PowerPoint Drawing Tools & Inking Tools
Inside PowerPoint, you’ll find several different tools, including the classic drawing tools and improved inking tools. Some of the most commonly used include:
Shapes: Located in the toolbar, this is the traditional tool that allows you to choose from different shapes or draw your own using lines.Pen tools: Use many different pen types to create your own custom, freehand shapes.Ink to text: Use Ink to Text to turn your written word into text within your PowerPoint presentation.Ink to shape: Draw shapes, then turn them into text shapes using this tool.
Each of these tools come in handy for different purposes as you create your slideshow.
How to Draw a Traditional Shape in PowerPoint
Drawing a shape or line in PowerPoint is simple in this traditional method. To get started, open your PowerPoint presentation.
Drawing a Shape Using the Freeform Tool
Draw a Shape Using the Scribble Tool
Draw Freehand Shapes Using PowerPoint 2019 and 365’s Pen Tool
PowerPoint now allows users with touch-enabled devices to use tools such as the Pen tool to create custom shapes, text and more. To get started, open a new or existing presentation.
Draw Freehand Shapes Using PowerPoint 2016’s Pens Tool
Simply open a presentation, select Review > Start Inking, then select your pen tool of choice and draw your freehand shape or text. The pen tool is great for circling important parts of your presentation, drawing arrows for emphasis, underlining important points or just adding custom design to your slides.
How to Turn Ink to Text Using PowerPoint 365’s Draw Tool
Using PowerPoint’s Ink to Text tool, you can turn handwritten notes into text quickly. Simply open a presentation to get started.
Turn Ink into Shapes Using PowerPoint 365’s Draw Tool
You can draw quick shapes in the same way you create text using the Ink to Shape tool. Open a presentation and begin in the same way you did for the Ink to Text tool.
Draw Custom Lines & Shapes Using the Ruler Tool
For drawing your own lines and shapes without the help of the Ink to Text or Ink to Shape tools, you can use the Ruler tool as the perfect, built-in straightedge.
