Apply Shadow Effects to Shapes
Author: Geetesh Bajaj
Product/Version: Microsoft PowerPoint 2007
OS: Microsoft Windows XP / Vista
Date Created: February 23rd 2009
Last Updated: February 23rd 2009
Excerpt/Capsule: In this tutorial, you'll learn how you can apply shadow effects to shapes in PowerPoint 2007.
In a previous tutorial I showed you how to apply the preset effects to shapes in PowerPoint 2007. In this tutorial, I'll show you how you can apply shadow effects to shapes in PowerPoint 2007.
To see a sample presentation containing Shadow effects in PowerPoint 2007, scroll down to the bottom of this page.
Follow these steps to apply shadow effects to a shape:
- Select the shape you want to apply the effect to. Selecting a shape activates the Drawing Tools Format tab in the Ribbon -- activate this tab and locate the Shape Effects button that you can see in Figure 1 (highlighted in yellow at the bottom right of the Figure).
Figure 1: Shape Effects
- This brings up the Shape Effects dropdown gallery, as you can see in Figure 2. From the Shape Effects dropdown gallery, choose the Shadow option.
Figure 2: Shadow dropdown gallery
- This opens the the Shadow sub-gallery (refer to Figure 2 above) that provides the following options:
- No Shadow: Use this option to remove shadow from a selected shape. You can use this option only if the shape has a shadow applied.
- Outer Shadow: There are nine outer shadow styles available for various directions, these outer shadows are akin to drop shadows.
- Inner Shadow: Again you can choose from nine inner shadow styles, this effect applies a darkened edge to the selected shape in various directions.
- Perspective: Adds a long shadow that can sometimes cast off outside the slide area. There are five styles available.
- Shadow Options: If you want more control on shadows other than the options provided in this gallery, choose this option. Learn more here...
- No Shadow: Use this option to remove shadow from a selected shape. You can use this option only if the shape has a shadow applied.
- Mouse over any of the effects within the Shadows gallery to see a live preview of the effect. Click on an effect to apply it to the selected shape.
- Remember to save your presentation often.
Related Link: My book Cutting Edge PowerPoint 2007 For Dummies covers many aspects of PowerPoint 2007. A free chapter excerpt PowerPointing with the Best of Them is available on this site.
Sample Presentation
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