Patterned Lines
By: Geetesh Bajaj
Date Created: September 4th 2004
Last Updated: March 2nd 2009
Talk about patterned lines and nine of ten PowerPoint users will have a confused look on their faces. What is a patterned line in PowerPoint parlance? Every element in PowerPoint has a fill and line attribute — patterned lines are just another line attribute.
Here are some samples of patterned lines:
- Create a new presentation (Ctrl + N) and insert a blank
slide (Ctrl + M). Or insert a blank slide in an existing
presentation. Mac users can substitute the Ctrl key
with the "Apple" key.
- Draw a rectangle on the slide and choose Format AutoShape.
This will present you with the Format AutoShape tabbed
dialog box. By default the "Colors and Lines" tab
will be active.
- Click the Line Color dropdown box and choose the "Patterned
Lines" option (see screenshot).
- In the resultant Patterned Lines dialog box, you'll find
48 patterns to choose from. I selected the "Dark Horizontal" pattern.
Since patterns are created using two colors, choose colors
that provide a nice contrast. Click OK when done.
- This will bring you back to the Format AutoShape dialog
box. Choose a thick line weight - I normally choose anything
between 15 and 40 points depending upon the size of the
shape.
- Click OK
Patterned lines and fills can help persons with color vision deficiency differentiate between objects.
