Laying out objects on a PowerPoint slide is both an art and a science. You can help the process along by making sure that objects that should line up actually line up. Spacing objects in a pleasing way is also important.

Often you just need to move an object a little bit so that the entire slide looks coherent and pleasing. For this situation, you can use a couple of tricks and save yourself a lot of time and aggravation.

Nudge objects

Let’s say that you have some AutoShapes on your slide and want to move one a little bit. You select it and drag, but somehow it always moves too much or too little. Here are a few techniques you can use to nudge your objects.

The first technique you can try is to increase the zoom. Click the Zoom dropdown list and choose 100%, 200%, 300%, or even 400%! This may be all the help you need. (In PowerPoint 2007, use the slider at the lower-right corner of your screen, or press the Plus button in the same location.)

The next technique you can try is to select the object and use the arrow keys on your keyboard. The arrow keys give you a lot more control.

But you’ll notice that each click of an arrow key jumps the object a short distance, according to an invisible grid. What if that distance is too much for your needs?

Here’s where the [Ctrl] key enters the picture. Press [Ctrl] along with an arrow key, and you’ll move your objects only .02 inches with each press. Now, you’ll find that you have much more control. However, if you have a sure hand and want to remove the invisible grid’s control completely, press [Alt] as you drag an object. The object now glides smoothly wherever you put it.

Specify exact placement

Occasionally, you want to place an object by specifying its distance from the slide’s upper-left corner. You can also measure from the slide’s center.

The first technique you can try uses the rulers. PowerPoint has both horizontal and vertical rules that you can use as a guideline. If you don’t see the rulers, choose View | Ruler from the menu bar. (In 2007, go to the View tab and click Ruler in the Show/Hide group.)

Notice that as you drag an object, a marker appears on both rulers so you can judge its exact location. To test this method, choose Rectangle from the Drawing toolbar. (In 2007, click the Home tab, click Shapes in the Drawing group, and choose Rectangle.) Press and hold the [Shift] key and drag on the slide to insert a square of any size. Drag the square around the slide and you’ll see that the marker on the two rulers shows you the square’s upper-left corner. (In 2007, the marker shows you the position of your cursor, so place your cursor on the upper-left corner of the square.)

To be more specific, right-click on the square and choose Format AutoShape from the resulting shortcut menu. Click the Position tab. (In 2007, after selecting the object, click the Format tab that appears. In the Size group, click the dialog-box launcher arrow at the right end of the group’s title to open the Size And Position dialog box. Then click the Position tab.)

In the From dropdown lists, choose Top Left Corner or Center. Then enter Horizontal and Vertical positions for the object. Click OK. (In 2007, click Close.)

Filed under: Microsoft Office Tutor