A line (outline) in PowerPoint 2010 for Winodws contains both points and segments. You already learned about the three types of points in PowerPoint within a previous tutorial. We now show you how segments (the line area between one point and another) work, and the two types of segments: Straight and Curved. You can edit these segments and also convert a straight segment to a curved segment and vice versa, as you will learn in this tutorial.
Curved Segment
- Select the shape which has straight segments (such as Rectangle, see in Figure 1) and switch to Edit Points mode (just right-click and choose the Edit Points option).
Figure 1: A Rectangle in Edit Points mode- Now place the cursor on top of the outline of the shape. The cursor will change to a rectangle with a plus sign, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: Place cursor over the outline and right click- Now right click to get the context menu, as you can see in Figure 3. From the resultant menu choose the Curved Segment option.
Figure 3: Curved Segment option selected- This converts the straight segment of the line to a curved segment, as shown in Figure 4 (compare to Figure 3).
Figure 4: Straight Segment changed to Curved Segment
Straight Segment
To make a Curved Segment to a Straight Segment follow these steps:
- Select the shape which has curved segments (such as Oval, see in Figure 5) and switch to Edit Points mode (just right-click and choose the Edit Points option).
Figure 5: An Oval in Edit Points mode- Now place the cursor on top of the outline of the shape. The cursor will change to a rectangle with a plus sign, as shown in Figure 6.
Figure 6: Place cursor over the outline and right click- Now right click to get the context menu, as you can see in Figure 7. From the resultant menu choose Straight Segment.
Figure 7: Straight Segment option Selected- This converts the curved segment of the line to a straight segment, as shown in Figure 8 (compare to Figure 7).
Figure 8: Curved Segment changed to Straight Segment
Directly Working with Segments
You can also click anywhere on a segment and drag it as required to change the structure of the shape. PowerPoint automatically adds a new point (vertex) at the point you dragged the segment, as shown in Figure 9 (compare to Figure 7).
Figure 9: New point is added on the segment
See Also:
06 14 05 - Advanced Drawing Techniques: Edit Points: Curved and Straight Line Segments in PowerPoint (Glossary Page)
Edit Points: Curved and Straight Line Segments in PowerPoint 2007 for Windows
Edit Points: Curved and Straight Line Segments in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac
Edit Points: Curved and Straight Line Segments in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows
Edit Points: Curved and Straight Line Segments in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows