Text box format when pasting from one ppt to another

[James]

PowerPoint 2007...

I'm trying to copy some slides from one presentation to another. Some of the
slides have text boxes on them -- note, I don't mean the outline text
placeholder from the master slide layout. I mean additional boxes inserted
onto the slides.

In the new presentation, I set the default text box format to use Arial 16
bold, centered. If I then click the icon to insert a new text box onto a
slide, the format shows up correctly -- all the settings are how I want them.

Now, if I select an inserted text box from a different presentation and then
paste it into the new pptx, the format in the new object reverts to Arial 24,
not bold, and right justified -- totally wrong.

There must be a way to change the default text box format so that it will
apply to pasted objects as well as inserted objects. I saw an old post on
this discussion group that said that pasting uses the format from the master
slide. But I can't find any option in the master slide view to change text
boxes. I can change the format for the text placeholder, but that isn't the
same thing.

Certainly the PowerPoint developers wouldn't be so shortsighted as to make
this impossible, would they? If not, the option seems to be rather obscure at
least.

Thanks.
James

 

[Echo S]

If you paste the text into the textbox, a Paste Options button should show
up. Try "use design template formatting" or "keep text only."

 

[John Wilson]

As Echo say if you paste text copied from another slide / presentation into a
textbox on the new slide you will have the text only option and your new
format should be followed.

If you paste the textbox in though I believe it will always have the source
formatting

Couple of options if this is what you are doing

1. Add the pickup and apply tools to the QAT and pickup the needed text box
format (you only need do this once) , thereafter use the apply tool on pasted
textboxes to instantly apply the format.

2. Make a macro that does this to all textboxes at once
--

john ATSIGN PPTAlchemy.co.uk
Custom vba coding and PPT Makeovers
Free PPT Hints, Tips and Tutorials
http://www.pptalchemy.co.uk/powerpoint_hints_and_tips_tutorials.html

 

[James]

The options are "Keep source formatting" or "Use destination theme."

If I keep source formatting, I have to apply it to the entire slide if I
paste the entire slide. I have about 30 fairly complex slides to paste, and
I'm not thrilled about the idea of reformatting each one manually.

If I use destination theme, then the text boxes show up with the original
default format that was saved into the template on using. This is the format
that I replaced with a new text box default.

Shouldn't it use the latest text box default? This really seems like a bug
to me. Somewhere in the document, it's remembering the old format that I
don't want, and it seems there is no way in the interface to get rid of it.
That's a shortcoming in the product.

I will look into pickup and apply -- not sure where to find it, though. I
can get more or less what I want by keeping the source formatting, then
manually applying the master layout from the destination to the outline
placeholder. If pickup and apply can do this automatically, it will save me a
lot of time.

Thanks,
James

 

[James]

Actually, pickup and apply didn't help me so much (I found them and added
them to the quick access toolbar) -- it corrected the text formatting but
lost the shape outline.

It turns out that the quickest way was to keep source formatting with the
paste cleanup icon. Then, I could apply the master layout to all the pasted
slides. This automatically fixed the slide title and outline placeholders to
use destination format, while leaving other objects as it is.

That's good enough for me for now -- but I'm still convinced this is a bug.
James

 

[Echo S]

Placeholders work the way you're asking -- where the formatting is picked up
and overridden. But ad hoc "manual" textboxes don't.

Pick up and Apply are a good idea. You must add them to the Quick Access
toolbar. Office Button | PPT Options | Customize takes you to where you can
add stuff. Choose "all commands" in the "choose commands from" dropdown, and
they're there in the list alphabetically.