Learn how to select and deselect single and multiple shapes in PowerPoint 2016.
Author: Geetesh Bajaj
Product/Version: Microsoft PowerPoint 2016
OS: Windows 7 and higher
PowerPoint 2016 expects you first to make a selection, and then the do something such as clicking a button to perform an action for the selected slide objects. If you cannot select an object, then you cannot modify it at all. Although this tutorial explains how you can select shapes on a slide, the process works the same way for any other slide object.
Just click a shape to select it. Figure 1 shows a single shape selected on the slide. To deselect the shape, click anywhere on the
slide away from the shape, or Ctrl+click (or Shift+click) on the selected
shape.
Figure 1: A single shape selected on the slide
To select a shape that's behind some other shape and not easily selected or visible, press the Tab key to rotate among all the objects on your slide until the shape you want is selected. If you pressed Tab quickly and missed selecting a shape, you can press Shift+Tab to reverse the entire tab selection process.
You can also use the Selection Pane to select.
To select more than one shape, use any of these options:
See Also:
Select and Deselect Shapes in PowerPoint 2016 for Mac
Select and Deselect Shapes in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows
Select and Deselect Shapes in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac
Select and Deselect Shapes in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows
Microsoft and the Office logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.