Have you ever wanted to insert the same drawing object several times on a PowerPoint slide? Take a look at this slide, for example:

This is a slide from a literature presentation that covers Albert Camus's "The Stranger". The teacher who wrote this presentation wanted to cover the topic of imagery — and specifically, he wanted to discuss the way the heat of the sun continually beats upon the protagonist in the work. So, he decided to create a simple slide (black background) and a slightly abstract sun graphic (the orange ellipse) with the Oval Drawing tool in PowerPoint. Then, he decided to copy this object several times on the edge of the slide — offering the impression of a weight hovering nearby.

Of course, the teacher could have created the sun object one time. Then, he could have selected the object and performed a sequence of "copy/paste" actions again and again to replicate the sun six times. However, this teacher could also have replicated the drawing object a bit easier — with a little-known PowerPoint feature: the "sticky" feature. PowerPoint allows you to make the Drawing tool "sticky" so you can add an object with a simple mouse-click. It is easy to do!

To insert a drawing object multiple times in PowerPoint

1. Open the desired PowerPoint presentation and navigate to the desired slide.



2. Make sure the Drawing toolbar is visible. (Right-click any toolbar and select Drawing.) Notice the Drawing Rectangle — it is highlighted when it is "sticky".






3. To insert a drawing object several times, double-click the chosen drawing object button (such as the Rectangle or the Oval) on the Drawing toolbar. The button stays selected or "sticky."



4. Insert your drawing object several times by clicking wherever you want the object to appear.



5. When you're finished inserting the objects, click the drawing object button again, or press ESC.

Bonus Tip! You can also turn any of the drawing objects available from the AutoShapes button on the Drawing toolbar into "sticky" drawing object buttons. Just click the AutoShapes button, point to a category (such as Stars and Banners), and a submenu of shapes opens. Drag the "move" handle at the top of the submenu to create a floating toolbar. Then double-click the desired drawing object button. The button stays "sticky."