My Powerpoint Cannot Resize Shapes

PowerPoint acts as a visual channel of communication, letting you keep words to a minimum.

There are a few reasons that you might not be able to resize a shape in a PowerPoint presentation. If the presentation is marked as final, you won't be able to edit anything, including the shapes. If you're unable to resize the shape, but you can still edit other things, some of the object formatting may prevent resizing.

Mark as Final

In PowerPoint there is a tool that prevents changes to the presentation. It's called "Mark as Final." You can tell if a presentation has been so marked by looking in the lower-left corner of the window. If you see an icon that looks like a document with a red stamp, then the presentation is marked as final. You have to remove the mark before you can resize any shapes. Click "File" and then "Info." Click "Protect Presentation" and then click "Mark as Final" to remove the mark.

Format Shape

If just one shape won't resize, look at the settings in the Format Shape dialog box. Right-click the shape and select "Format Shape." Here you will see several different shape options on the left. You can fine-tune all the aspects of the shape from here, including changing the options that are preventing you from resizing the shape. Those options are located under the "Text Box" option and the "Size" option.

Text Box

If you click the "Text Box" link in the Format Shape dialog box you'll see the different options for using a shape with text in it. The one that's preventing you from resizing the shape is located right in the middle. It's "Resize Shape to Fit Text." As long as this is selected, the shape won't get any larger or smaller than the text will allow. Choose one of the other options and then click "OK" to enable resizing the shape.

Aspect Ratio

If you are unable to resize one dimension of the shape without also changing the other, the aspect ratio of the shape is locked. From the Format Shape dialog box, click the "Size" link on the left. There you will see a check box labeled "Lock Aspect Ratio." Click to uncheck the box and you will be able to resize the height independently of width and vice versa.

References

• Microsoft Office: Remove Mark as Final from a Presentation
• Microsoft Office: Resize a Shape to Fit Text