You have done this a thousand times. Click a shape. Keep holding the Shift key. Click another shape, and then one more, as shown in Figure 1, below. You end up selecting multiple shapes. Nothing could be simpler.
Figure 1: Shift-select your shapes
But a question hides inside that simple action. Which shape did you select first? Can you identify the first-selected shape in Figure 1, above? PowerPoint does know, but it does not provide a visual marker or indication for your benefit. For most tasks, that doesn’t matter. However, for some tasks, it matters a lot.
Take Merge Shapes. When you use options such as Union, Combine, Subtract, or Intersect, PowerPoint treats the first selected shape as the reference. The merged shape takes its fill and outline attributes from that reference shape. With Subtract, the first shape is the one that survives. If you select in the wrong order, you get the wrong result, and you reach for Ctrl + Z (or Cmd + Z if you are using a Mac).
A Small Fix from thinkcell
We recently noticed that thinkcell now marks the first selected object with a small red and white icon at its center, as you can see highlighted in blue within Figure 2, below. It looks just like a peppermint candy. Tempting as it is, you can’t eat it. But it helps in other ways.
Figure 2: thinkcell identifies the reference marker
Peppermint Candy or Red and White Marker?
Amos Wong of thinkcell pointed out that this red and white marker has been part of thinkcell for a while. However, in the past, it only showed up when your selection included at least one thinkcell element. As you can appreciate, this first-selected or reference marker is immensely useful.
Now, and this is new, this reference marker identifies the first selected object even when there are no thinkcell elements in the selection. The reference marker has a functional purpose. It determines the object used as the reference for alignment, and for thinkcell’s Same Width, Same Height, and Same Size options, shown in Figure 3, below.
Figure 3: Same Size option
Amos adds, The marker identifies the current reference object. It does not always identify the first-selected object. On Windows, Shift-click initially makes the first-selected object the reference, while Ctrl-click makes the last-selected object the reference. Users can also change the reference afterwards.
The reference marker appears only when you build the selection, one click at a time. If you drag a marquee over all objects to select them, there is no first object, and no icon appears. In that case, users can then hover over a selected object until the marker appears and click to make it the reference.
It’s important to know that there is no setting to turn on and no command to click. If thinkcell is installed and active, the reference marker is simply there.
We could not find this feature working with non-thinkcell objects mentioned in thinkcell’s documentation, which puts it in the same category as the other thinkcell niceties we have covered. However, that’s because this support for selections containing only native PowerPoint shapes is an Early Access feature for thinkcell.
Where This Helps
This reference marker feature is useful whenever selection order decides the outcome:
- Subtract operations, part of Merge Shapes, where the first shape is the one you keep.
- Any thinkcell commands that use the reference object as a marker. These include thinkcell’s Same Size options and also Align options. Note that thinkcell’s Align options are different from PowerPoint’s native Align options.
The feature is also helpful on crowded slides. When objects overlap or look alike, it is easy to lose track of which one you clicked first. The reference marker removes that doubt.
Try It Yourself
You can get an extended thinkcell trial through this link. The same link also offers a single-user subscription, which is normally unavailable because standard thinkcell plans require at least five users.
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.