PowerPoint provides plenty of options to format Shape Outlines, and this tutorial explores an attribute that's rarely associated with shape outlines but can provide a surprisingly different look, especially when applied to lines that are thicker in weight.
This attribute, Gradient Outlines is not accessible from the Shape Outline gallery in the Ribbon but directly from the Format ShapeTask Pane that we will explore later on this page. Meanwhile, Figure 1 shows you some sample gradient lines. As you can see, these cannot be used everywhere but they still can be added in some scenarios.
Figure 1: Sample gradient lines
Scroll down to the bottom of this page to see a sample presentation containing gradient lines in PowerPoint.
Open your presentation and select the shape that you want to format.
Alternatively, if you want to start from scratch, launch PowerPoint. You will see the Presentation Gallery. Here, select the Blank Presentation option to open a blank presentation with a new slide. You can change the Slide Layout to Blank by selecting the Home tab | Layout | Blank option. Then, insert a shape and select it.
We selected a Rectangle shape, as shown in Figure 2. Selecting the shape brings up the Shape Format tab in the Ribbon, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2. Activate this Ribbon tab by clicking on it.
Figure 2: Shape Format tab of the Ribbon
With the Rectangle shape still selected, optionally apply the No Fill option, as you can see in Figure 3. Also, to make the gradient line stand out, change the weight of the line to anything higher than 10 pt. In fact, 20 pt. would be even better. Then right-click (or Ctrl+click) the shape, which opens the context menu shown in Figure 3. Choose the Format Shape option from this resultant menu (refer to Figure 3 again).
Figure 3: Format Shape option
This opens the Format ShapeTask Pane, as shown in Figure 4. Make sure that the Fill tab is selected (highlighted in red within Figure 4). Then, under Line section (highlighted in blue within Figure 4), select the Gradient line radio button (highlighted in green within Figure 4).
Figure 4: Gradient Line option within Format Shape Task Pane
The options related to Gradient line within Format Shape task pane are explained below, as marked in Figure 4 above:
A. Preset gradients
Clicking the downward pointing arrow next to this option brings up several ready to use default gradients (see Figure 5). These can be either applied straightaway, or used as a base to edit and create your own gradients using the other options available in this pane.
Figure 5: Preset gradients
Figure 6 shows shapes that have their outlines applied with a preset gradients.
Figure 6: Outlines applied with preset gradients
B. Type
There are four gradient types available, these are Linear, Radial, Rectangular, and Path (see Figure 7).
Figure 7: Type drop-down list
Linear gradient types are either horizontal or vertical gradients although they can be diagonal to any degree. Use the Angle option explained later on this page to change the degree. Figure 8 shows some samples of the same linear gradient outlines rotated to different angle values.
Figure 8: Shapes with linear gradient outlines rotated to different angle values
Radial gradient types start with one color from a center position, and then merge into other colors towards the edge of the shape they fill. You can change the position of the center from which the gradient radiates to either the center, or any of the four corners as you can see in Figure 9. If your radial gradient has many stops with contrasting colors, the gradient might end up looking like concentric lines rather than smooth gradients—that's exactly what has happened in Figure 9, but use a simpler two color gradient, and you'll see more subtle results.
Figure 9: Shapes with radial gradient outlines centered from different positions
Rectangular gradient types are the same as radial gradients in all ways, but they spread out from a center position in a rectangular (or square) form rather than a circular form. Compare Figures 9 and 10 and you'll understand what we are explaining! Again, you can change the position of the center from which the gradient merges to either the center, or any of the four corners as you can see in Figure 10.
Figure 10: Shapes with rectangular gradient outlines centered from different positions
Path gradient types again are similar to radial or rectangular gradient types, but they follow a path, so a circular shape shows a circular gradient, a curved arrow shows a curved gradient, and so forth, as shown in Figure 11. Not surprisingly, a path gradient or a radial gradient within a circle may look the same, as you can see in the bottom-left shape in Figure 11.
Figure 11: Shapes with path gradient outlines
C. Direction
With this option, you can set the direction of the applied gradient to any of the available directions (see Figure 12).
Linear gradients provide 8 directions (see Figure 12), radial and rectangular gradients provide 5 directions, and path gradients provide no direction editing options.
Figure 12: Direction options
D. Angle
Sets the angle of the gradient, this option is only available for linear gradients.
E. Gradient Stops
This option provides you with a comprehensive gradient editor, almost as capable as a mini-application within PowerPoint, a separate article is available on Gradient Editing with Stops.
After applying required gradient style to your selected outline shape, you can see the changed shape outline, as shown in Figure 13. Note that the gradient style has been applied to the Rectangle shape outline that was selected earlier (compare with Figure 3, earlier on this page).
Figure 13: Gradient style applied to the Rectangle shape outline
Don't forget to save your presentation often.
Tip: If you use a gradient line on a shape that has no fill, you will attain a simple look that will make the actual shape area transparent thus resting the entire focus to the gradient line. To change the fill of a shape to none, look at our No Fill for Shapes in PowerPoint 2016 for Mac tutorial.
Sample Presentation:
Click below to view this presentation on SlideShare
Is a picture is worth a thousand words? You probably have heard this adage so often that we decided not to repeat this phrase throughout
this book! Now here’s some more info: the human brain uses a larger part of its area to store visual information rather than textual content.
And that’s possibly because a picture describes so much more than text.
