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Convert SmartArt Graphic into Shapes in PowerPoint 2010

Author: Geetesh Bajaj

Product/Version: PowerPoint 2010

Date Created: April 27th 2011
Last Updated: April 27th 2011

Excerpt/Capsule: Learn how to convert a SmartArt graphic to shapes in PowerPoint 2010.

SmartArt is a great new feature that Microsoft added in PowerPoint -- yet many users want to convert their SmartArt graphic to bulleted text, or even to individual editable shapes that can be manipulated further. Yes, you can convert SmartArt to individual shapes, but do remember that this is a one-way process, and you lose any editability for the SmartArt graphic from that point of time. However, converting to shapes does mean that you have complete control over moving, resizing, deleting, or formatting the individual shapes. Follow these steps to convert a SmartArt graphic into shapes:

1. Select your existing SmartArt graphic, as you can see in Figure 1. The SmartArt graphic variant that we are using (and have selected) is the Horizontal Picture List.
   
   
   Figure 1: Horizontal Picture List SmartArt with text
   
   
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 Reset group, then click the Convert button to bring up the drop-down list (see Figure 3). Within the list, select the Convert to Shapes option (highlighted in red in Figure 3).
   
   
   Figure 3: Convert SmartArt to Shapes
   
   
4. This will convert the SmartArt graphic to shapes, as shown in Figure 4.
   
   
   Figure 4: SmartArt graphic converted to shapes
   
   Alternatively, you can right-click the SmartArt graphic to get the resultant context menu, and choose the Convert to Shapes option (highlighted in red in Figure 5).
   
   
   Figure 5: Convert to Shapes option
   
   
5. Now right-click the converted SmartArt to get the resultant context menu, and choose the Group | Ungroup option (see Figure 6).
   
   
   Figure 6: Ungroup SmartArt to shapes
   
   
6. This ungroups all the converted SmartArt graphic into individual shapes, as shown in Figure 7.
   
   
   Figure 7: Converted SmartArt graphic ungrouped into individual shapes
   

See Also:

Convert SmartArt Graphic into Shapes in PowerPoint 2013
Convert SmartArt into Shapes in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac