In this post, I’ll show you how to create 3 different styles of phone icons for your presentations in less than 30 seconds.
On top of that…
I’ll show you how to get at thousands of other free PowerPoint icons like these (using this same technique) by setting up a simple Icon Font Cutter Tool in PowerPoint.
If you build lots of slides in PowerPoint and are always looking for professional icons, a Font Cutter Tool like this is a no-brainer.
First off though, to help you nail this technique quickly, I’ve included both a video and written tutorial below, which you can choose depending on how you learn best.
[Watch] Creating 3 Phone Icons in 30 Seconds
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Youtube. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationTo learn more about PowerPoint icons, and how to use them in your presentations, see our guide here.
1. Insert a rectangle
2. Insert a text box and type ()
Insert a text box over your rectangle so that it extends off the right side of your rectangle as pictured below.
After adding the text box, type the a forward and backward parentheses ‘(‘ and ‘)’ into the text box. In the picture below, I’ve increased the font size to 250 so it’s easier to see for this tutorial.
Note: You need both the rectangle AND the text box to pull off these phone icons correctly, layered as they are pictured below.
3. Change your font to Wingdings
From the Home tab in PowerPoint, open the font style dropdown menu and find Wingdings. You can alternatively just type it into the input box and hit Enter.
Notice, that switching your font style to Wingdings instantly turns your parentheses into two different styles of phone icons (soon to be three), but don’t stop here…
As is, these are still just icon text, not the fully customizable PowerPoint icons that you want for your slides. So don’t skip the next few steps.
4. Select your two objects
Pay special attention to the order below. If you mess this step up, this trick will not work.
Holding the SHIFT key, first select your text box with the phone icons in it, then (and only then) select the background rectangle, so that both objects are selected.
With your objects selected in the correct order described above, navigate to the Drawing Tools Format tab, open up the Merge Shapes dropdown and select Fragment.
6. Clean up the pieces
After fragmenting your two objects (and depending on the icon you are cutting out) remove the extra pieces to get at your fully customizable phone icons.
Again, these are just a few of the 886 FREE PowerPoint icons that are already sitting on your computer.
7. Format your phone icons
Now that you have your phone icons properly cut out, these are 100% editable vector graphics that you can customize and edit using any of the default PowerPoint commands.
In the picture below, I’ve added:
- A red Shape Fill – to match a potential project
- A black Shape Outline
- A Round Bevel – to give the three icons a bit of 3-D texture
Other Free PowerPoint Icons
- Set up a rectangle and text box like I showed you how to do in the tutorial above.
- Add the 223 possible character types to your text box (including the capital cases, lower cases and all of the special characters).
You have the best videos by far! Forget Lynda. This one is game changer for me.
Thanks Alex! We’re happy that we can help make your slides better and get ya to Happy Hour! 🙂
Sorry to trouble you. I tried adding merge shapes to my tool bar so I could access fragment but it isn’t available in the ribbons option. Is this a feature available in PowerPoint 2010?
Hi Alex! Not a problem, this is an important tool and you’ll definitely enjoy having it on your QAT.
By default, the Combine Shapes tool is not available in the PowerPoint 2010 Ribbon (don’t ask me why…). You can add it by following the steps below:
– Click the File tab.
– Select Options.
– Switch to the Customize Ribbon page.
– Click New Group to add a custom group to the Home tab.
– Click Rename and name the group Shape Tools.
– Choose Commands Not in the Ribbon in the top-left drop-down box.
– Select Combine Shapes from the list and click Add to add it to the Shape Tools group.
– Click Ok to close the options dialog.
Once you have the tool on your Ribbon, you can right-click it and add it to your QAT.
Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any trouble.
Cheers,
Camille