11. Insert and manage simple graphics

In this chapter

Insert, move, and resize pictures

Edit and format pictures

Draw and modify shapes

Capture and insert screen clippings

Create a photo album

Practice files

For this chapter, use the practice files from the Office2016SBSCh11 folder. For practice file download instructions, see the introduction.

With the ready availability of professionally designed templates, presentations have become more visually sophisticated and appealing. Gone (ideally) are the days of presenters reading a list of bullet points to the audience; successful presentations are likely to have fewer words and more graphic elements. You can use images, diagrams, animations, charts, tables, and other visual elements to graphically reinforce your spoken message (which can be conveniently documented in the speaker notes attached to the slides).

The term graphics generally refers to several kinds of visual objects, including photos, “clip art” images, diagrams, charts, and shapes. You can insert all these types of graphics as objects on a slide and then size, move, and copy them. Because elements on a PowerPoint slide float independently, it is simpler to creatively present information on PowerPoint slides than in Word documents.

This chapter guides you through procedures related to inserting, moving, and resizing pictures; editing and formatting pictures; drawing and modifying shapes; capturing and inserting screen clippings; and creating a photo album.

You can insert a picture onto a slide either from your computer or from an online source, such as the Internet or your cloud storage drive.

After you insert a picture, you can make it larger or smaller and position it anywhere you want on the slide.

Inserting or selecting a picture activates its sizing handles and the Format tool tab in the Picture Tools tab group. This tab contains commands for formatting the appearance of a picture and controlling its position relative to text, images, and other page elements.

To insert a picture from your computer

1. Do either of the following to open the Insert Picture dialog box:

• If the slide has a content placeholder, click the Pictures button in the placeholder.

• If the slide doesn’t have a content placeholder, on the Insert tab, in the Images group, click the Pictures button.

2. In the Insert Picture dialog box, browse to and select the picture (or pictures) you want to insert. Then click the Insert button.

The inserted picture is surrounded by a frame to indicate that it is selected. You can use the handles around the frame to size and rotate the picture.

To insert a picture from an online source

1. Do either of the following to open the Insert Pictures window:

• If the slide has a content placeholder, click the Online Pictures button in the placeholder.

• If the slide doesn’t have a content placeholder, on the Insert tab, in the Images group, click the Online Pictures button.

2. In the Insert Pictures window, click the source you want to use, or enter a search term in the search box.

3. Browse to and select the picture you want to insert. Then click the Insert button.

To select a picture for editing

1. Click the picture once.

To move a picture

1. Point to the image. When the cursor changes to a four-headed arrow, drag the picture to its new location.

To resize a picture

1. Select the picture, and then do any of the following:

• To change only the width of the picture, drag the left or right size handle.

• To change only the height of the picture, drag the top or bottom size handle.

• To change both the height and the width of the picture without changing its aspect ratio, drag a corner size handle or set the Height or Width measurement in the Size group on the Format tool tab, and then press Enter.

After you insert any picture into a presentation, you can modify it by using the commands on the Format tool tab. For example, you can do the following:

Remove the background by designating either the areas you want to keep or those you want to remove.

Sharpen or soften the picture, or change its brightness or contrast.

Enhance the picture’s color.

Make one of the picture’s colors transparent.

Choose an effect, such as Pencil Sketch or Paint Strokes.

Apply effects such as shadows, reflections, and borders; or apply combinations of these effects.

Add a border consisting of one or more solid or dashed lines of whatever width and color you choose.

Rotate the picture to any angle, either by dragging the rotating handle or by choosing a rotating or flipping option.

Crop away the parts of the picture that you don’t want to show on the slide. (The picture itself is not altered—parts of it are simply covered up.)

Minimize the presentation’s file size by specifying the optimum resolution for where or how the presentation will be viewed—for example, on a webpage or printed page. You can also delete cropped areas of a picture to reduce file size.

All these changes are made to the representation of the picture that is on the slide and do not affect the original picture.

To crop a picture

1. Select the picture. On the Format tool tab, in the Size group, click the Crop button to display thick black handles on the sides and in the corners of the picture.

2. Drag the handles to define the area you want to crop to. The areas that will be excluded from the cropped picture are shaded.

3. When you finish defining the area, click away from the picture, or click the Crop button again to apply the crop effect.

Or

1. Select the picture. On the Format tool tab, in the Size group, click the Crop arrow, and then do one of the following:

• Click Crop to Shape, and then click a shape.

• Click Aspect Ratio, and then click an aspect ratio.

PowerPoint crops the picture to meet your specifications.

To frame a picture

1. Select the picture. On the Format tool tab, in the Picture Styles group, click the More button to display the Picture Styles gallery.

2. Point to each picture style in turn to display a live preview of the frame applied to your picture. Click the picture style you want to apply.

To remove a background from a picture

1. Select the picture. On the Format tool tab, in the Adjust group, click the Remove Background button to display the Background Removal tool tab and apply purple shading to the areas of the picture that the tool thinks you want to remove.

2. Drag the white handles to define the area that you want to keep. The Background Removal tool updates its shading as you do.

3. On the Background Removal tool tab, click Mark Areas to Keep, and then click any areas of the photo that are shaded, that you’d like to expose and keep.

4. On the Background Removal tool tab, click Mark Areas to Remove, and then click any areas of the photo that aren’t shaded, that you’d like to remove.

5. Depending on the simplicity of the picture, you might need to make a lot of adjustments or only a few.

6. When you finish, click the Keep Changes button to display the results. You can return to the Background Removal tool tab at any time to make adjustments.

To apply an artistic effect to a picture

1. Select the picture. On the Format tool tab, in the Adjust group, click the Artistic Effects button to display the Artistic Effects gallery.

2. Point to each effect to display a live preview of the effect on the selected photo.

3. Click the effect that you want to apply.

Pointing to any shape in the gallery displays a ScreenTip that contains the shape name.

With a little imagination, you’ll soon discover ways to create images by combining shapes. You can use these images to illustrate a concept on a slide, or you can animate the drawings to convey actions or draw attention to specific elements.

To create a shape on a slide

1. On the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click the Shapes button and then, on the Shapes menu, click the shape you want to insert.

2. When the cursor changes to a plus sign, do either of the following:

• Click on the slide to create a shape of the default size.

• Drag diagonally on the slide to specify the upper-left and lower-right corners of the rectangle that surrounds the shape (the drawing canvas).

To add text to a shape

1. Select the shape, and then enter the text you want to display on the shape. There is no cursor to indicate the location of the text; simply start typing and it appears on the shape.

When you first draw a shape and any time you select it thereafter, it has a set of handles.

You can use the handles to manipulate the shape in the following ways:

Drag the side or corner handles (hollow circles) to change the size or aspect ratio of the shape.

Drag the angle handles (yellow circles) to change the angles or curves of the text within the shape. Not all shapes have angle handles.

Drag the rotate handle (circling arrow) to rotate the shape on the slide.

To select a shape for editing

1. Click the shape once.

To select multiple shapes

1. Do either of the following:

• Click a shape, hold down the Shift or Ctrl key, and click each other shape.

• Drag to encompass all the shapes you want to select.

To resize a shape

1. Select the shape, and then do any of the following:

• To change only the width of the shape, drag the left or right size handle.

• To change only the height of the shape, drag the top or bottom size handle.

• To change both the height and the width of the shape, drag a corner size handle.

• To resize a shape without changing its aspect ratio, hold down the Shift key and drag a corner size handle or press an arrow key.

To move a shape on a slide

1. Select the shape that you want to move.

2. Drag the shape or press the arrow keys to move it to the new location.

To rotate or flip a shape

1. Select the shape.

2. On the Format tool tab, in the Arrange group, click the Rotate Objects button.

3. On the Rotate Objects menu, click the Rotate or Flip option you want.

Or

1. Select the shape.

2. Drag the Rotate handle in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction until the shape is at the angle of rotation you want.

To change a shape to another shape

1. Select the shape you want to change.

2. On the Format tool tab, in the Insert Shapes group, click the Edit Shape button, click Change Shape, and then click the new shape.

Changing the shape doesn’t affect the shape formatting or text.

Replace the shape with another without changing the formatting.

Change the fill and outline colors of the shape, and the effects applied to the shape.

Separately, change the fill and outline colors and effects of any text that you add to the shape.

Arrange, layer, and group multiple shapes on a slide.

Having made changes to one shape, you can easily apply the same attributes to another shape, or you can to apply the attributes to all future shapes you draw on the slides of the active presentation.

When you have multiple shapes on a slide, you can group them so that you can copy, move, and format them as a unit. You can change the attributes of an individual shape—for example, its color, size, or location—without ungrouping the shapes.

To format a shape

1. Select the shape that you want to format.

2. On the Format tool tab, in the Shape Styles groups, click the More button to display the Shape Styles gallery.

3. Point to thumbnails to display live previews of their effects, and then select a style thumbnail to apply the selected style.

To format text on a shape

1. Select the shape.

2. On the Format tool tab, in the WordArt Styles group, modify the style, text fill, text outline, or text effects.

Or

1. Select the text on the shape.

2. Do either of the following:

• On the Format tool tab, in the WordArt Styles group, modify the style, text fill, text outline, or text effects.

• On the Home tab, in the Font and Paragraph groups, use the standard text formatting commands.

To copy formatting from one shape to another

1. Select the formatting source shape.

2. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click the Format Painter button.

3. Click the shape you want to copy the formatting to.

To set formatting as the default for the active presentation

1. Right-click the formatting source shape, and then click Set as Default Shape.

To group shapes together as one object

1. Select all the shapes on a slide that you want grouped together.

2. On the Format tool tab, in the Arrange group, click the Group button (when you point to this button, the ScreenTip that appears says Group Objects) and then, in the list, click Group.

To move an entire group

1. Point to any shape in the group.

2. When the pointer changes to a four-headed arrow, drag the group to the new location.

To ungroup shapes

1. Select the group.

2. On the Format tool tab, in the Arrange group, click the Group button, and then click Ungroup.

To regroup shapes

1. Select any one shape from the former group.

2. On the Format tool tab, in the Arrange group, on the Group menu, click Regroup.

To insert an image of an on-screen window

1. Display the window that you want to capture and size it to display its contents as you want to show them.

2. Switch to PowerPoint and display the slide you want to insert the screen content on.

3. On the Insert tab, in the Images group, click Screenshot. The Screenshot menu displays thumbnails of all the windows on your screen that are currently available to insert.

4. On the Screenshot menu, click the window you want to insert an image of on the slide.

5. Resize the inserted image to suit your needs.

To capture a screen clipping from PowerPoint

1. Display the content that you want to capture.

2. Switch to PowerPoint and display the slide you want to insert the screen content on.

3. On the Insert tab, in the Images group, click Screenshot.

4. On the Screenshot menu, click Screen Clipping. The PowerPoint menu minimizes to the taskbar, and a translucent white layer covers the entire display.

5. When the cursor changes to a plus sign, point to the upper-left corner of the area you want to capture, and then drag down and to the right to define the screen clipping borders.

When you release the mouse button, PowerPoint captures the clipping, restores the window, and inserts the clipping in the center of the slide.

The first step in creating a photo album is to choose the pictures you want to include. After you know the album contents, you can configure the album options.

When creating a photo album, you have several choices. The primary choice is the slide layout. You can choose from seven layouts that display one, two, or four pictures per slide. The pictures can optionally have titles. The default layout is Fit To Slide, which creates one slide per photo. The photo album uses the layout you select on all pages of the album.

A basic preview of the selected layout is available in the Photo Album dialog box while you’re creating the album. When you choose a layout, a slide number appears next to the first picture that will be on that slide. If you want to group pictures differently, you can reorder the photos before creating the album.

You can insert a text box on a photo album page, where it takes the place of a picture. You can use the text boxes to display comments about the pictures on that page, or you can leave them blank to control the layout. The total number of text boxes and pictures on a slide is the same as the layout that you choose. (In other words, if you choose a four-picture layout, the slide can display any combination of pictures and text boxes for a total of four objects.)

When you choose any layout other than Fit To Slide, you can opt to display captions below all the pictures. It isn’t necessary to specify the captions when you select the photos for the album; if you choose the option to have captions, PowerPoint creates placeholders for them.

You can choose from these seven picture frame styles:

Rectangle

Rounded Rectangle

Simple Frame, White

Simple Frame, Black

Compound Frame, Black

Center Shadow Rectangle

Soft Edge Rectangle

PowerPoint applies the same frame to all the pictures in the album.

You can choose a theme for the album when you’re creating it, but it’s easier to create the album and then apply the theme separately, because you can’t preview the theme in the Photo Album dialog box.

You can also choose to render all the pictures in the album in black and white rather than their native colors.

You can make these changes when creating the album, or you can create an album and then edit its settings to make changes.

To create a photo album

1. Start PowerPoint and display any blank or existing presentation. (PowerPoint creates the photo album as an entirely separate file.)

2. On the Insert tab, in the Images group, click the Photo Album button to open the Photo Album dialog box.

3. In the Insert picture from area, click File/Disk to open the Insert New Pictures dialog box.

4. Browse to the folder that contains the pictures you want to use, and select the photos. Then click Insert to add the selected files to the Pictures In Album list in the Photo Album dialog box.

5. Next, configure the album layout. In the Picture layout list, click the layout you want to use. A generic preview of the layout appears to the right of the list. The numbers preceding the photo file names change to reflect the slide number the photo appears on.

6. Now confirm the picture order and slide content. Do any of the following in the Pictures in album list:

• To preview a picture, click its file name (not its check box).

• To move a picture to an earlier position, select its check box, and then click the Move Up button.

• To move a picture to a later position, select its check box, and then click the Move Down button.

• To rotate or adjust the coloring of a picture, select its check box, and then click the buttons below the preview to rotate it, or to increase or decrease the contrast or brightness.

• To insert a blank text box in a picture position, click the picture that you want to precede the text box, and then click the New Text Box button.

• To remove a photo from the album, select its check box, and then click the Remove button.

7. Next, if the picture layout is set to something other than Fit To Slide, choose the picture frame. In the Frame shape list, click the frame you want to use.

8. Finally, do any of the following:

• If you want to display captions below the photos, select the Captions below ALL pictures check box.

• If you want to display grayscale versions of the photos, select the ALL pictures black and white check box.

• If you know the theme you want to apply to the photo album, click the Browse button to the right of the Theme box, and then double-click the theme you want to use.

9. To create the photo album, click Create.

10. Review the photo album, and do any of the following:

• Change the photo album title from the generic Photo Album to something more meaningful.

• If you added titles, captions, or text boxes, insert appropriate content in the placeholders.

• If you didn’t choose a theme, or don’t like the theme you chose, choose an appropriate theme from the Themes gallery on the Design tab.

11. Save the photo album.

To edit photo album settings

1. On the Insert tab, in the Images group, click the Photo Album arrow, and then click Edit Photo Album to open the Photo Album dialog box with all the current settings.

2. Add, remove, and modify photos; change the photo order; insert or remove text boxes; change the picture layout or frame; add or remove captions; or make any other changes you want.

3. When you finish, click the Update button to apply your changes.

Insert, move, and resize pictures

Edit and format pictures

Draw and modify shapes

Capture and insert screen clippings

Create a photo album

1. Display slide 5.

2. In the content placeholder, click the Pictures icon. Browse to the practice file folder, and insert the Flowers01 picture.

3. From the Size group on the Format pane, resize the picture to a width of 4”. Ensure that the aspect ratio doesn’t change.

4. Move the picture on the slide to identify locations in which the smart guides appear—for example, the edges of the content space, and below the slide title. Align the picture with the upper-right corner of the content area as defined by the smart guides.

5. On the Insert tab, in the Images group, click Online Pictures. In the Insert Pictures window that opens, enter the word flowers in the Bing search box, and then press Enter.

6. Review the search results and locate a picture that you like. Insert the picture onto the slide.

7. Resize the picture to a width of 4”, and align it with the right side of the content area, near the bottom of the slide (a smart guide might not appear at the bottom of the slide). Note that the pictures overlap near the center of the slide.

8. Close the presentation, saving your changes if you want to.

1. Display slide 5.

2. Select the picture that is located on the right side of the slide.

3. On the Format tool tab, in the Adjust group, click Corrections, and then point to the thumbnails to identify one that will brighten the picture to make it similar to the picture on the left. Click that thumbnail to apply the correction.

4. Click the Crop arrow, point to Aspect Ratio, and then click 1:1. Adjust the picture so the flowers are in the center, and then complete the cropping process.

5. Display the Picture Styles gallery, and point to the thumbnails in the gallery to find one that you like. Click the thumbnail to apply the picture style.

6. Select the picture that is located on the left side of the slide.

7. Remove the neutral background from the selected picture.

8. Close the presentation, saving your changes if you want to.

1. Display slide 5.

2. Draw a 5-Point Star shape (in the Stars and Banners category of the Shapes gallery) near the center of the slide.

3. Draw a small arrow (in the Block Arrows category of the Shapes gallery) to the right of the star.

4. Drag a copy of the arrow to the left of the star, and align it with the right arrow. Then flip the left arrow so that it points away from the star.

5. Adjacent to the left arrow, add a scroll shape, and then adjacent to the right arrow, add a heart shape.

6. Paste a copy of the heart shape on top of the original, and make the second heart smaller than the first.

7. In the star, enter the word ME. Then increase the font size to make it prominent.

8. Repeat task 7 to add the word Education to the scroll shape and Family to the heart shape. Then resize the shapes as necessary to make all the words fit on one line.

9. Select the scroll, star, and heart shapes (don’t select the text), and apply the style Intense Effect – Light Blue, Accent 6.

10. Suppose you have completed your education and entered the workforce. Change the scroll shape to the Up Arrow (in the Block Arrows category) to reflect your new status.

11. In the up arrow shape, change the word Education to Job. Then adjust the size and position of the shape so that it balances with the other shapes on the slide, using the smart guides to help align the shapes.

12. Group all the shapes together as one object, and apply a purple outline.

13. Move the entire group until the shapes are centered and balanced with the slide title.

14. Change the fill color of the left and right arrows to Purple.

15. Close the presentation, saving your changes if you want to.

1. Display slide 4.

2. Open a web browser window and locate a webpage that has information about tablets.

3. Return to PowerPoint. Then capture and insert a screen clipping of part of the webpage.

4. Close the presentation, saving your changes if you want to.

1. From the Insert tab, create a new photo album. Select photos from the practice file folder, or select your own photos.

2. While creating the album, do the following:

• Experiment with the different picture layouts and frame shapes.

• Change the order of the pictures in the album.

• Insert text boxes to make spaces between photos.

• Apply a theme.

3. After you create the album, experiment with the changes you can make from within PowerPoint. For example:

• Replace placeholder text.

• Change the theme.

• Resize pictures.

4. If you want to, click the Edit photo album command to return to the Photo Album dialog box and make additional changes.

5. Save your photo album as MyPhotoAlbum, and then close it.