Insert Shapes in PowerPoint for the Web

Shapes let you do so much in PowerPoint. Once you master the art of adding and working with shapes, you can achieve some amazing results. For example, you can place circles of various sizes one on top of the other to create something that looks like a target. Similarly, you can create seemingly complicated arrangements of shapes quite easily to create something that illustrates a concept or idea so much better than mere bulleted text. To create any such graphic content, you need to start by inserting common shapes. PowerPoint for the Web, the browser-based version of PowerPoint is surprisingly powerful in this regard.

Follow these steps to insert shapes in PowerPoint for the Web:

1. Within PowerPoint for the Web, open an existing presentation or create a new one. Then navigate to the slide where you want to insert a shape. You can optionally change the Slide Layout to Blank or Title Only. Both these layouts can be useful, if you need an open area, as shown in Figure 1, below.
2. 
   Figure 1: Blank slide in PowerPoint for the Web

Different Interface or Options?

Does the interface in PowerPoint for the Web look different than what you see in Figure 1, above? PowerPoint for the Web is a browser-based web application, and changes in interface tend to be implemented more frequently than desktop applications.
2. Now, access the Insert tab of the Ribbon, and click the Shapes button to bring up the Shapes gallery. You can see part of the Shapes gallery in Figure 2, below.
3. 
   Figure 2: Select a shape in the Shapes gallery
4. PowerPoint provides options to choose shapes from several categories such as Lines, Rectangles, etc. Learn more about shape types in our Types of Shapes in PowerPoint for the Web tutorial. As you can see, we selected the Teardrop shape within this gallery. Thereafter, you can use any of these options to place an instance of the shape on your slide:

1. Click to place

5. Click anywhere on the slide to add the shape in a predefined size, as shown in Figure 3, below. For most shapes, this predefined size is set to typically 1 inch x 1 inch.
6. 
   Figure 3: Shape inserted on slide

2. Click and drag to place

7. Alternatively, click but do not let go of the primary button on your mouse or another input device yet! Continue dragging until you create a large enough shape on your slide, as shown in Figure 4, below.
8. 
   Figure 4: Drag and draw a shape as large or small as you want
3. You will now see an instance of your selected shape on the slide, as shown in Figure 4, above. Also, note that your shape is selected, and you also see the Shape contextual tab on the Ribbon, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 4.

Contextual Tab

The Shape tab is a Contextual tab. Contextual tabs are special tabs in the Ribbon that are not visible all the time. They only make an appearance when you are working with a particular slide object which can be edited using special options.
4. You can similarly insert as many shapes as you want.