Change Shapes within a SmartArt Graphic in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac

Most of the time, SmartArt graphics work great with their default looks, and that's something to credit Microsoft with. In addition you can change one SmartArt graphic to another and you can also change colors or apply a new SmartArt Style to make your SmartArt graphics appear distinct and unique. What many users don't realize though is that they can change the individual shapes within a SmartArt graphic to another shape. For instance, you can change some squares in your SmartArt graphic to become circles with a mere click or two!

Follow these steps to change individual shapes within SmartArt graphics in PowerPoint 2011 in Mac:

1. Select your existing SmartArt graphic. Then, select the particular shape that you want to change within your SmartArt graphic. In the example shown in Figure 1, below, we selected the Rounded Rectangle shape in the middle.
2. 
   Figure 1: Continuous Block Process SmartArt graphic in PowerPoint

Insert SmartArt Graphics

Want to know how to add a SmartArt graphic on your slide in the first place? Go here to learn how you can insert a SmartArt graphic within PowerPoint 2011 for Mac.
2. Select the SmartArt tab of the Ribbon as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2, below. Within this tab, locate the Edit SmartArt group and click the Shape button, as shown highlighted in blue within Figure 2.
3. 
   Figure 2: Shape button within Edit SmartArt group of SmartArt tab
3. Doing so opens the Shape drop-down gallery, as shown in Figure 3, below. From the different shape categories included in this gallery, select any shape you like. For this tutorial, we have selected the Oval shape, as shown in Figure 3.
4. 
   Figure 3: Oval shape selected within the Shape drop-down gallery
4. Doing so will change the selected shape in the SmartArt graphic to the new shape that you have chosen from the Shape gallery. In Figure 4, you can see that the Rounded Rectangle shape selected earlier is now changed to an Oval. Note that only the shape is changed, and all other attributes of the shape such as fill color, outline color, etc., remain the same (compare Figures 1 and 4).
5. 
   Figure 4: Selected shape within a SmartArt graphic is changed from a rectangle to an oval
5. Save your presentation.