Microsoft PowerPoint XP/X

Customizing Objects: Rotating and Flipping

You may alter the look of your slides in PowerPoint by manipulating objects. Objects can be layered, duplicated, or grouped (See Working with Objects: Layering, Duplicating, and Grouping). Objects created in PowerPoint, imported images, and even title bars and text boxes can be rotated to any degree. The ability to rotate an object gives you a great deal of creative license. You are no longer limited to displaying objects and text in a single horizontal grid. Objects created in PowerPoint can also be flipped from side to side, or up and down.

You can easily draw an object, add text if desired, and then move these objects and rotate them to suit your own requirements.

Free-Rotating
Rotating 90 Degrees
Flipping a Selection

Free-Rotating

PowerPoint allows you to modify your object or group of objects by free-rotating (i.e., rotating at any degree), rotating by specific degrees or constraining the rotation to 15-degree increments.

Free-Rotating: from the Object

Windows only:

The easiest way to free-rotate without having to first go through a dialog box or toolbar is by using the default Free Rotate circle that appears above every selected object . Free-rotating from the object (using only one free-rotate circle pivoting from the center of the object) produces the same results as free-rotating from the Drawing toolbar (using four free-rotate circles pivoting from each corner of the object).

Select the object by clicking it once
Circles called sizing handles appear around the selected image.
Position your mouse over the green rotate circleat the top of the object
The pointer changes to the Free Rotate circle.
Click and move the object to desired rotation position
NOTE: The pointer becomes a circular four-arrow pointer and you will see an outline of a box indicating the new position of the image. It changes position when you release the mouse button.
Release the mouse button

Free Rotating: from the Picture Toolbar

If the Picture toolbar is not visible, from the View menu, select Toolbars » Picture

Macintosh only:

Select the object or group of objects you want to rotate
HINT: To select multiple objects, hold down the [Shift] key.
On the Picture toolbar, click FREE ROTATE
Green circles called sizing handles appear in each corner.
Place your mouse over one of the sizing handles
The pointer changes to the Free Rotate circle.
Click and hold one of the resizing handles located at the corners of the object
Drag the handle until the outline of the selection reaches the position you want
Release the mouse button
HINT: The Free Rotate pointer remains available to you. If you need to, you can continue to adjust the amount of rotation without reselecting the Free Rotate tool.
When you are finished, click anywhere on the slide

Free-Rotating: from the Drawing Toolbar

Select the object or group of objects you want to rotate
HINT: To select multiple objects, hold down the [Shift] key
Windows: On the Drawing toolbar, from the Draw pull-down list, select Rotate or Flip » Free Rotate
Macintosh: On the Drawing toolbar, select the Free Rotate tool
The pointer changes into the Free Rotate circle.
Position the Free Rotate pointer over a resize handle
Click and hold one of the resizing handles located at the corners of the object
Windows: The pointer becomes a circular four-arrow pointer.
Macintosh: The pointer becomes the Free Rotate arrow.
Drag the handle until the outline of the selection reaches the position you want
Release the mouse button
HINT: The Free Rotate pointer remains available to you. If you need to, you can continue to adjust the amount of rotation without reselecting the Free Rotate tool.
When you are finished, click anywhere on the slide

Free-Rotating: from the Dialog Box

Select the object or group of objects you wish to rotate
From the Format menu, select AutoShape... or Picture...
The Format AutoShape or Format Picture dialog box appears, respectively.
Select the Size tab
In the Rotation text box, type the degree of rotation
OR
Find the appropriate degree of rotation by using the nudge buttons
Click OK

Free-Rotating: with Constraint Keys

Windows:

To constrain the rotation to 15-degree increments, hold down the [Shift] key as you drag
To rotate the object around a resize handle:
Press the [Ctrl] key, and then drag a handle opposite the handle you want to be the center of rotation
To constrain the rotation to 15-degree increments around a resize handle:
Press the [Shift] and [Ctrl] keys as you drag

Macintosh:

To constrain the rotation to 15-degree increments, hold down the [Shift] key as you drag
To rotate the object around a rotational handle:
Press the [Option] key, and then drag a handle opposite the handle you want to be the center of rotation
To constrain the rotation to 15-degree increments around a rotational handle:
Press the [Shift] and [Option] keys as you drag

Rotating 90 Degrees

You can rotate an object or group 90 degrees to the right or left using the Rotate/Flip commands. For finer control of rotation, use the Free Rotate tool.

Select the object or group of objects you want to rotate
On the Drawing toolbar, from the Draw pull-down list, select Rotate or Flip » Rotate Left or Rotate Right
The object or group is rotated 90 degrees.

Flipping a Selection

Flipping a selection turns an object or group of objects either horizontally or vertically.

Select the object or group of objects
On the Drawing toolbar, from the Draw pull-down list, select Rotate or Flip » Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical