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Drawing Connectors in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows

Learn how to draw connectors in PowerPoint 2010.

Author: Geetesh Bajaj

Product/Version: Microsoft PowerPoint 2010
OS: Windows 8, 7, Vista, and XP

Date Created: June 7th 2011
Last Updated: June 7th 2011

Connectors are lines that link different shapes, and yet they are somewhat different from conventional lines because connectors, as the name implies stay connected to the shapes they are linked from. You have already learned about connectors, and the types of connectors in previous tutorials -- in this tutorial, you will learn how you can draw connectors that link shapes.

Follow these step to draw a connector between shapes:

1. Insert two closed shapes on the slide (learn how to insert shapes in PowerPoint 2010). Access the Insert tab (or the Home tab) of the Ribbon, and click the Shapes button to bring up the Shapes gallery. From the Lines section, choose any of the first nine variants, as shown in the Figure 1.
   
   
   Figure 1: Lines within the Shapes gallery
   
   
2. This changes the cursor into a crosshair. Notice that as you move the cursor near the shape, you'll find several red square handles highlighted on the shape (see the shape on the left in Figure 2). Click on any of these red handles to establish one end of your connector.
   
   
   Figure 2: Red square handles highlighted on the shape
   
   
3. Move the cursor toward the shape you want to connect (as shown in the shape to the right in Figure 3). Click again on any of the red square handles on the second shape to create the connector between two shapes.
   
   
   Figure 3: Connect to other shape


4. This creates a connector, as shown in Figure 4. Select any shape, and click on the arrow keys on your keyboard to nudge the shape -- you will find that the connector resizes according to the new position of the shape.
   
   
   Figure 4: Connector connected to both the shapes
   
   
   Note: If your connector gets linked to a shape, the end of the connector line displays a red circle (see top left example in Figure 5). If it does not get linked, you will see a white circle (see bottom right example in Figure 5). It is important to understand that mere "touching" of a connector's end to a shape or slide object does not indicate that it has been linked to that shape or slide object. When you see a red circle at the connector's ends -- only then you can be assured that the ends are connected.
   
   
   Figure 5: Connectors may or may not be linked properly
   
   


5. Save your presentation often.
   

See Also:

Drawing Connectors in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows
Drawing Connectors in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac