Microsoft has announced the introduction of OneNote's Draw and Hold gesture to the Excel and PowerPoint Windows desktop apps. The tool tidies up roughly drawn shapes, turning them into straight, neat versions and saving you from having to find the shape in the programs' bulky drop-down menus.
Draw and Hold was first added to the Microsoft OneNote Windows desktop app in 2023, given its usefulness for people who wanted to add shapes to their note-taking while keeping them neat and tidy. Shortly after, Microsoft decided it was worthy of addition to the Word desktop app, and now, the tool is being rolled out in Excel and PowerPoint.
When I tested the tool in Word, I was impressed by how remarkably easy it is to use. Simply activate the drawing pen, and click and drag a rough outline of a simple geometric shape. This tool works with most 2D shapes, including circles, hexagons, lines, pentagons, and rhombuses. It also works well with some more complicated forms, such as a five-point star.
When you've finished drawing, hold the mouse down for a millisecond, and you'll see the shape be converted to a neater version of the strokes you drew.
If
you'd
rather
the
shape
retain
its
freehand
style,
release
the
mouse
as
soon
as
you
finish
drawing.
If
you
accidentally
hold
for
too
long,
simply
press
Ctrl+Z
to
undo
the
automation
process.
Then, click the "Select" arrow to deactivate the drawing pen, and click and drag the shape to a new position within the file, or use the handles to change its size—exactly as you would after drawing a shape from the drop-down menu.
Draw and Hold is similar to the Ink to Shape feature. However, the main difference is that Ink to Shape automatically converts freehand drawings into shapes, while Draw and Hold requires you to click and hold your mouse for a millisecond when you've finished drawing the shape. The benefit of Draw and Hold is that you have more control over what you want to be converted to a neatened shape, and you don't need to click "Ink To Shape" each time you want this conversion to take place.
While Draw and Hold is already available to people using Word and OneNote through Microsoft 365's Windows desktop apps, it's currently only available in Excel and PowerPoint to Microsoft Insider Beta Channel users running Version 2410 (Build 18108.20000) or later. It will likely be rolled out to all other 365 customers once Insiders have fed back on the new tool.
Source: Microsoft