PowerPoint 2007 Drawing Tools

  • Thread starter Thread starter James
  • Start date Start date
J

James

Is there going to be a fix on drawing tools – finding really difficult to use
/ have others complained / are there any instructions on the new ways to
using Drawing Tools??
 
The behaviour seems very different from 2003. For example, drawing a line
then extending it used to be straight forward by holding shift and then click
 
Yes, that's a bug. There's a hotfix available for it.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941658

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx


James said:
The behaviour seems very different from 2003. For example, drawing a line
then extending it used to be straight forward by holding shift and then
click
on where you want it extended too. Now you have bee more accurate
otherwise
the line extends to infinity.

Echo S said:
What specific problems are you having?

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the heads up, have requested the hotfix and will see if it sorts
my problem out.

Anychance you can take alook at my other question posted regarding embedding
word auto-resizing?

Echo S said:
Yes, that's a bug. There's a hotfix available for it.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/941658

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx


James said:
The behaviour seems very different from 2003. For example, drawing a line
then extending it used to be straight forward by holding shift and then
click
on where you want it extended too. Now you have bee more accurate
otherwise
the line extends to infinity.

Echo S said:
What specific problems are you having?

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://tinyurl.com/36grcd
PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit http://tinyurl.com/32a7nx
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
The patch has sorted some problems but I am still experincing the following:

1) Free form tool - With 2003 you can could hold shift to create a straight
line which would rotate at 45o when moving the mouse, now that key does not
work.

2) Connector tool - Clicking on the first anchor point puts the line on the
slide, with 2003 it would wait until you select the second anchor point
before drawing.
 
James said:
The patch has sorted some problems but I am still experincing the
following:

1) Free form tool - With 2003 you can could hold shift to create a
straight
line which would rotate at 45o when moving the mouse, now that key does
not
work.
Click to expand...

Yes, that one's a known issue. It's been reported to Microsoft.
2) Connector tool - Clicking on the first anchor point puts the line on
the
slide, with 2003 it would wait until you select the second anchor point
before drawing.
Click to expand...

Ah, yeah, I hadn't noticed that. (I don't use connectors all that often.)
Seems you can click and drag, though. Click near the first point, then drag
to the 2nd. The behavior is different, and it's not terribly intuitive --
but I suspect that clicking on an object and not getting anything in return
until you clicked something else (the way it worked in 2003) wasn't terribly
intuitive, either. :-)

Anyway, I think that connectors are just another line now. Or maybe it's
that lines are just another connector now. Their behavior has been combined,
at least somewhat, which is I'm sure why the connectors behave differently
than they used to. Please don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying it's great,
but at least clicking and dragging is a viable workaround.
 
Echo S said:
Yes, that one's a known issue. It's been reported to Microsoft.
Click to expand...
Is there a way of registering for notification for a hotfix for this?
We use the free form tool a lot and my graphics dept are desperate for a fix
on this.
Ah, yeah, I hadn't noticed that. (I don't use connectors all that often.)
Seems you can click and drag, though. Click near the first point, then drag
to the 2nd. The behavior is different, and it's not terribly intuitive --
but I suspect that clicking on an object and not getting anything in return
until you clicked something else (the way it worked in 2003) wasn't terribly
intuitive, either. :-)
Click to expand...
True. Thanks for the info, I'll give this a go and see if it improves the
situation.
Anyway, I think that connectors are just another line now. Or maybe it's
that lines are just another connector now. Their behavior has been combined,
at least somewhat, which is I'm sure why the connectors behave differently
than they used to. Please don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying it's great,
but at least clicking and dragging is a viable workaround.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your help on this, really appreciate it.
 
James said:
Is there a way of registering for notification for a hotfix for this?
We use the free form tool a lot and my graphics dept are desperate for a
fix
on this.
Click to expand...

Not that I'm aware.

There's a kbalerts site that might be useful, though.
http://kbalertz.com/Default.aspx Hotfixes are listed in the Knowledge Base,
so this is a good way to find out about them.


Otherwise, keep an eye out here -- I know we try to mention hotfixes as we
become aware of their availability.

Thanks for your help on this, really appreciate it.
Click to expand...

You're welcome. I haven't forgotten about the repro steps you posted on the
other thing, just need a tuit to try them!
 
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