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Bullet point align with bottom of text, how to align with middle of text

Anonymous
2011-01-19T17:57:00+00:00

My bullet points align with the bottom of the text on each line containing bullet point (I have made a templat). How can I make the bullets align with the middle of the text (to be excactly in the middle of the text when they appear as bullets on the left of it). I have tried everything.....

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  1. Steve Rindsberg 99,161 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2011-01-19T18:56:25+00:00

    Hi Luc,

    I think its' more like:  Bullets align to the baseline of the text; the bottom remains fixed, the top moves up and down as you change the bullet's % of text size. 

    In any case, you're right: if you use a smaller %, the bullet will sit below the text's center line. 

    It's probably not possible to truly center bullets on the text's center line, because the center will vary from one font to another. 

    One limited workaround is to make a picture of the bullet character you want to use and then use it as a picture bullet.  That allows you to build in some extra background to adjust the distance from the text baseline and from the text itself. 

    The big limitation (a bug in PPT, I'd say) is that PPT doesn't respect transparency in the picture; you need to make the picture's b/g match the slides b/g. 

    AH!  But you can use a WMF for your bullet and then you don't have the transparency problem.  

    Glad you asked.  <g>

    Steve Rindsberg PowerPoint MVP

    PowerPoint FAQ

    PPTools Add-ins for PowerPoint

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-07-11T16:50:47+00:00

    I figured it out! Was digging around in some forums.

    Ok here's what you gotta do:

    1. Select the bulleted text and click the little drop-down arrow next to the "Bullets" icon
    2. Click "Define new bullet"
    3. Click "Font..."
    4. Click the "Advanced" tab
    5. Next to "Position:" select "Raised" or "Lowered (depending if you need the bullet to go up or down) and move by a particular amount of points (usually 1-3 is sufficient).
    6. Click OK twice and voila!

    Tbh this is almost easier in Word than InDesign sometimes. HATE bullets!

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  2. Luc Sanders 48,445 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2017-07-12T07:20:49+00:00

    Josiah,

    What you are describing is only true in Microsoft Word, this is a PPT question, so not applicable.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-07-27T14:38:20+00:00

    The problem is actually that the default alignment after a bullet is set to "Auto". Like many auto settings it doesn't work as expected and also there is no way to change it in the GUI on a PC (You can on a Mac)

    If you are the sort of person who pokes around the underlying XML you will see that the alignment can also be set to Top, Bottom or Center. If you set everything in the master to center the problem goes away. As I said though you cannot do this from the GUI you need to code.

    If the bullet alignment is important to you we are developing an AddIn to do this and would be happy to "fix" a template for you (just one though!)

    john AT pptalchemy.co.uk

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  4. Anonymous
    2013-07-04T09:21:08+00:00

    In Microsoft Power Point 2010, the best option I have found is to open the window of "Bullets and Numbering", choose one of the bullets designs and colors, then go to the "customize" button, choose a symbol of your preferences, then clic OK, if the color and type of bullet have change, select them again, and the most important is to select the right "Size ___ % of text". Clic ok, and compare how it looks. Can be too up or too down, but if you go back and change the "Size ___ % of text" until you find the right position for the bullet. I hope it can helps. Greetings!

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