How to Draw Using PowerPoint

Using the Ink Tools

1. Open Microsoft PowerPoint. If you do not have it, Microsoft currently offers a free trial of the office suite.

2. Select the 'Review' tab. This is located on the right side of the menu bar.

   1. For Office 365 users, there may instead be a 'Draw' tab. This will contain all of the same controls normally included in 'Inking'. If you do not see it, you may need to update your version of Office or the feature may not be supported on your system.

3. Click 'Start Inking'. This is located on the right side of the toolbar and will bring up a new set of drawing tools.

4. Use the 'Pen' to draw free-hand. This button, on the left, selects the pen tool for making basic line drawings.

5. Use the 'Highlighter' to draw transparent lines. This tool acts as a thicker version of the pen tool with transparency, allowing you to ink over text or other drawings without covering them.

6. Use the 'Eraser' to remove drawn elements. After selecting, click and drag the cursor over other lines to erase the drawn content.

   1. Click the down arrow on the 'Eraser' button to select a thickness setting for your eraser.

7. Change your tool color. Select the 'Color' dropdown in the 'Pen' section of the toolbar to select from a color palette for different pen/highlighter colors.

8. Adjust your tool thickness. Select the 'Thickness' dropdown in the 'Pen' section of the toolbar to select different widths of your pen/highlighter marking.

   1. You can also select color/thickness presets from the menu to the left of the 'Color' and 'Thickness' dropdowns.

9. Click 'Convert to Shapes'. This will auto-adjust any shape approximations into the detected shape. For example, drawing a circle, will adjust the lines to be a perfect circle.

   1. The feature will also approximate a shape based on the number of lines drawn (square, hexagon, etc.).^[1]
   2. This only works on shapes after the feature has been selected. Shapes drawn before clicking 'Convert to Shapes' will not be changed'.

10. Click 'Select'. This tool allows you to click and drag drawn items to move them around on the screen.

    1. You can also click 'Lasso' and draw a circle around the area you are trying to select if you are having difficulty. The Lasso tool will only work on drawn items.

11. Stop Inking. This button will automatically selects the 'Select' tool after making edits with the pen or highlighter tool. If no edits were made this button will return you to the 'Review' tab.