Learn PowerPoint 2016 for Windows
Nudge Shapes
There are so many shapes available within PowerPoint 2016 -- and that's good because that means so many more possibilities to create your
own unique shapes by using any of the Merge Shapes commands. One of the amazing options within Merge Shapes is Combine -- this retains
areas where the shapes do not overlap while removing overlapping areas -- think of Combine as an amazing cutout option!
Convert Text to Shapes by Intersecting
PowerPoint has several features that may amaze you, but there's nothing quite like what we will explore on this page --
an option to convert regular text into a shape. First of all, this is an undocumented feature. And then, this is such an
utterly useful option -- people find all sorts of excuses to use this feature. For example, you can now easily create logos
in PowerPoint without using any other application. Or use a fancy font and then share that presentation with others in the
knowledge that recipients can see the font exactly as intended, even if it's not installed on their computers.
Convert Text to Shapes by Fragmenting
PowerPoint 2016 enables you to use its repertoire of Shapes to create some amazing artwork. Its Merge Shape commands allow you to create
complex shapes by merging several simple shapes. Additionally, these options also let you convert your text to shapes so that you can see
the text even on a computer that does not have a particular font installed. We already showed you how you can convert an entire text box
to one shape using the Intersect command. Let's now discover using the Fragment command instead.
Eyedropper Option
Although PowerPoint allows you to choose almost any color you want, it is often difficult to choose the same color for text as the grass or
the sky in a picture on the same slide! PowerPoint 2016's Eyedropper option enables you to pick an exact color from anywhere, sometimes
even from somewhere outside PowerPoint! Even better, when you are picking up the color from a source, you get to see the color preview as
well as the RGB value of the color you are picking.
Merge Shapes with Pictures
PowerPoint takes the Merge Shapes command to a whole new level – you can merge shapes with other shapes and text, and you can also
merge shapes with pictures! First, you may wonder what's so awesome about merging shapes with pictures? But play a bit and you'll
realize that this opens up huge possibilities. We will start simple in this tutorial and explore how you can create cookie cutter shapes
with this option.
