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Change Layout of Organization Chart in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac

Author: Geetesh Bajaj

Product/Version: PowerPoint 2011
OS: Mac OS X

Date Created: November 4th 2011
Last Updated: November 4th 2011

Excerpt/Capsule: Learn how to change the layout of your organization chart in PowerPoint 2011.

Once you have inserted an organization chart (org chart) within PowerPoint 2011, you might need to change its layout. In org chart terms, layout refers to how subordinate levels in the hierarchy branch out from top to bottom -- probably you want all subordinates flushed to the left, hanging to the right, or distributed evenly across a horizontal plane -- you will know more about how this layout stuff works once you read this tutorial:

1. Select the topmost shape in your existing organization chart, as shown in Figure 1.
   
   
   Figure 1: Topmost shape in the organization chart selected
   
   
   Note: These techniques work with the org charts created using PowerPoint's SmartArt component -- and not the org charts created using the diagramming component in older versions of PowerPoint.
   
   
2. Navigate to the SmartArt tab of the Ribbon, locate the Edit SmartArt group, and click the Org Chart button, as shown highlighted in red in Figure 2.
   
   
   Figure 2: Org Chart button within Edit SmartArt group of SmartArt tab
   
   
3. This brings up the Org Chart drop-down list (see Figure 3), which enables you to arrange subordinate shapes in relation to the topmost shape within an org chart.
   
   
   Figure 3: Org Chart drop-down list
   
   The options within the Org Chart drop-down list are explained below:
   
   
   • Horizontal: Centers all the shapes below the topmost shape in a horizontal plane (default layout, as shown in Figure 1 above).
     
     
   • Vertical: Centers the topmost shape above the subordinate shapes, and arranges those subordinate shapes into two columns, as shown in Figure 4.
     
     
     Figure 4: Org chart with shapes arranged vertically
     
     
   • Left Hanging: Positions the subordinate shapes, flushed (hanging) beneath to the left (see Figure 5).
     
     
     Figure 5: Org chart with shapes arranged to Left Hanging
     
     
   • Right Hanging: Positions the subordinate shapes, flushed (hanging) beneath to the right, as shown in Figure 6.
     
     
     Figure 6: Org chart with shapes arranged to Right Hanging
4. Save your presentation often.

You can also switch between the sequencing of the shapes by clicking the Right to Left button (located right above the Org Chart button, refer to Figure 2 above).

Figure 7 shows how the position of the shapes has changed -- compare the variant on the left with the variant on the right.


Figure 7: Position of shapes before and after clicking the Right to Left button

See Also:

Change Layout of Organization Chart in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows
Change Layout of Organization Chart in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows