Apply Preset Effects to Shapes in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows
Apply preset effects to shapes in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows.
Author:Geetesh Bajaj
Product/Version: PowerPoint 2016 for Windows
OS: Windows 7 and higher
PowerPoint provides six types of Shape Effects;
more than one of these effects can be applied to a selected shape. Some combinations of these effects look better than others. Having
said so, practicing restraint not to go overboard with all effects is always a good thing. Also, trying out all the effect combinations may
take a lot of time. Fortunately, the Presets option comes to your rescue. This option lets you use pre-combined
combinations of the different effects. Figure 1, below shows some Preset effects applied to the same shape.
Figure 1: Preset effects
To see a sample presentation containing Preset effects in PowerPoint, scroll down to the bottom of this page.
Follow these steps to apply a Preset effect to a shape in
PowerPoint 2016:
Open your presentation and select the shape that you want
to format. We inserted and selected a Smiley Face, as shown in Figure 2. Selecting the shape brings up
the Drawing Tools Format tab in the Ribbon,
as shown highlighted in blue within Figure 2. Activate this Ribbon tab by
clicking on it.
Figure 2: Drawing Tools Format tab of the Ribbon
Note: The Drawing Tools Format tab is a contextual tab. These tabs are special tabs
in the Ribbon that are not visible all the time. They only
make an appearance when you are working with a particular slide object which can be edited using special options.
Within the Drawing Tools Format tab, click the Shape Effects button (highlighted in
red within Figure 2, above).
This bring up the Shape Effects drop-down gallery, as shown in Figure 3. In this gallery, select the
Preset option to bring up the Preset sub-gallery (refer to Figure 3 again).
Figure 3: Preset sub-gallery
The options within the Preset sub-gallery are explained below, as marked in Figure 4, above. You'll need
to choose any one of these options for the effects:
A. No Presets
This is the option you can use to remove an existing preset effect that's already applied to a
shape.
B. Presets
There are twelve preset effects which can be applied to a selected shape.
All these presets are combinations of the other six effect types that PowerPoint provides:
Shadow,
Reflection,
Glow,
Soft Edges,
Bevel,
and 3-D Rotation.
C. 3-D Options
This option takes you to the Effects tab of the Format ShapeTask Pane. This is something that is covered as part of our
Bevel and 3-D Options tutorial.
Move the cursor over any of the effects within the Preset gallery to see a
Live Preview of the effect, as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4: Live preview of the Preset effect
Tip: Place your shape in the area that is not covered by the Shape Effects drop-down gallery as shown in
Figure 4 above, so that you can see the
Live Preview.
Click on the effect to apply it to the selected shape. In Figure 5 you can see the previously selected
Smiley Face applied with a Preset effect.
Figure 5: Smiley Face applied with a Preset effect
PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts and Sequences:
PowerPoint 2016, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2007 and 2003 for Windows
PowerPoint 2016 and 2011 for Mac
PowerPoint Online for Windows and Mac
Have your ever used keyboard shortcuts and sequences in PowerPoint? Or are you a complete keyboard aficionado?
Do you want to learn about some new shortcuts? Or do you want to know if your favorite keyboard shortcuts are documented?