Powerpoint 2007 - Weird behavior when resizing a line with shift k

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tonuab - 21 Sep 2007 21:58 GMT

I want to extend the length of a line in Powerpoint 2007, but I want it stay
aligned horizontally. So, I grab one end of the line with the cursor and hold
the shift key while dragging the end of the line. The way this should work is
that I can extend the length of my line while the shift key keeps it
perfectly horizontal (or vertical, as the case may be). However, in
Powerpoint 2007 (running on Windows Vista), every time I do this, as soon as
I press the shift key, the line is extended several inches, even if I've only
moved my mouse a few millimeters. In most cases, if I try to drag the mouse
more than about half an inch, the end of the line extends beyond the edge of
the slide.

Has anyone else seen this behavior before? Does anyone know how to fix it?

Also, when I check for Microsoft Updates, why does it tell me that I need to
install an important update for Office 2003 (SP3) when I don't have (nor have
I ever had) Office 2003 installed on this machine?

Thanks for any help anyone can give me on this issue.

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tonuab - 21 Sep 2007 22:34 GMT

I just figured out what is going on with this (somewhat). It appears that I
can use the shift key successfully if I keep my cursor perfectly aligned with
the original line. However, if I stray off the path even a millimeter the
line extends past the edge of the slide. But, the whole point of using the
shift key is so that I don't HAVE to keep my cursor perfectly aligned.

Also, my workaround to this issue is to use gridlines and snap-to grid to
draw my lines. I just want to be able to use the shift key sometimes too.

> I want to extend the length of a line in Powerpoint 2007, but I want it stay
> aligned horizontally. So, I grab one end of the line with the cursor and hold
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
> Thanks for any help anyone can give me on this issue.

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Steve Rindsberg - 21 Sep 2007 23:07 GMT

> I want to extend the length of a line in Powerpoint 2007, but I want it stay
> aligned horizontally. So, I grab one end of the line with the cursor and hold
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> Has anyone else seen this behavior before? Does anyone know how to fix it?

Seen it, yes. And there are lots of other problems if you edit while zoomed in.

No known fix, I'm afraid.

-----------------------------------------
Steve Rindsberg, PPT MVP
PPT FAQ: www.pptfaq.com
PPTools: www.pptools.com
================================================

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Echo S - 21 Sep 2007 23:51 GMT

As Steve said, the thing with the Shift + drag end of the line is a bug with
no known fix. We're all hoping it gets addressed in a future service pack or
something, though.

As for the Office SP3, my understanding is that various things may trigger
this. One I'm aware of is Office 2003 Web Components, but there are probably
others as well.

Signature

Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/

>I want to extend the length of a line in Powerpoint 2007, but I want it
>stay
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
>
> Thanks for any help anyone can give me on this issue.

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Martin Conradi - 24 Sep 2007 14:03 GMT

There's a sort of way round - click on the line, go to Format on the ribbon,
then use the Size button to extend it. Once you get used to it, it works
quite well.

Martin

Signature

Martin Conradi
www.showcase-online.co.uk

> As Steve said, the thing with the Shift + drag end of the line is a bug
> with no known fix. We're all hoping it gets addressed in a future service
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
>>
>> Thanks for any help anyone can give me on this issue.

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