How do you lock elements in a Powerpoint page so they cant be moved?

it's been a while, since this thread started, but i wanted to add a possible solution, just to make sure:

in case you need to lock shapes (amongst other things), you might want to check out this add-in:

http://officeone.mvps.org/shapelocker/shapelocker.html

i have absolutely no idea why microsoft is unwilling to integrate this feature, it sure would make things easier.

anyhow, i installed the trial version and it really works.

hope that helps.

>> There are plenty of people who share JasonMin's rage and it is entirely justified.

I share the frustration, but the fact of it is that PowerPoint doesn't have the feature and slagging the people who suggest workarounds isn't going to get the feature added.  Following Jim's original suggestion might.

>> One example would be to pull in an image of the company's new product, then try to add text boxes in front of the image describing certain features or part names. The background, being loose, keeps getting selected and it makes editing objects in front of it next to impossible.

Not sure I follow this ... if you click on the text box, the text box gets selected and can be edited.  Sure it's easy to select the image by mistake if you're not careful where you click, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it "next to impossible".

>> The work arounds described for the last 10 years (background image, master, etc) are not acceptable to many users and MS should have done something about it by now, hence the frustration.

Here's the thing:  MS is big but it doesn't have unlimited resources.  PPT is a fairly small flea on the tail of the big MS dog, so the resources given to it are even more limited.  The developers will spend them on the features that give the most bang for the buck, the stuff that most users are clamoring for.  If nobody bothers to follow Jim's suggestion and request the feature, and ideally explain WHY it's so important, it's as though you never asked for it.

It is a must have feature for any designer used to working with Adobe or Apple products. There are plenty of people who share JasonMin's rage and it is entirely justified. The lack of this feature means I can not use this program without pulling my hair out.

One example would be to pull in an image of the company's new product, then try to add text boxes in front of the image describing certain features or part names. The background, being loose, keeps getting selected and it makes editing objects in front of it next to impossible.

The work arounds described for the last 10 years (background image, master, etc) are not acceptable to many users and MS should have done something about it by now, hence the frustration.

No need to go all volcanic.   

This place is staffed (if that's even the right term) by volunteers, not Microsoft employees.

If you want to be rude/insulting, that's your business, but if you do, don't be surprised if the volunteers volunteer to ignore you and help others instead.

Yeah, I saw the :P ...   Maybe you were grinning ear to ear when you wrote it, but we can't see that.  Best to consider the medium, y'know?