How to Add More Elbows to Google Slides

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 36
Key Takeaways: How to Add More Elbows to Google Slides

To Add More Elbows to Google Slides

  1. Select the slide.
  2. Click “Insert” > “Line” > “Elbow Connector“.
  3. Mouse over the first object and click an anchor point to add the first end of the elbow.
  4. Move the other end of the elbow to the second object and click an anchor point to connect them.
  5. Elbows automatically find the best route between the objects.

OR

  1. Select an elbow in your slide.
  2. Use the toolbar to style the elbow.
  3. Change line color, and adjust line weight (thickness).
  4. Select line style (dash, dotted, etc.).
  5. Choose starting and ending pointers (e.g., arrows or squares).

Hello. Today we will learn how to add more elbows to Google Slides. Elbows are also known as elbow connectors, or connectors in Google Slides, these are some dynamic types of lines in different shapes that can be used to connect two data points. We may have some elements on our Slide like an image, chart, table, icon, heading anything like that, and then we have another element of any type, now to show a relationship between these two what do we commonly do?

We use a line to connect these two elements or data points. But sometimes it looks bad and unprofessional to connect data points with solid or tilted lines. What connectors do is they are dynamic; they change their position and curves based on the point location we tend to connect. They will never spoil the design aspect of our Slide. The most common connector is the elbow connector in Google Slides, and today we are going to learn how to add more elbows to Google Slides.

Why use Elbows in Google Slides?

Google Slides is more than a presentation typing and designing application. It has countless features and we can use many kinds of media files on it. We sometimes have manual bounding of data we tend to present the Slide like a book page, or sometimes like a labeled diagram. Since Google Slides has no limitations to performing different kinds of tasks, it gives us a variety of built-in connectors to make labeled diagrams, charts, relationship models, and much more.

So, when working with such data and images, we just need some lines, some shapes, and some connectors to connect the data points to show the relationship of data points. It’s highly used to develop and create relationship diagrams used in SDLC. So, there can be so many reasons to learn how to add more elbows in Google Slides. We will explore it, and will also see some related connectors and will try to discover some exciting editing and controlling options for the elbows.

How to Add More Elbows to Google Slides

In Google Slides we have various kinds of connectors in which we have an elbow connector it can be added just like others and can be used to connect data points on a single page or Slide. We will see some related data and will apply elbow connectors to it to see how to add them and how they work.

Add Elbows to Google Slides – by Connecting Data Points

In this section we will learn how to add more elbows to Google Slides to connect two data points, I have sample data points from a relationship diagram and I want to connect them using an elbow. Let’s see how to do this in Google Slides

Step 1

Sample data points to connect using your elbow

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 1

Step 2

Click on Insert > Line > Elbow Connector

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 2

Step 3

Now you need to mouse over your object and all the anchor points will be visible

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 3

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 4

Step 4

Click on any anchor point, and your elbow will be added to that

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 5

Step 5

Now to connect the other side of the elbow to another object simply Hold the end of the elbow and take it to another object, as you reached the object all the anchor points of that second object will be appeared, click on any anchor point to connect with it.

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 6

Note: You have noted when you moved around while holding your elbow connector to an object it’s taking the best route automatically to connect both objects. It’s the dynamic nature of connectors in Google Slides, they don’t take ordinary paths to spoil the look of your presentation or the page. You can connect from any point to any point and the connector will give you the best route for that automatically.

Step 6

To add more elbows like these you don’t need to insert it, again and again, you can simply copy this as an object and paste it on the page, and then you can hold and move it freely.

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 7

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 8

Step 7

To connect a copy-pasted elbow you need to hold it from its one end and then go to the object you want to connect, then do it same for the second end of the elbow.

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 9

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 10

Add Elbows to Google Slides – using Format Options for Elbows

In this section, we will learn how to add more elbows to Google Slides and then style them using a customization panel for it. It’s useful when we have multiple elbows on our page and we want to keep them unique by styling a group of elbows with the same customization and other groups with others. To make them unique and more understandable for the users, we mostly copy and paste elbows after customization.

Here I have a page with some data points on it, I will add multiple elbows here and will customize them using the built-in features.

Step 1

Sample data points on a single page, here I have two different data points which belong to each group

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 11

Now I need to connect the same group objects with elbows and I will customize elbows for each group so that they can be easily identified.

Step 2

Go to Insert > Line > Elbow connector

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 12

Step 3

Mouse over the object and connect the elbow with an anchor point

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 13

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 14

Step 4

Now connect the other side with another object’s anchor point

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Step 5

Now, click anywhere on the elbow’s body to customize it

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 16

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 17

You will see a customization panel on the right-hand side, if not. You can click on the “Format options” button in the toolbar

Step 6

Here you have four dropdowns for customizing your elbows

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 18

Step 7

Size and rotation

Here we can control the size and rotation of our elbow connectors.

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 19

Firstly we have the width and height in cm

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 20

Below we have the width and height scale in percentage.

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 21

Then you have a checkbox “Lock aspect ratio” Enable it to increase or decrease width and height with equal proportion. (By default, it’s checked)

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 22

Below we can define the angle in degrees

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 23

Here we can Rotate the elbow (it does not make sense after connecting with the data point)

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 24

Then here, we can flip our elbow horizontally or vertically (It also should be used before connecting the elbow, after connecting it does not make any sense)

Step 8

Position

Here can control the position of our elbow

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 25

Firstly, we have a drop-down from where we can select the position to control, we have two options “Top left” and “Center”.

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 26

Then below we have the X and Y positions of our elbow in cm, we can move it on both axes

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 27

Note that these options for positions also should be used before connecting the elbow

Step 9

Drop Shadow

It’s a checkbox, and if checked, then we have further options to control the drop shadow

We can select the color for the drop shadow.

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Then we can control transparency, Angle, Distance, and finally Radius

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Step 10

Reflection

It’s another checkbox and only opens further options if checked.

Here we can control Transparency, Distance, and finally, Size.

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Tip: These options are not used mostly, we don’t need reflection, angle, or other options with our elbows, because we have already connected it to both ends, and now the only thing matters are that the elbow should not interest the data points in an ugly way, and this is auto-controlled by Google Slides and controlled very nicely.

Add Elbows to Google Slides – Styling Elbows

In this section, we will learn how to more elbows to Google Slides and how to style our elbows. In the previous section, we saw format options in which we did not have styling options, here we can style our elbows directly using the toolbar. Let’s see what options we have got

Note that you need to select an elbow and the styling will be made only on that specifically.

Step 1

Line color

Here we can control the line color of the elbow

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 31

Step 2

Line weight

Here we can control the line weight of the elbow, it can be used to control the thickness or sharpness of the line

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 32

Step 3

Line dash

Here we can select a line style such as dash, dotted, solid, etc.

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 33

Step 4

Line start

Here we can select a starting pointer for the line such as an arrow

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 34

Step 5

Line end

Here we can select an ending pointer for the line such as a small square.

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 35

Step 6

Customized elbows may look like below

How to Add more Elbows to Google Slides 36

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some connectors in Google Slides?

We have various connectors in Google Slides, the most commonly used are elbow connectors, line connectors, and curved connectors, some uncommon and unusually used connectors are scribbles, polylines, and curves. Nevertheless, all the connectors are dynamic and useful based on the user’s requirements.

Why do we need to use elbows in Google Slides?

To connect data points, images, shapes, headings, or any objects we use lines, but lines are not smart enough when we need to connect two objects placed on different axes. So, we have elbows in Google Slides to connect two objects like an elbow-shaped line with auto-adjustment capabilities of the shortest path.

Conclusion

This was all about how to add more elbows to Google Slides, adding more elbows is nothing but to copy paste the existing elbows in Google Slides, the pasted elbows can be used uniquely to connect with different objects and they will take a new dynamic shape based on the position of the objects and their anchor points. I hope you have learned and understood about elbows in Google Slides, for more useful tutorials, please subscribe to our Office Demy Blog. Thank you.

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M. Shaiq Ansari

Hi, I am Shaiq, I am a highly skilled technical writer working full-time for Office Demy. I am specialized in Google Workspace and Microsoft Office applications. With a background in Software Engineering, I possess a deep understanding of the intricate functionalities and features of these productivity tools. Connect me on Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaiq-ansari/

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