Grouping Slide Objects
Author: Geetesh Bajaj
Product/Version: PowerPoint 2002, 2003
Date Created: April 6th 2009
Last Updated: April 6th 2009
Excerpt/Capsule: This tutorial shows how to group objects on a slide.
When you have many (or more than one) slide objects on a slide that you want to manipulate in the same way, you might want to consider grouping them. Grouping can be helpful in the following scenarios:
- You want to animate several slide objects at the same time as a single object.
- You have too many objects on the slide, and want them all grouped so that you don't have to select them individually all the time.
- Or maybe you just like to have all objects on your slide organized.
Once slide objects are grouped, PowerPoint allows you to perform many tasks in an easier and faster manner. Follow these steps to group objects in PowerPoint 2002 and 2003 -- for a PowerPoint 2007 specific version of this tutorial, look here:
- Make sure you have more than one object on a slide, as shown in Figure 1
Figure 1: Place objects on slide
- Next, select all the shapes you want to group. You can use the following methods to select:
- Select one shape and then hold down the Shift or Ctrl key while you select other shapes.
- Drag a marquee around the shapes.
- Press Ctrl+A on your keyboard to select all the objects on the slide.
- Now choose either of these options to group the objects:
- Right-click the selected objects carefully to bring up the contextual menu that you can see in Figure 2. Then choose the Grouping | Group option.
Figure 2: Group
- Alternatively, access PowerPoint's Drawing toolbar, and choose Draw | Group, as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Group
Note: If the Drawing toolbar is not visible (normally at the bottom of the PowerPoint interface, above the status bar), choose View | Toolbars | Drawing. This is a toggle option that alternatively shows and hides the Drawing toolbar. Learn more about the PowerPoint 2003 interface here..
- The easiest option is to use the shortcut key: Ctrl + Shift + G -- see more shortcut keys here...
- Right-click the selected objects carefully to bring up the contextual menu that you can see in Figure 2. Then choose the Grouping | Group option.
- Save your presentation.
Problems with Grouping? See our Grouping in PowerPoint Troubleshooting page...
Related Link: Learn how to do more with AutoShapes in this free excerpt from my book: Cutting Edge PowerPoint For Dummies -- read a free chapter called AutoShape Magic here...
