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You are here: Home / Design / Images / How to specify the position of an image or object on a PowerPoint slide–precisely

How to specify the position of an image or object on a PowerPoint slide–precisely

May 12, 2014 by Ellen Finkelstein 29 Comments

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Recently someone left a comment on my website asking how to specify the position of an image precisely. Setting the position of an image is easy — what’s hard is finding the setting!

Why not eyeball it?

The most common reason I want to specify the position of an image using a measurement is so that objects on adjacent slides are in the same place; otherwise, they appear to jump as you move from slide to slide. Even the slightest difference in position becomes clear in this situation.

Usually I eyeball the position of an object on one slide and then want to match that position on other slides.

powerpoint-tips-specify-position-image-precisely-1One solution: Copy and paste

Once you have an object in the desired position on one slide, you can copy and paste it to another slide and PowerPoint will put the copy in the exact same position on the new slide. This is often a great solution.

But when the two objects aren’t exactly the same, the situation gets muddled. On the right you see 2 slides that are similar. but the callout shapes are different sizes because the quotes inside them are of different lengths. Once you put in the quote and start adjusting the callout shape’s size, it’s easy to lose your positioning.

You can copy and paste an image and then use the Change Picture feature to change the image to another one, but if the 2 images are different sizes, again you’ll lose your positioning. (To switch an image, right-click it and choose Change Picture.)

In these situations, you’ll want to position a shape or image more precisely.

Another solution: use the ruler

You can get good results by using the ruler. If it isn’t displayed, choose View and check the Ruler check box. As you drag an object,  you can see a line on the horizontal and vertical rulers, indicating the object’s position.

The problem with this solution is that the line is based on your cursor and you can’t precisely control where your cursor is when you drag an object. But once the object is placed, you can see where it is fairly precisely.

Specify the exact position

powerpoint-tips-specify-position-image-precisely-2Often the best solution is to specify the object’s position.  You may start by selecting an object on one slide and discovering its position first before using those numbers for a similar object on a second slide.

Here are the steps:

  1. Select the first object and click the Format tab.
  2. In the Size group, click the Size and Position arrow to the right of the group’s name.
  • In PowerPoint 2013, this opens the Format Shape taskpane. Click the Size and Properties icon–it looks like a square with measurements. Below the size settings, click the Position heading to expand the settings.
  • In PowerPoint 2007 and 2010, this opens the Format Shape dialog box. Click the Position category (2010) or tab (2007).
  1. By default, you measure from the top-left corner, but if you want, choose Center in the From drop-down list.
  2.  Write down the horizontal and vertical measurements.
  3. On the second slide, select the object that you want to have a matching position.
  4. Again navigate to the position settings and enter the position of the first object. Press Enter to apply them and see the object move.

Using this technique, you can precisely match the positions of 2 objects or simply set the position of one object.

Do you need to precisely set the position of objects? Leave a comment!

 

Learn easy principles and techniques that designers use. “Slide Design for Non-Designers” shows you, step-by-step, how to easily get the results you want. Plus bonus theme, template,  sample slides, and 5 short video tutorials to make implementing the principles easy.Updated for PowerPoint 2016/365. Learn more at http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/pptblog/slide-design-for-non-designers/                    

“101 Tips Every PowerPoint User Should Know” is for everyone who never took a course or read a book about PowerPoint! These tips will fill in the gaps, speed up your work, make presentations easier, and help you get better results. Now updated through PowerPoint 2016 and Office 365. Learn more at http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/pptblog/101-tips/

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Filed Under: Images, Shapes & text boxes Tagged With: position, precise

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Konrad
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Konrad

Good post! I often use drawing guides to set positions (edge or center) of objects.

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8 years ago
Dr. Debby
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Dr. Debby

Thanks for this, Ellen. Keeping some elements in the exact place from slide to slide can add some nice effects to your presentation. I don’t find copy and paste to be 100% reliable, especially if I’m duplicating text, so I usually just duplicate the entire slide and delete what I don’t want.

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8 years ago
Patrick
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Patrick

One additional way is to use the Change Picture option. The images must have the same size outside of PowerPoint to start. Then you can layout one slide, duplicate the slide, right click the image and choose Change Picture and navigate to the new image. I use this a lot when designing different icons.

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8 years ago
ponnusami kasi thangarajan
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ponnusami kasi thangarajan

Thank you Ellen!
I learn a lot from your website and I am using as much as possible…
thank you

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8 years ago
BobW
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BobW

Patrick,

Many thanks, what a great idea to use the Change Picture option!

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7 years ago
Shashank
Guest
Shashank

The one you stated above is absolute of no use. Hever when some one referring multiple object don’t assume that is it onlu 2 or 4, it is more that 200 or 300 Pics in each slide, it will be hard to go each slide and enter the position. Please tell me, How to put a lock position so that all object in slide will align to same place as the first one is or as per defined position.

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6 years ago
William Todd
Guest
William Todd

Hello: Thank you for the information. I work with a lot of Powerpoint documents whose slides are taller than the screen (9″x12″ or 11″x17″, portrait). When I paste an image from almost every non-powerpoint source, the slide jumps so that it is centered on the screen but the image is pasted in the upper left-hand location of the slide, out of site. I then have to scroll up to locate the image and drag it to the desired location. The only exception I am aware of is that when I insert an image from Coreldraw, powerpoint centers both the slide… Read more »

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6 years ago
Ellen Finkelstein
Guest
Ellen Finkelstein

Of course, you can zoom out so you can see the entire slide.
What happens when you use Insert> Picture instead of pasting?
Do you get a different result when you paste from a web page and when you paste from an image on your computer, using Windows Explorer (or whatever)?
And what happens when you choose the Picture option when you paste? (When you paste, there’s a small “badge” next to the paste and you can click its down arrow and choose the last option, Picture.
When I do this, the image ends up in the middle of the slide.

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6 years ago
Gregory Winters
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Gregory Winters

No good for those of us who are using right-justify to create slide titles. With the text varying to the left, as it will with right-justify, we need to be able to position on the basis of the top-RIGHT corner of the slide, not the top-LEFT. As usual, computer geeks creating software in their caves have no inkling at all as to how the outside world works with their products.

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6 years ago
Ellen Finkelstein
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Ellen Finkelstein

It’s true that you can’t position from the upper right, at least in English, but if you’re using a text placeholder that’s the same on every slide, setting the upper left position on the slide master will give you consistency of placement, even if the text is right-justified.

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6 years ago
Gregory Winters
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Gregory Winters

Not sure what you mean by “text placeholder,” but I’m using a Title text box – the one that comes with most default slide layouts. Yes, it’s nice if I know that I will be using the same layout for the entire slide presentation, but in many cases, I’ll run into an issue deep into the presentation that forces me to change the positioning of some of the Title text boxes. Now, I’m stuck because I would like to reposition the rest of the Title boxes, but I can’t.

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6 years ago
Ellen Finkelstein
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Ellen Finkelstein

Yes, the Title text box is a “placeholder.” If you want, you can make the suggestion to Microsoft at https://powerpoint.uservoice.com/.

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6 years ago
Gregory Winters
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Gregory Winters

Posted the suggestion, thanks.

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6 years ago
kevin
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kevin

In the past when I used copy/paste, the selection would show up on a new slide in the same position, but it no longer does and I spend time adjusting it now. I cannot find any related setting. Is there an option I need to (re)set?

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5 years ago
kevin
Guest
kevin

In the past when I used copy/paste, the selection would show up on a new slide in the same position, but it no longer does and I spend time adjusting it now. I cannot find any related setting. Is there an option I need to (re)set?

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5 years ago
Ellen Finkelstein
Guest
Ellen Finkelstein

Copying and pasting to a new slide still puts the object at the same position for me. This happens within a presentation? If one presentation is standard width and the destination one is widescreen, I can see that happening.

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5 years ago
kevin
Guest
kevin

Ellen,
Thank you for your response. Yes, this happens within the presentation while I am creating it. It is strange because I have been doing this for years and only changed recently. The slide to slide alignment helps to keep text in the same position for sequential slides. I am at wit’s end.

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5 years ago
Ellen Finkelstein
Guest
Ellen Finkelstein

Kevin, if your problem is with text, here are 2 suggestions:
1) duplicate a slide instead of copying and pasting. Then edit the text
2) use slide layouts instead of text boxes. You can create custom layouts that should help.
See this blog post: http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/pptblog/create-a-product-catalog-with-custom-layouts/
And see this one: http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/pptblog/create-a-custom-layout/
And this one which links to the other two: http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/pptblog/create-consistent-slides-with-layouts/

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5 years ago
Michael
Guest
Michael

Using the Format Shape/Position dialogue box, horizontal/vertical from Top Left Corner inputs: All Input Objects should reference the same exact point if lined up on top of each other. However, I find that a Line, Box 1 and Box 2 each using different positioning points. Very baffling. Anyone else having the same problem and know of a solution? Thanks.

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4 years ago
Ellen Finkelstein
Guest
Ellen Finkelstein

Objects with and without outlines may be handled differently. I’m not sure I understand what you’re seeing though…

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4 years ago
Michael
Guest
Michael

Are you saying that the ‘outline’ of an object defines the position, rather than the object itself? How does PP generate the ‘outline’ and can I make it ‘fit’ tighter to the object?

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4 years ago
Ellen Finkelstein
Guest
Ellen Finkelstein

Michael, this might help–it’s a blog post by a colleague, a fellow PowerPoint MVP:
http://www.thepowerpointblog.com/powerpoint-outline-inside-outside-middle/

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4 years ago
Will
Guest
Will

why does powerpoint limit you to just top left corner and center, they need to add top right and bottom alignments for positioning as well

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4 years ago
yasser
Guest
yasser

There is a file with more than 100 slides and there are about 50 slides with more than one image in one slide,
I want a code that makes each image inserted in a separate slide in the same format as the original slide

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3 years ago
yasser YAFF
Guest
yasser YAFF

There is a file with more than 100 slides and there are about 50 slides with more than one image in one slide,
I want a code that makes each image inserted in a separate slide in the same format as the original slide

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3 years ago
Ellen Finkelstein
Guest
Ellen Finkelstein

I’m sure someone sells an add-in that does that but for 100 slides it wouldn’t take long to just use Change Picture.

Set up the first slide and in the left-hand column, press Ctrl+D 99 times.
Have all the images in one folder on your computer.
On each slide right-click the image, choose Change Picture, From File and navigate to the picture.

You could also create a custom layout and might find that formats your slides the way you want them.

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3 years ago
tom whalen
Guest
tom whalen

I atumbled on this page while looking at some positioning examples using VBA. What I’m wanting to learn more about is when using VBA to paste a table from excel, that’s pretty easy to do, but what I also want to do is control the position of the pasted info. For tables, I’ve found copying the rows by selecting the cells upper left and lower right, then copying the image and pasting the image on a slide very easy. But once that’s done, I want to send the .left and .top and really place it exactly on the slide. I… Read more »

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3 years ago
ASHWANIKUMAR
Guest
ASHWANIKUMAR

The one you stated above is absolute of no use. However when some one referring multiple object don’t assume that is it only 2 or 4, it is more that 200 or 300 Pics in each slide, it will be hard to go each slide and enter the position. Please tell me, How to put a lock position so that all object in slide will align to same place as the first one is or as per defined position.
this was posted 4 years ago and still unsolved

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2 years ago
Ellen Finkelstein
Author
Ellen Finkelstein

I don’t understand. Do you want 200 pictures on one slide to be exactly on top of each other? Are you tiling them? Overlapping them? Are the pictures all the same size? Are you trying to edit a slide that already has 200 pictures on it or create one? If edit one, how did you insert them? Is each slide the same or are they all different? If they’re the same and the images aren’t on top of each other, you might be able to create a custom layout for placing images. If you inserted them individually, you can use… Read more »

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2 years ago
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