Show All

Hide All

When you create an organization chart (an "org" chart) in PowerPoint, the default diagram has only one shape at the top for the boss. But you might need to have two or more boxes at the top, if for example, an assistant gets promoted.

First, turn off AutoLayout

To add a second top-level box, you must first turn off the default automated layout functionality. With AutoLayout turned off, you have more control over org chart structure and can move a shape to a different location.

 Important   Turning AutoLayout off will impact the way you can build org charts. Some of the automated functionality that you're used to having when you create org charts won't work. For example:

• When you insert shapes, they won't automatically go into position.
• The Layout options on the Organization Chart toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, press ALT and then SHIFT+F10.), such as Left Hanging and Right Hanging, are not available (grayed out).

So, make sure that all the shapes you want automatically positioned are in place before you turn AutoLayout off.

Also, after you have turned off AutoLayout, you should leave it off as you build your org chart. If you structure your org chart manually and then turn AutoLayout back on, you'll lose the restructuring.

Turn off AutoLayout

• On the Organization Chart toolbar, click Layout, and then click AutoLayout to cancel the selection of the option.

Next, add a new shape (box)

Add a new org chart shape to the slide.

1. Click the current top-level shape.
2. On the Organization Chart toolbar, click Insert Shape.

   The inserted shape doesn't snap into a designated layout position (an effect of turning off AutoLayout). It appears just under the selected shape.

3. Select the inserted shape and drag it into position at the top of the org chart.

   When you drag the shape, its connector travels with it. (If you were to do this with AutoLayout turned on, the shape would simply snap back into its original position.)

Fix the connector

It's nice that the connector travels with the shape, but after you move a shape, the connector might not look the way you want it to. If this is the case, you must hide the connector and create another one. (If you delete the connector, the shape is also deleted.)

Hide the connector

1. Right-click the connector that you want to hide.

   You will see red end points and yellow adjustment handles indicating that it's selected.

2. On the shortcut menu, click Format AutoShape.
3. In the Format AutoShape dialog box, under Line, in the Color list, click No Line.

Add a new connector

1. On the Drawing toolbar, click AutoShapes, point to Connectors, and then click the connector that you want.
2. Point to where you want to attach the connector.

   As you move the pointer over the shapes that you want to connect, tiny, blue squares appear on each shape's border that mark the places where you can attach the connector.

3. Click one blue square on each shape for the start and end points.

Position the shapes side by side

Connectors move with shapes, so if the connector isn't straight between the shapes, you might have to align the shapes. You can move the shapes manually, by using the arrow keys to adjust the shape position in pixel increments, or you can automatically align the shapes.

To get a little more freedom to position the shapes, turn off Snap objects to grid. On the View menu, click Grids and Guides, and then clear this check box.

Align shapes

1. Select the shapes that you want to align.
2. On the Drawing toolbar, click Draw, point to Align or Distribute, and then click Align Top to make the shapes line up side by side.

Center the shapes on the org chart

When you add a new shape to the top of your org chart, the shapes will be off-center. To move them to the center, you can group them, and then drag them.

 Note   After you group shapes, some features aren't available on the Organization Chart toolbar. For instance, you can't insert shapes into grouped shapes by using Insert Shape.

Group shapes

1. Select all the shapes to be grouped, including any connectors.
2. On the Drawing toolbar, click Draw, and then click Group.

   If the Group command appears shaded and is not available, try selecting the connector between the shapes first, and then select the shapes.

   Now you can drag the grouped shape to the position that you want.

Note  If the shapes that you have grouped and moved have connectors to other shapes, you may need to hide the other connectors and add new ones after you have centered the shapes.

Tips

• If you turn off AutoLayout to do some chart editing or restructuring, style the chart manually instead of using the Organization Chart Style Gallery because styles that you apply manually will persist in a shape even when you move it to another position.
• If you move a shape in a chart that has already been manually styled, and you want the moved shape to assume the styles of the shape that it's now next to, use the Format Painter button to duplicate the styles from one shape to another.
• If you want, you can format the line or connector.
• To keep the angle within 15 degrees when adding a connector to shapes, press SHIFT when you click the connector end point.

• For in-depth training on creating organization charts in PowerPoint 2003, see Org charts A to Z.

Portions of this article were excerpted from Training on Microsoft Office Online.