Apply Shadow Effects to Shapes in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows
Learn how you can apply shadow effects to shapes in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows.
Author:Geetesh Bajaj
Product/Version: PowerPoint 2013 for Windows
OS: Windows 7 and higher
PowerPoint's effects are used to enhance the look of your shapes, and with
PowerPoint 2013 providing a vast repertoire of effects, you can easily get busy playing
with all the options available! To save time, you can apply any of the
Preset shape effects. If you choose to apply
individual effects, the time involved may be more but the results can be distinctive. For example, even with something as simple as the
Shadow effect, there is no dearth of options available, look at Figure 1 to see the amazing differences between
variations for the Shadow effect.
Figure 1: Shadows galore within PowerPoint
To see a sample presentation containing Shadow effects in PowerPoint 2013, scroll down to the bottom of this page.
Follow these steps to apply shadow effects to a shape:
Select the shape so that the Ribbon area shows
the Drawing Tools Format tab, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2.
Activate this Ribbon tab by clicking on it. Within the Drawing Tools Format tab click the
Shape Effects button (highlighted in blue within Figure 2).
Figure 2: Drawing Tools Format tab of the Ribbon
Note: The Drawing Tools Format tab is a contextual tab. These tabs are special tabs in the
Ribbon that are not visible all the time, they only make an appearance when
you are working with a particular slide object which can be edited using special options.
This brings up the Shape Effects drop-down gallery, as shown in Figure 3. From this gallery, choose the
Shadow option, this brings up the Shadow sub-gallery (refer to Figure 3 again).
Figure 3: Shadow sub-gallery
The options within the Shadow sub-gallery are explained below, as marked in Figure 3, above.
A. No Shadow
Use this option if the shape already has a shadow which you want to remove.
B. Outer Shadow
There are nine outer shadow styles available for various directions. These outer shadows are akin to drop shadows.
C. Inner Shadow
You can choose from nine inner shadow styles. This effect applies a darkened edge within the shape itself in various
directions.
D. Perspective
Adds a long shadow that can sometimes cast off outside the
Slide Area. There are five perspective shadow styles available.
E. Shadow Options
If you want to have more control on shadows, select this option to summon the Format ShapeTask Pane with the Effects tab
selected (highlighted in red within Figure 4).
Here you will find all possible shadow editing options which are explained in our
Advanced Shadow Effect Options in PowerPoint 2013 tutorial.
Figure 4: Format Shape Task Pane with Shadow options
Move the cursor over any of the effects within the Shadow sub-gallery to see a
Live Preview of the effect on the shape. Click on any effect to apply
it to the selected shape. In Figure 5 you can see that a shadow effect has been applied to the previously selected shape.
Figure 5: Rectangle shape with shadow effect applied
These special circles have polygon centers: the centers are made of triangles, squares, pentagons, and hexagons! And based on the sides
of the polygon, the rest of the circle has that many segments.
