Drawing Horizontal and/or Vertical Lines from Drawing Menu

[rgkrunner]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

I use a lot of arrows and lines from the Drawing Menu in my Math Class Presentations. In previous versions of PowerPoint I had no trouble keeping them Horizontal or Vertica. Now it seems impossible. It seems to be Horizontal or Vertical, but when I let go of the mouse, it has moved off to an angle. Is there a simple way to guarantee a Horizontal or Vertical Line. I have tried the holding the SHIFT Key as I draw, but if I do not start off EXACTLY Horizontal or Vertical, it keeps at an angle. I never had trouble with this before and it is driving me crazy.

 

[CyberTaz]

Is your installation of Office fully updated - 12.1.4? That issue was
corrected some time ago... At least I no longer see it here.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[rgkrunner]

Bob: I have updated once week with downloads from Microsoft Office.
Maybe I am not doing something at the start to ensure Horizontal or Vertical Lines?
This is very frustrating.

Thanks for your quick reply and I really appreciate any help that you may be able to give me.

Bob Kiessling

 

[Jack2222]

I just switched to Mac PPt 2008 and am going crazy with the exact same problem. Also, in doing hierarchy org charts, it won't (seemingly) let me edit/move/clear the lines--it locks in to what template has.

I use a lot of arrows and lines from the Drawing Menu in my Math Class Presentations. In previous versions of PowerPoint I had no trouble keeping them Horizontal or Vertica. Now it seems impossible. It seems to be Horizontal or Vertical, but when I let go of the mouse, it has moved off to an angle. Is there a simple way to guarantee a Horizontal or Vertical Line. I have tried the holding the SHIFT Key as I draw, but if I do not start off EXACTLY Horizontal or Vertical, it keeps at an angle. I never had trouble with this before and it is driving me crazy.

 

[CyberTaz]

As replied to the OP, the straight line is an issue that was fixed in a
prior update to Office. There is a recent update released (12.1.5) which is
a Combo but requires that you be at 12.1.0 in order to apply it. I'd suggest
you get it applied, repair disk permissions & restart your Mac... And make
sure to keep the Shift Key held down until you release the mouse button

As for the charts, if you're referring to SmartArt Objects you're absolutely
correct. They're similar in that respect to the former Diagram feature -
they're pre-constructed based on professional standards & designed to comply
with a certain degree of consistency. They allow only certain types of
modification. You can delete shapes & the respective connectors will be
deleted along with them. If you move the shapes the connectors will adjust
accordingly. But you can't just reposition the connectors themselves. If you
want that type of customization you'll have to create your own chart using
the Shapes & Connectors of your choice.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Jack2222]

Bob, thank you for your reply. I have Office Mac Version 12.1.3, and when I ask for an update it tells me there is none available. How do I get 12.1.4? As I'm not a techie, the "combo" and "repair disk permissions" for 12.1.5 make me nervous. I'm having the line problem in trying to create the custom organization chart, and appreciate your clarifying that is what has to be done. (I don't understand why the line object is slanted to begin with. Most people, I would think, would start with a horizontal or vertical line.)

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Jack;

You don't need 12.1.4 first - use this link to retrieve the 12.1.5 update
from the Mactopia site:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx?pid=Mactopia_Office2008&fid=AB31
A564-43D2-45BD-98BF-19E9CA477B62#viewer

I'm not sure why AutoUpdate doesn't recognize the availability - it may
depend on which program you run it from - but that link will get it for you.

There's no need to be nervous about the use of a combo updater or the Repair
Disk Permissions utility - neither are anything out of the ordinary nor
should the combos cause any more concern than any other update. They are
merely an update that includes prior incremental updates so you don't have
to install a whole bunch of others in order to catch up if you're behind...
In fact, they can be "healthier" than installing each individual interim
update & often fix minor glitches we aren't even aware of that may have been
introduced by previous updates.

Repairing permissions is a routine part of maintaining the Mac OS file
structure & can't do any harm. Simply go to the Applications/Utilities
folder, launch Disk Utility, select your HD from the left column, then click
the Repair Disk Permissions button & let it do its thing.

As for the diagonal line : It finally dawned on me what you're
experiencing... And YES, it is a rather stupid [IMHO] default behavior, but
the only reason you're having the problem is that you are *clicking* to
create the line. Instead, click & hold then *drag* in whatever direction you
wish to create the line. Sorry that didn't occur to me earlier, but I almost
never create lines with a simple click - I drag right off the bat to get the
length & direction I want.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[rgkrunner]

Bob: Veriosn 12.1.5 finally showed up on the update list and after I installed it, A few quick tests show that it seems to have solved my problems with the Horizontal and Vertical Lines.

Thanks for the help

Bob Kiessling

Hi Jack;

You don't need 12.1.4 first - use this link to retrieve the 12.1.5 update
from the Mactopia site:

<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx?pid=Mactopia_Office2008&fid=AB31>
A564-43D2-45BD-98BF-19E9CA477B62#viewer

I'm not sure why AutoUpdate doesn't recognize the availability - it may
depend on which program you run it from - but that link will get it for you.

There's no need to be nervous about the use of a combo updater or the Repair
Disk Permissions utility - neither are anything out of the ordinary nor
should the combos cause any more concern than any other update. They are
merely an update that includes prior incremental updates so you don't have
to install a whole bunch of others in order to catch up if you're behind...
In fact, they can be "healthier" than installing each individual interim
update & often fix minor glitches we aren't even aware of that may have been
introduced by previous updates.

Repairing permissions is a routine part of maintaining the Mac OS file
structure & can't do any harm. Simply go to the Applications/Utilities
folder, launch Disk Utility, select your HD from the left column, then click
the Repair Disk Permissions button & let it do its thing.

As for the diagonal line : It finally dawned on me what you're
experiencing... And YES, it is a rather stupid [IMHO] default behavior, but
the only reason you're having the problem is that you are *clicking* to
create the line. Instead, click & hold then *drag* in whatever direction you
wish to create the line. Sorry that didn't occur to me earlier, but I almost
never create lines with a simple click - I drag right off the bat to get the
length & direction I want.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

Bob, thank you for your reply. I have Office Mac Version 12.1.3, and when I
ask for an update it tells me there is none available. How do I get 12.1.4? As
I'm not a techie, the "combo" and "repair disk permissions" for 12.1.5 make me
nervous. I'm having the line problem in trying to create the custom
organization chart, and appreciate your clarifying that is what has to be
done. (I don't understand why the line object is slanted to begin with. Most
people, I would think, would start with a horizontal or vertical line.)

 

[CyberTaz]

Good to hear! The feedback is appreciated.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

Bob: Veriosn 12.1.5 finally showed up on the update list and after I installed
it, A few quick tests show that it seems to have solved my problems with the
Horizontal and Vertical Lines.

Thanks for the help

Bob Kiessling

Hi Jack;

You don't need 12.1.4 first - use this link to retrieve the 12.1.5 update
from the Mactopia site:

A564-43D2-45BD-98BF-19E9CA477B62#viewer

I'm not sure why AutoUpdate doesn't recognize the availability - it may
depend on which program you run it from - but that link will get it for you.

There's no need to be nervous about the use of a combo updater or the Repair
Disk Permissions utility - neither are anything out of the ordinary nor
should the combos cause any more concern than any other update. They are
merely an update that includes prior incremental updates so you don't have
to install a whole bunch of others in order to catch up if you're behind...
In fact, they can be "healthier" than installing each individual interim
update & often fix minor glitches we aren't even aware of that may have been
introduced by previous updates.

Repairing permissions is a routine part of maintaining the Mac OS file
structure & can't do any harm. Simply go to the Applications/Utilities
folder, launch Disk Utility, select your HD from the left column, then click
the Repair Disk Permissions button & let it do its thing.

As for the diagonal line : It finally dawned on me what you're
experiencing... And YES, it is a rather stupid [IMHO] default behavior, but
the only reason you're having the problem is that you are *clicking* to
create the line. Instead, click & hold then *drag* in whatever direction you
wish to create the line. Sorry that didn't occur to me earlier, but I almost
never create lines with a simple click - I drag right off the bat to get the
length & direction I want.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

Bob, thank you for your reply. I have Office Mac Version 12.1.3, and when I
ask for an update it tells me there is none available. How do I get 12.1.4?
As
I'm not a techie, the "combo" and "repair disk permissions" for 12.1.5 make
me
nervous. I'm having the line problem in trying to create the custom
organization chart, and appreciate your clarifying that is what has to be
done. (I don't understand why the line object is slanted to begin with. Most
people, I would think, would start with a horizontal or vertical line.)

As replied to the OP, the straight line is an issue that was fixed in a
prior update to Office. There is a recent update released (12.1.5) which is
a Combo but requires that you be at 12.1.0 in order to apply it. I'd
suggest
you get it applied, repair disk permissions & restart your Mac... And make
sure to keep the Shift Key held down until you release the mouse button

As for the charts, if you're referring to SmartArt Objects you're
absolutely
correct. They're similar in that respect to the former Diagram feature -
they're pre-constructed based on professional standards & designed to
comply
with a certain degree of consistency. They allow only certain types of
modification. You can delete shapes & the respective connectors will be
deleted along with them. If you move the shapes the connectors will adjust
accordingly. But you can't just reposition the connectors themselves. If
you
want that type of customization you'll have to create your own chart using
the Shapes & Connectors of your choice.

HTH |:&g