Grouping and Ungrouping Shapes

PP07S-3.5.3

Objects can be grouped, ungrouped, and regrouped to make editing and moving them easier. Rather than moving several objects one at a time, you can group the objects and move them all together. Grouped objects appear as one object, but each object in the group maintains its individual attributes. You can change an individual object within a group without ungrouping. This is useful when you need to make only a small change to a group, such as changing the color of a single shape in the group. You can also format specific shapes, drawings, or pictures within a group without ungrouping. Simply select the object within the group, change the object or edit text within the object, and then deselect the object. However, if you need to move an object in a group, you need to first ungroup the objects, move it, and then group the objects together again. After you ungroup a set of objects, PowerPoint remembers each object in the group and regroups those objects in one step when you use the Regroup command. Before you regroup a set of objects, make sure that at least one of the grouped objects is selected.

Group Objects Together

Select the objects you want to group together.

Click the Format tab under Drawing or Picture Tools.

Click the Group button, and then click Group.

Did You Know?

You can use the Tab key to select objects in order. Move between the drawing objects on your slide (even those hidden behind other objects) by pressing the Tab key.

You can use the shortcut menu to select Group related commands. Right-click the objects you want to group, point to Group, and then make your selections.

You can no longer ungroup tables. Due to the increased table size and theme functionality, tables can no longer be ungrouped.

Ungroup a Drawing

Select the grouped object you want to ungroup.

Click the Format tab under Drawing or Picture Tools.

Click the Group button, and then click Ungroup.

See Also

See "Selecting Objects Using the Selection Pane" on page 142 for information on selecting "hard-to-select" objects.

Regroup a Drawing

Select one of the objects in the group of objects you want to regroup.

Click the Format tab under Drawing or Picture Tools.

Click the Group button, and then click Regroup.

Did You Know?

You can troubleshoot the arrangement of objects. If you have trouble selecting an object because another object is in the way, you can use the Selection pane to help you select it.