Select individual objects on a slide
Applies ToPowerPoint for Microsoft 365 PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 for Mac PowerPoint for the web PowerPoint 2024 PowerPoint 2024 for Mac PowerPoint 2021 PowerPoint 2021 for Mac PowerPoint 2019 PowerPoint 2016

Use the Select options in the Editing group at the far right end of the Home tab to see and select individual objects in PowerPoint:

Select in the Editing group

52 seconds

Click the object to select it. If that does not select it, on the Home tab, in the Editing group, click Select and do one of the following:

  • To select all of the objects and placeholders on the slide, click Select All.

  • To select objects that are hidden, stacked, or behind text, click Select Objects, and then click and drag over the objects.

  • To open the Selection pane, where you can select, multi-select, show, hide, or change the order of objects, click Selection Pane, and then click the options that you want.

    Selecting a stacked object using the Selection pane

    Figure: In this example, we can easily select the oval shape in the Selection pane, whereas on the slide, the oval is buried under the sun and triangle shapes.

After you have selected the object, you can apply PowerPoint commands and features to that object as usual.

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