Drawing a Custom Table

Because you seek visual effect rather than technical precision in PowerPoint tables, drawing a custom table can be particularly useful. If you have in mind what you want, you might be able to draw the table from scratch more quickly than you can create a table, split and merge cells, and adjust column widths to get the same effect.

To draw a custom table, follow these steps:

  1. graphics/tables_and_borders.gif If the Tables and Borders toolbar is not visible, click the Tables and Borders button on the main. The toolbar is displayed, and the mouse pointer turns into a pencil shape (see Figure 8.15).

    Figure 8.15. You can use the Tables and Borders toolbar to draw a custom table.

    graphics/08fig15.gif

  2. In the slide area, click and drag from where you want one corner of the table to appear to where you want the other corner.

  3. Release the mouse button. PowerPoint inserts a blank table.

  4. Continue using the Draw Table tool by clicking and dragging where you want vertical, horizontal, or diagonal lines. PowerPoint inserts the lines exactly where you draw them. Figure 8.16 shows an example of a custom table that you could draw by using this method.

    Figure 8.16. Drawing a custom table enables you to draw columns and rows quickly and easily, just the way you want them.

    graphics/08fig16.gif

  5. graphics/eraser.gif If you want to remove a line, click the Eraser button, move to the line you want to erase, and click to remove the line.

  6. Click any of the line style buttons and then click existing lines to change them or draw new lines in the selected styles.

  7. When you finish the table, click anywhere outside the table box to turn off the Draw Table tool.



Absolute Beginner's Guide to Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
Absolute Beginners Guide to Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
ISBN: 0789729695
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 154
Authors: Read Gilgen

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