The Fastest & Easiest Way to Arrange Multiple Slide Images

Have you ever built a slide with multiple images that were all different shapes and sizes? If so, you might have done a lot more manual effort than you needed to. This great tip will have you done with that job quicker than you can say SmartArt.

I’ve never been a very big fan of the SmartArt feature, but with tricks as good as this one I may be warming up to the idea!

Let’s start with a typical scenario where you’ve got a slide that you want to have multiple images from a variety of sources. Initially they come in all shapes and sizes but you want something much more uniform.

You could spend a bunch of time manually sizing and placing them all but you are smarter than that and know that there must be a more efficient way right? Yes, there is! SmartArt to the rescue.

How To Automatcally Size & Position Your Slide Images with SmartArt

1. Select all your images. Depending on what else is on your slide you can either do a CTRL + A to select all items, or hold the SHIFT key while clicking each image you want to work with.
2. Apply a SmartArt layout. Go to the Picture Tools » Format tab and click the Picture Layout button.
3. Select a layout that you like. This will give you a nice looking, super quick and uniform layout for all your images. Some even give you the ability to add text labels, etc.
4. Wrap it up. If you like the result you can just size & position your SmartArt object and be done. If you don’t want to be constrained by having these images stuck inside the SmartArt object, ungrouping the graphic twice,  ( Ctrl + Shift + G if you like keyboard shortcuts), separate everything out into individual objects which can be easier to work with.

What do you think? Are you a fan of SmartArt? If not, will this trick change your mind at all?

Tip of the Week #423