This is a life PowerPoint hack I often use when I’m in a hurry to produce an updated presentation with updated images. In this tutorial, I will show you how you can edit any text in an existing image in PowerPoint without using any photo editor.
Let’s just say, I want to change some of the text in this image, i.e., from “Email or phone” to “Email address or phone number” and “Sign in” to “Register”:
1. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Text Box.
2. Drag to draw the text box in the position and size that’s close to the actual text in the image. Type Register into the text box.
3. The default font size is 18pt with font type Calibri. This could be different for you based on your PowerPoint default settings. Change the font size so that it is close to the actual text. In this case, I’ve changed it to 10pt.
4. To “erase” the Sign in text, insert another shape over it. On the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click Rectangle: Rounded Corners.
5. Drag the shape and adjust the position so that it covers the Sign in text. Again, depending on your PowerPoint settings, the default shape will have a colour – mine’s blue.
6. Right-click the shape and select Format Shape.
7. The Format Shape task pane appears on the right. Click Fill to expand the view. Select Solid fill and change the Color to white. Then, click Line to expand the view and select No line.
8. The Sign in text has “disappeared”. David Copperfield, we don’t need you! ;)
9. Right-click the Register text box and select Bring to Front.
10. Drag the Register text box over the white shape. Adjust the text box size so that it is slightly smaller and still show the full Register text.
11. Oops! The font size appears a little too big for the button frame. Adjust the font size, and this time, I’ve used 8pt. Adjust the position of the text box again so that it appears to be centered. Now, it’s looking good!
12. To get the same Linkedin signature colour, change the font colour using the eyedropper tool. Double-click the Register text, click the tiny arrow next to the Font Color and select Eyedropper.
13. Move the eyedropper tool over the blue colour and click once.
14. The colour is immediately applied to the Register text.
15. Repeat the same steps to change the text for “Email address or phone number”, but, do not change the font colour to blue since it is originally black.
16. To change the Sign in text at the bottom, repeat steps 4 to 7 and this time, change the shape colour to Linkedin blue using the eyedropper tool or pick from Recent Colors.
17. Copy the Register text box and change the font colour to white. Move the text box so that it appears to be centered in the button. Voila!! Who needs Photoshop?!
You might be wondering, how do I know the actual font type used in the image. Well, I don’t! I normally go for Calibri or Arial as these two font types are very similar and widely used. You can also keep trying different font types until you find the one that is very similar to the text used in the image.
This is a simple editing example involving the use of shapes and colour pickers. In my next tutorial, I’ll teach you similar tricks on how to edit certain elements in an existing image – no Photoshop needed!
PS: Check out this post on how you can create a mobile-sized image used in this tutorial without using a photo editor!
