine Shapes: You can add them together (Union), substract them, and more — combine, fragment (PowerPoint 2013 only), intersect. See this link for a list of 4 posts I wrote on the topic.
  • powerpoint-tips-customized-slide-objects-2Edit points: You can use Bézier curves to fine tune shapes to look like anything you want. Here’s where I described this feature.

When you put these two features together, you can create anything you can imagine!

Why create custom shapes? Well, you can create graphics that portray exactly what you need for your message.

Here’s an example.

powerpoint-tips-customized-slide-objects-1

The red arrows show where I used the Edit Points feature. I used the Subtract command to create the windows. The rest are simply rectangles and triangles that I added together with the Union feature.

Note that when you use the Union feature, you have one object that you can format as you would any object. If you don’t want formatting to apply to the object as a whole, leave the component as separate objects. You can still group them if you want.

How do you create customized slide objects? Leave a comment!

Filed Under: Shapes & text boxes Tagged With: combine shapes, customize slide objects, edit points, subtract, union

How to create your very own cool shapes with the Custom Shapes tools: Part II-Subtract

July 5, 2011 by Ellen Finkelstein 6 Comments

This is Part II of a series on custom shapes in PowerPoint 2010. Part I, on Union is here. In that post I explain how to find the custom shapes feature.

The Subtract command subtracts one shape from another. It’s great for cutouts and holes. Let’s say I want a bucket with a hole in it.

Here are the steps to create this shape:

  1. Insert the Trapezoid shape. It’s in the Basic Shapes section.
  2. Since it’s upside down from the shape we want, select it and drag the top handle below the bottom handle. Tip: This is a shortcut to flip an object.

  1. Format the trapezoid however you want. I filled it with a gray gradient to make it look like a bucket.
  2. Insert a circle and place it over the trapezoid, where you want the hole to be.

  1. Click the bucket to select it, press and hold the Shift key, then click the hole. You must select the shape that you want to keep first. Then press the Shift key and select the shape that you want to subtract.
  2. Click the Subtract button. There’s a hole in the bucket!

How will you use the Subtract feature? Leave a comment!

The next post in this series will cover the Intersect feature.

Filed Under: Shapes & text boxes Tagged With: custom shapes, shapes, subtract

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