Shapes are used for a variety of reasons in PowerPoint templates including as design elements, placeholders, and to reinforce branding with the visual aid of shapes associated with a brand. There are different ways to duplicate PowerPoint Shapes, such as via drag and drop and by using a simple hotkey combination.
How to Duplicate Shapes in PowerPoint
To insert a shape, go to Insert -> Shapes and select a shape to add to your PowerPoint slide. Below are a few simple methods you can use to duplicate a shape added in PowerPoint. These tips are also similar to how shapes are duplicated in Google Slides templates.
Related: If you would like to learn about how to change a shape in PowerPoint, see our tutorial on how to change a shape in PowerPoint. If you want tips on selection and alignment, see our tutorial on how to select a shape in PowerPoint.
How to Duplicate Shapes using Drag and Drop in PowerPoint
You can duplicate shapes in PowerPoint by using drag and drop by holding down the Shift and CTRL/Command keys. Below are the combinations you can use to duplicate shapes in PowerPoint.
Drag to Create and Place Duplicate Shape on a Slide
By holding down the CTRL/Command key and using the left mouse click to drag a selected shape, you can duplicate the shape and drag it in any direction.
PC: CTRL+Drag (Left Mouse Click)
Mac: Command+Drag (Left Mouse Click)
Drag to Create a Perfectly Aligned Duplicate Shape
By holding down CTRL/Command and the Shift key and using the left mouse click to drag an image, you can duplicate the image diagonally at 45 degrees, horizontally or vertically to create a duplicate. The difference in adding the shift key to the combination makes it possible to create a duplicate in one direction, aligned to the shape from which it is copied.
PC: CTRL+Shift+Drag (Left Mouse Click)
Mac: Command+Shift+Drag (Left Mouse Click)
How to Duplicate Shapes using Hotkey in PowerPoint
Another easier method for duplicating a shape in PowerPoint is to simply use the CTRL/Command+D hotkey to create an instant duplicate of the selected shape. You can then drag the duplicate shape anywhere on the slide. This is also a good method for creating a stack for shapes by duplicating the shape multiple times by repeatedly using the hotkey. This can also be an interesting way to add design elements for creating engaging presentations with the visual aid of duplicate shapes that can help break visual monotony by creating similar patterns.
PC: CTRL+D
Mac: Command+D
How to Copy a Shape in PowerPoint
You can also copy a shape in PowerPoint to duplicate it. This can be done using either the CTRL/Command+C and CTRL/Command+V hotkeys or by using the right-click context menu.
Copy a Shape in PowerPoint
PC: CTRL+C
Mac: Command+C
To paste the shape, you can use CTRL/Command+V or use the right-click context menu to paste the shape using the destination theme or as an image.
Paste a Copied Shape in PowerPoint
PC: CTRL+V
Mac: Command+V
Once you paste the shape, it will appear stacked on the copied shape. To move the shape, drag and drop to place it anywhere on the slide.
How to Duplicate Multiple Shapes in PowerPoint
To duplicate multiple shapes in PowerPoint, select the shapes you wish to duplicate using the left mouse click button while holding down the Shift key.
Once selected, you can drag them using CTRL/Command, copy and paste the shapes, or create duplicates using CTRL/Command+D hotkey.
By selecting multiple shapes and duplicating them simultaneously, you can create PowerPoint designs with different shape alignments without inserting each shape individually. This method can be helpful if you need copies of the same type of shapes across slides.
FAQs
Yes, you can duplicate shapes in PowerPoint by using a hotkey combination, copying and pasting shapes from the right-click context menu or dragging and dropping.
You can duplicate a shape in PowerPoint using the following methods:
PC
Duplicate and Drag Anywhere: CTRL+Drag (Left Mouse Click)
Duplicate Aligned to Original Shape: CTRL+Shift+Drag (Left Mouse Click)
Duplicate Shape using Hotkey: CTRL+D
Copy and Paste to Duplicate Shape: CTRL+C and CTRL+V or use right-click context menu.
Mac
Duplicate and Drag Anywhere: Command+Drag (Left Mouse Click)
Duplicate Aligned to Original Shape: Command+Shift+Drag (Left Mouse Click)
Duplicate Shape using Hotkey: Command+D
Copy and Paste to Duplicate Shape: Command+C and Command+V or use the right-click context menu.
Yes, you can duplicate multiple shapes in PowerPoint by selecting more than one shape and dragging it using CTRL/Command+Drag via the left mouse click, using the CTRL/Command+D hotkey, or copying multiple selected shapes and pasting them.
To select multiple shapes in PowerPoint, use the left-click with the Shift key.
You can create a stack of multiple images by duplicating them multiple times using the CTRL+D hotkey for PC and the Command+D hotkey for Mac.
To paste a duplicate shape as an image, copy the selected shape either via the right-click context menu or by selecting the Picture option via Paste Options. Once copied, select the Picture option to create a duplicate of the PowerPoint shape as an image.
Duplicating shapes in PowerPoint can have several benefits, including maintaining consistency and uniformity, saving time, ease of modification, ease of scaling and alignment, adding visual appeal, and prototyping.
Consistency and Uniformity: Duplicating shapes can help maintain consistency and uniformity in slide designs. This is particularly true when repeating patterns and layout designs consistently is necessary.
Saving Time: Duplicating PowerPoint shapes rather than adding each shape individually can save time.
Ease of Modification: Duplicating one or multiple shapes can help quickly create copies for reusing the same or modifying the shape(s) after duplicating.
Ease of Scaling and Alignment: You can scale and align duplicate shapes easily. For example, by using CTRL/Command+Shift+Drag (left mouse click), a shape aligned horizontally, vertically, or diagonally at 45 degrees can be created.
Visual Appeal: Duplicating shapes to create similar patterns can help add visual appeal to slides. Patterns consistent in design and repeated across a slide are often used to create visual appeal by introducing proportionate patterns using PowerPoint Shapes.
Prototyping: Duplicate shapes and patterns are commonly used in ideation and prototyping to test various design ideas. This time-saving method generates PowerPoint designs using copies of one or more shapes rather than adding each shape one by one.
Final Words
Designing a PowerPoint presentation requires addressing many key questions. These might include a newbie as to how to make a presentation, how to start a presentation, or how to end a presentation. Even for experienced presenters, making a presentation requires careful consideration of content, branding, visual appeal, legibility, and ease of presenting the content. By duplicating shapes to create design elements, you can effectively develop slides with carefully placed visual elements to make your content stand out.
Duplicating shapes can be great for productivity, as it allows you to quickly create copies of a single shape for reusing across a slide. You can then recolor these shapes, add text to them, and use them in creative ways to design your slides. Additionally, using the AI-powered PowerPoint Designer tool, you can get ideas for added content to make your slides look crisp and professionally designed. When duplicating shapes, you can create copies, align copies to the original, create shape stacks by duplicating multiple shapes on top of each other, as well as select and duplicate multiple shapes by holding down the Shift key when clicking on them using the left mouse click button and dragging them using the CTRL/Command key.
