Add or Delete Points (Vertexes) for Shapes in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac

In a previous tutorial, you have learned how you can edit points (vertexes) of a selected shape to alter its structure. These vertexes let you control how a shape looks -- but sometimes you might find it difficult to edit a certain segment in a shape because there are no vertexes (points) available to manipulate -- or maybe there are far too many points! PowerPoint provides a simple solution for this problem -- you can add and delete vertexes from a shape.

Add Points (Vertexes)

Follow these steps to add vertexes in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac:

1. To add a a vertex to a shape, select the shape (you can use any shape, for this tutorial we have used a Diamond) and switch to Edit Point mode (just right-click and choose Edit Points option). Now place the cursor on top of the outline of the shape where you want to add a new vertex (point) - the cursor will change to a square with a plus sign, as shown in Figure 1 (highlighted in red).
2. 
   Figure 1: Cursor positioned to add a point
2. Now, right-click (or Ctrl-click) to get the contextual menu -- from this menu, choose the Add Point option, as you can see in Figure 2.
3. 
   Figure 2: Add Point option selected
3. This will add a new point (vertex) to the shape at the cursor position (see Figure 3). Similarly, you can add as many points you want -- thereafter edit these points as required to alter the shape.
4. 
   Figure 3: New point added to the shape
4. Alternatively, you can quickly add a new vertex to the shape without any right-clicking. To do that, first make sure you are in Edit Points mode. Then place the cursor on the outline of the shape where you want to add a new vertex (point), as shown in the shape towards the left in Figure 4 (highlighted in red). Then, just hold the Ctrl key and click. This adds a new vertex at the cursor position as shown in the shape towards the right in Figure 4.
5. 
   Figure 4: Ctrl+click the line segment to quickly add a new vertx to the shape

Delete Points (Vertexes)

Follow these steps to delete existing vertexes:

1. Make sure you are in Edit Points mode (just right-click and choose Edit Points option). Place the cursor over the point you want to delete -- the cursor will change to a small square with four directional arrows around it, as shown highlighted in red, in Figure 5.
2. 
   Figure 5: Place cursor over the point to be deleted
2. Right-click (or Ctrl + click) to get the contextual menu. From this contextual menu, choose the Delete Point option shown in Figure 6.
3. 
   Figure 6: Delete Point option selected
3. This will delete the selected point of the shape (see Figure 7). Deleting a point changes the shape completely, as you can see in Figure 7 where a diamond is transformed to a triangle.
4. 
   Figure 7: Deleting a point from the shape can change the shape
4. Alternatively, you can quickly delete a vertex (point) from the shape without any right-clicking. To do that, make sure you are in Edit Points mode. Then place the cursor on the vertex you want to delete as shown in the shape towards the left in Figure 8 (highlighted in red). Then hold down the Option (alt) key and click on the point to delete it. You can see the result of this deletion in the shape shown towards the right in Figure 8.
5. 
   Figure 8: Option+click the vertex to quickly delete it from the shape
5. Save your presentation.