Change One Shape to Another in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac

Let us imagine that your shape in PowerPoint has effects, animations, and fills applied. Later you realize that you used the wrong shape to start with, or perhaps your boss wants you to change the shape but retain all the effects, animations, and fills. You may want to delete and start over again, and that is a long drawn process. Luckily, there is an easier option.

Follow these steps to change any existing shape to another, in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac.

1. Select the shape that you want to change, as shown in Figure 1, below.
2. 
   Figure 1: Star Shape selected
2. In PowerPoint 2011 for Mac, you will find the option to change the selected shape to another shape only within the SmartArt tab of the Ribbon, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 1, above, and not the Format tab. We know this sounds strange, but that's the only way you can change a given shape to another.
3. Click on the SmartArt tab, and locate the Edit SmartArt group. Within this group, click the Shape button to bring down the Shape gallery that, as shown in Figure 2, below. In this gallery, select any shape to which you want to change the selected shape. In Figure 2, you can see that we have selected the Heart shape.
4. 
   Figure 2: Shape gallery within Edit SmartArt group
3. Once you click on another shape within the Shape gallery, the selected shape changes into a new shape, as shown in Figure 3, below. Note that the new shape has the same fill, animation, outline, effect, and hyperlink attributes as the earlier shape. If the original selected shape did not have any animation or hyperlink applied, then of course the new changed shape also won't have any animation or hyperlink attributes.
4. 
   Figure 3: Star shape changed to a Heart shape
4. Save your presentation often.