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How do I insert shapes, text boxes and buttons?

On the Insert tab choose Shape, Text box or Button, then click the slide to place it or drag to size it. Type to replace its starting text.

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Shapes, text boxes and buttons are placed straight onto the slide: pick what you want, then click where it goes or drag to draw it at the size you want.

Insert a shape

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    Select the slide, then choose Shape on the Insert tab. A gallery opens.

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    Pick a shape. The gallery has Basic shapes (such as Rectangle, Rounded, Ellipse and Star), Lines and arrows (such as Line, Arrow and Elbow) and Callouts (such as Speech, Callout, Banner and Badge).

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    Under New shapes look like, choose Theme for the theme's shape style, or Last used to reuse the style you applied to a shape most recently.

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    Click on the slide to place the shape at its standard size, or drag to size it. Hold Shift while dragging to keep the standard proportions. Press Escape to cancel.

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    To place it in the middle of the slide instead, choose Add at centre. More options… lets you add text inside the shape and a description for screen readers.

Insert a text box

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    Select the slide and choose Text box on the Insert tab.

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    Click on the slide where the text should go, or drag to size it.

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    Type your text. It replaces the starting text. Click outside the box or press Escape when you are done.

Insert a button

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    Select the slide and choose Button on the Insert tab.

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    Click on the slide to place the button, or drag to size it.

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    Type the button's label. Use words that say what the button does, such as "Start the course". New buttons start with the label centred and in the middle; change that on the ribbon's Text tab.

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    Give the button something to do. A new button does nothing until you add an interaction: see How do I make a button go to a slide?.

Tip: With the slide focused while you place something, Enter or Space puts the object in the centre of the slide. Every insertion is a single step you can undo.

New buttons use the button style of your course theme. Restyle any object afterwards with the Shape styles gallery or Shape fill and Shape outline on the Format tab; see How do I format objects?.

On a scrolling page, while a layer is chosen, what you insert goes into that layer's card. See add a layer.

  • How do I make a button jump to a slide?Select the button, choose + Add interaction, keep "the learner clicks", pick Jump to slide and the slide, then choose Save.
  • How do I format objects?Select the object, then use the Shape styles gallery, Shape fill, Shape outline and Shape effects on the Format tab. The small corner arrow opens Format details for gradients, line style and shadow.
  • How do I edit text on a slide?Double-click the text on the slide and type, or select the object and choose Edit text on slide in the Inspector. Click outside to finish.
  • How do I move and resize objects on a slide?Drag an object to move it and drag its handles to resize it, or type X, Y, W and H in Format › Size and Position. Align, Order, Group and Rotate are under Arrange.

Still stuck?

Write to support@xogogy.com. A person at GForce Learning reads every message. Include the app version from Help › About Xogogy.