Adding editable lines to Slide Master

Question

Mac OS Ventura 13.5.2

Powerpoint v16.78

Is there any way to add a line, say vertical and 4pt, to a Slide Master that could then be edited on each slide to be lengthened or shortened? I've looked at all the tools in Slide Master but can't see a way to achieve this.

Any thoughts will be gratefully received.

Answer 1

You're correct, only placeholders on the slide layout can be modified on a slide created from it. Graphic objects on a layout (like lines) will always be ineditable on the slide.

As a workaround, create a sample slide with a single-cell table. Format the left edge of the cell with a line. The line will automatically grow and shrink as the text inside the cell is edited. Users will have to copy and paste the sample slide to maintain this effect.

Answer 2

Cheers John.

What a clever workaround. I was trying to see a way of doing it under the Insert Placeholder options but would never have thought of Insert Table and a stroked edge.

Michael

Answer 3

Thanks so much for the reply.

I may not have been clear in what I'm trying to achieve because I can't make what you suggested work.

But what I was trying to do in Master Slide is to have a Placeholder text box with a paragraph of, let's say 4 lines of text, ranged left and you would then draw a, say 3pt, vertical line offset about 1cm to the left of this paragraph to match the depth of the paragraph. I wanted this rule to be adjustable to match any paragraph line depth so you quit Master Slide, create a new slide in normal view only to find that the rule can't be edited to elongate or shorten it's height, say to match a 3 line paragraph or 2 line paragraph but, as I've since learnt from YouTube videos, you can't actually manipulate anything applied to a slide other than Placeholder content boxes such as Text, Picture or Chart. That's right isn't it?

Answer 4

Dear MJM1202;

Good day! Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community. We are happy to help you

There is no built-in feature to achieve this directly, try the following steps to see if it meets your needs:

1. Open your PowerPoint presentation and go to the View tab.
2. Click on Slide Master.
3. Select the slide layout where you want to add the line.
4. Go to the Insert tab and click on Shapes.
5. Select the line shape and draw it on the slide.
6. Format the line by changing its color, weight, and style as desired.
7. Right-click on the line and select Format Shape.
8. In the Format Shape pane, go to the Size & Properties tab.
9. Under Properties, check the box next to "Lock aspect ratio."
10. Close the Format Shape pane.
11. Click on the line to select it, then press Command + D to duplicate it.
12. Drag the duplicated line to the other side of the slide to create a vertical line.
13. Go to the Home tab and click on Selection Pane.
14. In the Selection Pane, select both lines and click on the Group button to group them together.
15. Close the Selection Pane.
16. Go back to the View tab and click on Normal to exit Slide Master view.

Now, you can edit the length of the line on each slide by selecting the group and dragging one of the lines to the desired length.

Thanks for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Tin | Microsoft Community Moderator