Select, Deselect, View, and Hide Shapes Using the Selection Pane in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows

Other than selecting a shape or any slide object by clicking on it, you can use the Selection and Visibility task pane to select shapes that are difficult to select, or are placed behind other shapes.

Follow these steps to select shapes and other slide objects using the Selection and Visibility task pane in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows:

1. Select the Home tab of the Ribbon, and within the Drawing group click the Arrange button to bring up the dropdown menu, as shown in Figure 1, below.
2. 
   Figure 1: Selection Pane option
3. You can also use the Alt + F10 keyboard shortcut to show or hide the Selection Pane in PowerPoint.


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2. Choose the Selection Pane option from the menu, as shown in Figure 1, above.
3. Either way, you bring up the Selection and Visibility task pane, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2, below.
4. 
   Figure 2: Selection and Visibility task pane
5. The Selection Pane lists every single object on the active slide including shapes, WordArt, sound, movies, and more. If any particular object on the slide doesn't show up in the task pane, that object is either a part of the Slide Master or is the background of the slide.
4. Follow these guidelines to use the Selection and Visibility task pane:

• Click the shape in the task pane to select it on the slide. Figure 3, below, shows the Rectangle 8 shape selected in the task pane as well as on the slide.
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  Figure 3: Shape selected in task pane and on the slide
• Ctrl + click to select more shapes in the pane (and on the slide). See Figure 4, below, with two shapes selected in the task pane and on the slide.
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  Figure 4: Two shapes selected in task pane and on the slide
• Click any shape twice (not quickly) in the task pane. This enables you to rename the shape, as shown in Figure 5, below. As you can see, PowerPoint names objects in ways that are not too intuitive. So, probably Blue Rectangle is a better name than Rectangle 8.
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  Figure 5: Rename shape(s)
• Reorder any selected shape(s) in the task pane by clicking the up and down arrow buttons, located at the bottom of the pane, as shown in Figure 6, below.
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  Figure 6: Reorder shape(s)
• Click the eye icon next to a shape(s) listing on the task pane, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 7, below, to make it invisible, click again to toggle the visibility.
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  Figure 7: Hide/show the shape(s) in the task pane
• Click the Show All and Hide All buttons located at the bottom of the pane, as shown in Figure 8, below, to show or hide all the shapes on a slide.
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  Figure 8: Show All/Hide All buttons