PPT: How to Determine and/or Change the Bullet Style (132189)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 95
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 3.0
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 4.0
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 4.0a
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 4.0c
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Macintosh 3.0
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Macintosh 3.0b
  • Microsoft PowerPoint for Macintosh 4.0
This article was previously published under Q132189

SUMMARY

The font of the first character of a bulleted line determines the font used for the bullet when you use bullets from Normal Text. This behavior is normal for the bullet feature in PowerPoint.

If you click Bullet on the Format menu, and click [Normal Text] in the Bullets From list, the diagram of available bullets is drawn using the font of the first character of the currently selected paragraph.

This means that if you change the font you are using in a bulleted list, the bullet also changes.

MORE INFORMATION

If you want to make sure that every bullet in your bulleted list remains the same, even if you change the font of the text, you can try one of the following methods.

Method 1: Select Something Other than [Normal Text]

  1. On the Format menu (or the Text menu if you are using PowerPoint 3.0), click Bullet.
  2. In the Bullets From list, select something other than [Normal Text].
  3. Select a bullet from the character map.
  4. Click OK.
Now, no matter what font you use in your list, the bullet retains the formatting you selected in step 3.

Method 2: Change the Font at the Beginning of the Line

This method may not work for everyone. This example uses Times New Roman, but you can choose a different font to achieve the bullet style you want.
  1. Click at the beginning of the line on which you want to fix the bullet.
  2. On the Format menu (or the Text menu if you are using PowerPoint 3.0), click Font.
  3. Change the font to Times New Roman.
  4. Type a space character at the beginning of the line.
Because the first character of the line is now Times New Roman, the bullet is also formatted in Times New Roman.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:8/16/2005
Keywords:kbhowto kbusage KB132189
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