 Show Adding a Custom Shape You can use the Draw tool to create your own shapes. When you first create a custom shape, it’s inserted as a floating object, but you can To create a custom shape: 1 Click Shapes in the toolbar, and then select the Draw tool (or choose Insert > Shape > “Draw with Pen”). 146 Chapter 7 Working with Images, Shapes, and Other Objects Chapter 7 Working with Images, Shapes, and Other Objects 147 The pointer changes from an arrow to a small pen tip. 2 Click anywhere in your document to create the first point of the custom shape. 3 Click to create more points. Each point you add is connected to the preceding point. To delete a segment you’ve 4 To stop drawing and close the shape (add a solid line between the last and first points), click the first point. 5 To close or add more points to a shape that you previously left open, click once in the shape to select it, and then click it a second time to show its points. Do any of Double-click one of the two points at either end of the open segment; the pointer  changes to a pen tip.  When you’re ready to stop drawing and close the shape, click the point at the end of 6 Select the shape’s border and drag it to wherever you want it on the page. To change the shape’s contours, you must first make the shape editable; see “Editing To learn about manipulating and aligning shapes, and changing their general object Pages, Numbers, and Keynote offer useful built-in shapes and lines that you can use to enhance your documents. Whether you’re creating a flowchart or diagram, or just want to add a subtle visual, you can easily insert and customize the available shapes and lines. For converting straight lines to curved ones or adjusting a shape’s features, we want to help you make the most of using these items in your documents. Here are several tips for working with shapes and lines in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. Add a shape or line on MacIt’s simple enough to pop a shape or a line into your document in all three applications. Click the Shape button in the toolbar or Insert > Shape or Line from the menu bar. Tip: If you use the toolbar button, you can see all of the shapes and lines available by category or do a search. Click to insert a shape or line at your cursor point or drag one into your document where you want it. Once it’s in your document, you can drag an edge or corner to resize it or drag the shape or line to move it. Change lines or pointsYou can perform a decent amount of manipulation of a shape. By taking a simple square, you can turn it into a curved image or one with both curves and straight lines. You can also do the same type of thing with lines you insert. Connector lines: To transform a straight line to a curved one or vice versa, double-click the green dot on the line. Lines and arrows: To make changes, select the line or arrow and either right-click or click Format > Shapes and Lines from the menu bar. Choose Make Editable. You can then drag the red dot to make it curved and double-click to make it an angle. Shapes: To make changes to the lines and points, select the shape and either right-click or click Format > Shapes and Lines from the menu bar. Choose Make Editable. You can then right-click a line or point and pick an option from the shortcut menu. Adjust a shape’s features on MacSome shapes offer features that you can adjust. For instance, stars, polygons, and such let you add and remove points and sides. So, you can turn a five-point star into a seven-point shape. Shapes that provide these types of changes have a green dot on them. And, you don’t have to make them editable first. Put your cursor on the green dot and the cursor will change to a four-sided arrow. Then, drag left to remove and right to add. For our star example, you can see that if you drag the dot to the right, it adds a point for each move. Drag it to the left to decrease the number of points. Add a shape or line on iPhone and iPadIt’s just as easy to insert a shape or a line into your document in all three apps on iPhone and iPad. Tap the plus sign at the top, select the Shape icon, and pick a shape or line. Once it pops into your document, you can select and drag it to a new spot or drag an edge or corner to resize it. Adjust a shape’s features on iPhone and iPadWhile you can’t currently change the curves and points for shapes and lines like you can on Mac, you can still adjust its features. You can do things like change the number of points on a star or sides on an octagon. For shapes and lines you can do this with, you’ll see that green dot. Tap the green dot and drag it around to the right to increase the number of points or sides or to the left to decrease them. More with shapesCheck out these related articles for additional help with shapes.
Wrapping it upWhether you use basic shapes like a square and circle or more complex ones like a telescope or fire truck, shapes are easy to add and customize in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. And don’t forget about the lines to connect shapes or arrows to point things out. Are you going to take advantage of shapes or lines for your next document? |
