Multiply & Distribute
Duplicates the selected object several times and distributes the copies in one step — horizontally, vertically, diagonally, in a circle, along an arc, as a grid, or along a selected guide line. The copies can be coloured and labelled sequentially at the same time.
The tool lives as the Multiplier tab in the Layout Tools toolbox. Open it with the Layout Tools button on the PPPTools ribbon tab, in the Distribute group, and switch to the Multiplier tab. It is available without limits from the Standard licence tier upwards.
Multiple objects & groups
A multi-selection or a group is treated as a single unit and duplicated as a whole. Exception: if a guide line (freeform, line or connector) is among the selected objects, it is recognised as the path — see Along a guide line.
The „Multiplier" tab
A live preview at the very top shows how the settings affect the copies — it updates instantly on every change and adapts to the current selection (count, direction including circle/arc/grid/path, spacing, colouring and labelling). And the slide itself is the second preview: a click on Distribute writes the result to the slide immediately, and Ctrl+Z takes it back. Because the pane stays open, you can change a setting and simply distribute again until the result fits.
At the top you pick the direction with tiles. Below sit the remaining settings: Arrangement (spacing, grid, circle/arc), Colour, Labelling and Finish. The ⟲ Default button resets every setting to its default value.
Only relevant options shown
The Arrangement settings follow the chosen direction: Grid shows only the grid fields, Circle/Arc only radius, angle and hub, and the linear directions only the spacing. This keeps the pane tidy.
Settings are remembered
The tab remembers the settings you last used and restores them automatically the next time you open it — even after a PowerPoint restart. This makes it easy to repeat the same arrangement with a different object. Only the Path direction comes back solely when the current selection contains a guide line; otherwise the direction falls back to Horizontal. Use ⟲ Default to restore the original values at any time.
Arrangement
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Copies | Number of copies to create. |
| Count original | Counts the source object as the first element of the series (affects colour and numbering). |
| Direction | Horizontal · Vertical · Diagonal · Circle · Arc · Grid · Path (Path only when a guide line is selected). |
| Spacing | Equal · Fixed (in points) · Stacked. |
| Grid | For “Grid”: number of columns plus horizontal and vertical spacing. |
| Radius / Arc | For “Circle” and “Arc”: radius and — for the arc — the swept angle. |
| Rotate | Rotates the copies to follow the arrangement (e.g. along the circle or path). |
| Hub | For “Circle”: keeps the original as the centre object (hub-and-spoke layout). |
| Shrink | Scales the copies down progressively, in percent (works in every arrangement, including circle and arc). |
Shrink, Rotate & Hub
These three options only take effect when a single object is being duplicated. With a multi-selection or a group treated as one unit, they have no effect.
Along a guide line (path)
Use this mode to distribute copies of an object along a freely drawn curve.
Requirement: Select both together — the object to distribute and a guide line. The tool recognises the first freeform, line or connector in the selection as the guide line.
How it works:
- Draw a guide line (e.g. via Insert → Shapes → Freeform or a simple line/curve).
- Select the object you want to distribute and the guide line together (e.g. Shift-click both).
- Open the Layout Tools pane and switch to the Multiplier tab. If a valid guide line is present, the Path direction becomes available and is pre-selected.
- Set the number of Copies — they are distributed evenly across the entire length of the guide line.
Good to know:
- The guide line itself is not copied; it only serves as the track and stays in place unchanged. You can delete it afterwards if you wish.
- If several non-guide objects are selected, they are distributed along the path together as a single unit.
- With Rotate the copies align tangentially to the path, following the curve's slope at each point. Without Rotate all copies keep their original orientation.
Colour
The copies can be coloured using the same palettes as the Wordcloud and Puzzle tools.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Colour | Off · Gradient (smooth transition across the series) · Cyclic (palette repeats). |
| Palette | Choose from the PPPTools colour palettes — including the palettes that follow the slide design. |
| Transparency fade | Fades the copies out progressively; the target is given in percent. |
Labelling
Each copy can be labelled automatically.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Label type | Off · Numbers (1, 2, 3 …) · Letters (A, B, C …) · Weekdays short · Weekdays long · Months short · Months long · Custom list. |
| Start value | First value of the series — Numbers only (e.g. start at 3). |
| Custom list | For “Custom list”: one label per copy, one per line. |
German names, cyclic repeat & visible fields
Weekday and month names are inserted in German (Mo … So / Montag … Sonntag, Jan … Dez / Januar … Dezember). They repeat cyclically once there are more copies than names. The start value appears only for Numbers, and the custom-list box only for Custom list.
Finish
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Group new shapes | After distributing, groups all created copies including the original into one group — handy for moving or scaling the result as a whole afterwards. Off by default. |
Number Fields
The number fields in this tool have up/down arrows with a step size that matches the value; a value outside the limits is nudged to the nearest permitted number when you leave the field. The preview recalculates as soon as an entry is committed — Enter, a click next to the field, or an arrow click. Described in full under Number Fields With Arrows.