He has over 10 years of experience in building desktop computers, fixing problems relating to Windows, and Python coding. By locking objects such as shapes, icons, pictures, 3D models, connectors, ink, you can now ensure that there wont be any mishaps. For example, to make sure the copyright text appears on all slides in a presentation, you can add this to the master slide and lock it into position. You can also lock objects to your Master Slide layouts with the ShapeLocker feature for PowerPoint! Isnt it annoying when you have put in so much effort to design a slide, and then when you share it with your colleagues, there will be this one person who will move elements on a slide around before sending it to the management team and ruin the design in the process! From the drop-down menu, select the Encrypt with Password option. Or when designing a big corporate presentation and sending the slides over to your colleagues, someone in the team moves a certain shape around in the presentation and this just ruins the complete design? Yes! Plus, in the end, I will also show you how you can lock a complete presentation from being edited! Do this by pressing the CTRL key on the keyboard while clicking on each object one after the other. How to Lock a Shape in PowerPoint? This 'Lock' feature will solve that pain point.. Take Screenshot by Tapping Back of iPhone, Pair Two Sets of AirPods With the Same iPhone, Download Files Using Safari on Your iPhone, Turn Your Computer Into a DLNA Media Server, Add a Website to Your Phone's Home Screen, Control All Your Smart Home Devices in One App. Step-1: Click on the "Lock Shapes" Add-in The first step of the process is to select the shape that you want to lock and then go to the " Design Tools " tab and then select the " Lock Shapes " option from the " Shape Locker " section. After inserting a shape into a slide, the mouse pointer returns to its default behavior. Book a personalized demo with our PowerPoint professionals, Download your 30 day free trial - Microsoft Office for Windows. Click the File tab and then click Options. Keep your slide objects and items save from accidental moves with the Lock feature in PowerPoint. This is important, for example, if pressing the Delete or Del key on your keyboard. Join 425,000 subscribers and get a daily digest of news, geek trivia, and our feature articles. How can I generate random alphanumeric strings? To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. And, youll notice each item has the lock option, from images and videos to icons and title boxes. From the pop-up menu that appears, then select the Lock Drawing Mode command. lock image placeholders and pictures within the slide. Prevent or allow changes to shape attributes Select a shape in your drawing. Again, I have a dedicated article on how to convert a PowerPoint presentation to a PDF where I share the detailed step-by-step process for the same! If you are already using PPT Productivity Power Tools, you should see the Shape Locking tool appear on the top ribbon on the PPT Productivity tab in the Shapes group. Before locking the image, make sure you first complete any preparation such as cropping, then click the Shape Locker feature. A minor scale definition: am I missing something? The next step, then, is to open a presentation. Why do men's bikes have high bars where you can hit your testicles while women's bikes have the bar much lower? Highlight a Row Using Conditional Formatting, Hide or Password Protect a Folder in Windows, Access Your Router If You Forget the Password, Access Your Linux Partitions From Windows, How to Connect to Localhost Within a Docker Container, How to Run Your Own DNS Server on Your Local Network. This means if someone accesses the master slides in a presentation, the shape lock will freeze the object and prevent them from accidentally moving, removing or editing the object. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. How can I control PNP and NPN transistors together from one pin? Then hold down the Shift key on your keyboard. Select Run in developer mode and then click OK. On the Developer tab, in the Shape Design group, click Protection. Sub Lock () Dim oSlide As Slide dim oShape As Shape Dim slideIndex As Long Set oSlide = Application.ActiveWindow.View.Slide oslideIndex = oSlide.slideIndex On Error Resume Next For Each oSlide In ActivePresentation.Slides ActivePresentation.Slides (oSlide.slideIndex).Select For Each oShape In oSlide.Shapes oShape.Locked = True Next Next Select the shape attributes that you want to lock, or clear the check boxes for the attributes you want to unlock, and then click OK. To quickly lock an object, right-click it and choose "Lock" from the shortcut menu. Under Lines, right-click the line or connector that you want to add, and then click Lock Drawing Mode. The transparent rectangle is overlaying the shapes you created so people can no longer access the shapes that way. Step-3: Select the Encrypt with Password option. Though this is rare, we also reserve the option to pull a feature entirely out of the product, even if you, as First Release users, have had the opportunity to try them. What Are Interpersonal Skills and How Can You Develop Them? With PPT Productivity add-in for PowerPoint you can now lock shapes, images or other objects in PowerPoint! other information you should include in your feedback, To lock the shape you just inserted, right- click it and then click. To insert shapes in PowerPoint into a slide, click the "Insert" tab in the Ribbon. Click Advanced, and scroll down to the General section. The unlock option works in a similar way than locking the shapes, and it is available under Selection Pane. Shape protection requires the Developer tab to be visible. Simply select the image you want to lock in the slide of your PowerPoint presentation and follow the steps described in the second method of the first section of this article. To quickly lock an object, right-click it and choose Lock from the shortcut menu. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. Repeat step 3 for each line or connector you want to add. Today, I am excited to announce a new feature in PowerPoint for Windows which helps creators simply and easily lock objects. But, what are the features that it provides? Book a personalized demo with our PowerPoint professionals, Download your 30 day free trial - Microsoft Office for Windows. PowerPoint Lock Object how to video How to lock an image in PowerPoint? You will notice that the shape has been added to the slide and it can not be edited! Furthermore, it is quite annoying when you accidentally end up changing the shape of an object that must not be moved in a PowerPoint presentation. After that hit, the Ok button and the shape will be locked to the slide and will not be editable by any means. Note: you do need PPT Productivity Power Tools software installed to be able to unlock shapes which have been locked by this feature. ], How to Crop a Picture in PowerPoint? There are mainly four ways in which you can make sure that your PowerPoint presentation cannot be edited by other users. Click where you want to start the line or connector, and then drag the cursor to where you want the line or connector to end. With PPT Productivity, boost your team's productivity with faster formatting, easier editing, collaboration tools and more! I'm using the latest version Also, not there in context menu. We will send you our curated collections to your email weekly. Select an object or several objects, open the "Design" tab, and click the "Lock Shapes" button. Choose the account you want to sign in with. She learned how technology can enrich both professional and personal lives by using the right tools. Shapes that have been locked in your PowerPoint presentation can be unlocked by using PPT Productivity Power Tools. A better way to fix this issue and lock objects and shapes on the slide is to use the Shape Locker add-in in PowerPoint! The Lock Objects feature let you easily lock shapes, tables, images, or other objects to your PowerPoint slide to prevent movement. From that window, select the Info option which is the fourth option in the sidebar to the left of your screen. Unlocking is only possible for PPT Productivity users. It is actually possible to lock a shape in this way but it is definitely NOT simple! Additionally, sometimes we remove elements to further improve them based on your feedback. In Microsoft PowerPoint, you can lock an object in position. Depending on the type of item you lock, you may see a more distinctive border around it once its locked. you are right. Copyright 2023 Sconey Pty Ltd - All Rights Reserved, lock objects to your Master Slide layouts. Single click to select your picture. To insert an object, click Insert > Shapes and select the shape you want. By default, this tab is hidden. Ungroup objects Select a grouped object. To create a perfect square or circle (or constrain the dimensions of other shapes), press and hold Shift while you drag. When text inside the shape is selected, the text in the shape appears highlighted or shows the insertion mark cursor appear within the shapes text. If you cant see the button, go to the help menu on the PPT Productivity Ribbon and select Check for new software to download the latest version of PPT Productivity, then relaunch PowerPoint. ], How to Create a Semi-circle in PowerPoint? The first is to catch all events from the "commandBars.OnUpdate" like this great sample code : The second one is more "brutal" > unselect immediately the shape. [An EASY Guide! [Step-by-Step Tutorial! In this case, you may want to lock PowerPoint into its drawing mode when you select the desired shape from the Shapes buttons drop-down menu. Not the answer you're looking for? By submitting your email, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. RELATED: How to Add a Video to a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation. To use the Shape Locker add-in, download and install it first. Note:As long as an ink shape can be selected for editing (with one of the available pen tools), ink strokes can be added to or erased from the ink shape even when various shape attributes are selected in the Protection dialog box. The first method is to use the Slide Master viewing option and the other is to use the Shape Locker add-in. One way to partly fix this problem is to use placeholders in PowerPoint! Read more about how to lock a shape or object in PowerPoint. To unlock shapes from selection, follow the previous steps, but clear the Shapes check box, and then click OK. The lock feature in PowerPoint can also be used when you create presentation templates. Add a shape in Project Add text to a shape Change from one shape to another shape Then click on Close Master to exit the slide master and go back to the normal view in PowerPoint. Then click it to select it. The shape get selected again. Furthermore, people often end up moving the text box that is present on the slide! Roll your mouse pointer over the shape to insert. From the pop-up menu that appears, then select the Lock Drawing Mode command. To save your PowerPoint presentation as a series of images, you have to use the Export option which is located in the File tab. Then repeat step 6 through 9 to draw as many instances of the selected shape as you wish. If you're not yet using PPT Productivity, download our free 30 day trial today. . Then click the Shapes button in the Illustrations button group. Once youve added the shape, go back to the Slide Master. IN BRIEFIsnt it frustrating that while making presentations you just want to select one shape but instead you select the one which you didnt mean to? How to Add Music to PowerPoint? The Shapes in PowerPoint contains the drawings, shapes, OLE objects, pictures, text objects, titles, headers, footers, slide numbers, and date and time objects on a slide, or on the slide image on a notes page. Once you have downloaded and installed it on your PC, you can start exploring its many features. You can easily download the software on your Windows computer. Browse other questions tagged, Where developers & technologists share private knowledge with coworkers, Reach developers & technologists worldwide, Question edited : I have tried to be as precise as possible. This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. My advice is never try to lock the shape, because we cannot control the undo list. ]. Your email address will not be published. To lock one, simply click the Padlock icon to the right of it. The first step of the process is to go to the Slide Master viewing option. Right-click the shape, and select "Size and Properties." If you use the macro recorder, you get this code: Note:To learn more about all the various options on this dialog box, see Protection dialog box. And, she has shared those suggestions and how-tos on many websites over time. Select the From selection check box, and then click OK twice. This will open a drop-down menu. Step-4: Add the password to the presentation. Python - edit Powerpoint slide contents in a presentation that already exists. The Format Picture box will pop up. Then return to your slide and draw as many instances of the selected shape as you wish. Since OP mentioned wanting to "lock" all the shapes that s/he has programmatically created, but not necessarily ALL shapes, the transparent rectangle and image tricks wouldn't necessarily work anyhow. Vamien has studied Computer Information Services and Web Design. However, while it is useable for basic presentation needs, it wont fill much of the voice, and as such, you will need the full desktop version. How to Unblock Locked Objects in PowerPoint? There is an easier way to get the job done and were going to explain. How-To Geek is where you turn when you want experts to explain technology. It is the most used program for anyone who wants to showcase a presentation. All Rights Reserved. The first is handy if you only have a small number of items on your slide while the second works best for multiple items. Simply type in the password that you want to set for this presentation and hit the red Ok button at the bottom right of the pop-up window and after that, users will have to use the password to access this presentation. Lets explore them further , Shape locker provides the following various locking features .