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Change between SmartArt Graphic Layouts (Types) in PowerPoint 2010

Author: Geetesh Bajaj

Product/Version: PowerPoint 2010

Date Created: April 7th 2011
Last Updated: April 7th 2011

Excerpt/Capsule: Learn how to change from one SmartArt graphic layout to another in PowerPoint 2010.

Inserting a SmartArt graphic within PowerPoint 2010 or even converting some bulleted text to SmartArt is easy -- you can choose from various SmartArt graphics variations available within PowerPoint. In this tutorial I'll show you how to change any existing SmartArt graphic to any other layout (type). Follow these steps to explore more:

1. Select your existing SmartArt graphic, as you can see in Figure 1. The SmartArt graphic variant that I am using (and have selected) is the Diverging Radial.
   
   
   Figure 1: Diverging Radial SmartArt graphic
   
   
2. When the SmartArt graphic is selected, you'll find two contextual tabs activated on the Ribbon: the SmartArt Tools Design and the SmartArt Tools Format tabs (highlighted in red in Figure 2). Select the SmartArt Tools Design tab.
   
   
   Figure 2: SmartArt Tools Design tab selected
   
   
3. Within the SmartArt Tools Design tab, locate the Layouts group, then click the downward pointing arrow (highlighted in red in Figure 3).
   
   
   Figure 3: Layouts group
   
   
4. This brings up the SmartArt graphics Layouts drop-down gallery that you can see in Figure 4.
   
   
   Figure 4: SmartArt graphic Layout's drop-down gallery
   
   
5. Now hover the cursor over any of the Layout's previews in the gallery -- as you move over different previews, the selected SmartArt graphic shows you a live preview of the layout applied, as shown in Figure 5 -- click on the preview thumbnail in the gallery to apply the layout to the selected SmartArt graphic.
   
   
   Figure 5: SmartArt graphic showing live preview of the layout selected
   
   
   Tip: Place your SmartArt graphic in an area that is not covered by the SmartArt Layouts drop-down gallery, so you can see the live preview.
   
   
6. To access additional SmartArt graphic layouts, click the More Layouts... option within the SmartArt Layouts gallery (see Figure 6).
   
   
   Figure 6: More Layouts option selected
   
   
7. This opens the Choose a SmartArt Graphic dialog box, as shown in Figure 7. Select any of the SmartArt graphic variants you want to change to, and click OK.
   
   
   Figure 7: Choose a SmartArt Graphic dialog box
   
   
8. Alternatively, you can even right click on the SmartArt Graphic and from the context menu choose Change Layout option (see Figure 8). This will open the Choose a SmartArt Graphic dialog box (refer to Figure 7 above).
   
   
   Figure 8: Change Layout option selected
   
   
   Note: After converting the SmartArt graphic to another type, you may have to rearrange the elements in your diagram and modify the text attributes.

See Also: Change between SmartArt Graphic Layouts (Types) in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac