No Line for Shapes in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows

Whenever you insert a new shape into a PowerPoint slide, you can see that it is filled with a solid color and has an outline by default (this may differ depending on the Theme applied to your presentation). You can remove the fill of the shape as well as the outline. In this tutorial, we'll learn how to remove an outline from a shape so that it only includes a fill without any outline. Whatever you do, make sure that you either remove the fill or the outline because if you remove both, then your shape will no longer be visible.

Follow these steps to learn how to remove shape outline in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows:

1. Open your presentation and select the shape that you want to format.
2. Alternatively, if you want to start from scratch, launch PowerPoint. Most of the time, PowerPoint will open with a new slide in a presentation, you can change the slide layout to Blank by selecting the Home tab | Layout | Blank option. Then, insert a shape and select it.
2. We selected a Rectangle shape, as shown in Figure 1, make sure you select a "closed shape". Selecting the shape brings up the Drawing Tools Format tab in the Ribbon, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 1. Activate this Ribbon tab by clicking on it. Also we have changed the fill color of Rectangle shape so that you can see the difference after outline is removed (see later in Figure 1).
Note: Don't know what a closed shape means? Or what do we mean by an open shape? We explain the differences right at the beginning of our Formatting Shape Outlines in PowerPoint 2016 tutorial.
3. 
   Figure 1: 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.
3. Within the Drawing Tools Format tab, click the right-side portion of the Shape Outline button (highlighted in red within Figure 2). This brings up the Shape Outline drop-down gallery, as shown in Figure 2. From the Shape Outline drop-down gallery, choose No Outline option (see Figure 2 again).
4. 
   Figure 2: No Outline option within Shape Outline drop-down galley
Tip: Place your shape in an area of your slide that is not covered by the Shape Outline drop-down galley, so you can see the Live Preview.
4. In Figure 3, you can see the previously selected Rectangle shape after removing its outline.
5. 
   Figure 3: Shape with no outline
5. Remember to save your presentation often.
Tip: Never use the No Outline (explained on this page) and No Fill options for the same shape, that is as good as making the shape invisible!