Add Additional Edit Points to Elbow Connector

Question

Is there a way to add additional Edit Points to a connector shape in Microsoft PowerPoint? When I use the connector tool to connect two objects, PowerPoint will add an Edit Point in the middle if necessary. However, I don't always like the way it looks, and I would like to have the ability to add more to customize my connector shape even more. In this screenshot, I would like the connector to come out of the side, go vertical before it crosses the icon to the left, and then go horizontal above that object, and then continue vertical the way it currently is. Right now, if PowerPoint "guesses wrong" then I can only move the single vertical line left or right.

I am currently using the version for Mac.

Answer 1

Actually, what you want does exist, but getting it is pretty technical. You have to hack the XML of the presentation. Here's my article on doing that on a Mac: OOXML Hacking: Editing in macOS The OOXML Tools plugin for the Chrome browser is free and good enough for this job.

Start by inserting an Elbow connector on a slide. The connector must be unattached to any shape.

Then open the presentation in OOXML Tools and find ppt/slides/slideX.xml, where X is the number of the slide. Look for XML like this, the start of the Elbow Connector shape:

<p:cxnSp>

    <p:nvCxnSpPr>

        <p:cNvPr id="3" name="Connector: Elbow 2">  

A few lines further down is the name of the shape preset:

<a:prstGeom prst="bentConnector3">
    <a:avLst/>
</a:prstGeom>

Change bentConnector3 to bentConnector5. In OOXML Tools, click on Save, then click on Download. Open your Chrome downloads folder, then open the revised presentation. Drag the ends of the connector to the shapes. Please note, bentConnector5 has 5 straight-line segments, while your drawing has 6. That's as good as it gets, sorry.

Here's a screenshot of a slide showing the 2 connectors you can add in PowerPoint (bentConnector2 and bentConnector3), plus the 2 you can only add with OOXML Hacking (bentConnector4 and bentConnector5):

Answer 2

Wow John, that is amazing!

Off hand, do you know if this hack works on the other connector line types? Or is it just this one connector link.

.

I'm assuming/hoping/guessing that having made the change to PPT, you could copy the shapes into Word or Excel?

Answer 3

You can do the same thing with the curved connectors. There are curvedConnector2 and curvedConnector3, which are both in available in the program interface, plus curvedConnector4 and curvedConnector5, which are only available by hacking.

PowerPoint, Word and Excel all share the same library of shapes, so you can add those connectors the same way in those programs. Copy and paste will work as well.

Answer 4

Thanks for the confirmation.

Answer 5

Thanks John! This is really helpful. I went through these steps and was able to successfully create the connectors, how ever as soon as I drag them to my objects, it reverts back to a regular, 'bentConnector3'. Any way to make the 'bentConnector5' "stick"?

In the short term, I found a good compromise instead of using 5 or 6 straight lines. Just use two connectors. That way I only have to zoom in really close to line up two ends, instead of lining up all of the ends perfectly.