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I use PowerPoint for drawings and diagrams. When I try to add a vertical straight line, it is always slightly tilted (~2 degrees). I have the same problem when I am trying to draw a horizontal line (88 or 92 degrees rather than 90 degrees) I would like to force the line to be 0 degrees (truly vertical) or 90 degrees (truly horizontal). How can I do that?

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Hold down the shift key while drawing the line. In 2007 and probably 2010 you have to hold both the CTRL and the Shift keys down.

Also, if it is 2007 be sure and download SP2, there appears to have been a problem in SP1 which makes it impossible to draw a straight line (for some).

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The shift key will also make an ellipse into a circle and a rectangle into a square. – mhoran_psprep Jan 30 at 17:39
Thanks! Another question: If in an old file I drew a line that is not truly vertical, can I later force it to be vertical, or must I redraw it using Shift? – KE. Jan 31 at 15:27
You can force it to vertical. Just click the line open the properties and select Size and Position. Then change the Width to 0 for vertical or the Height to 0 for horizontal. – opsin Jan 31 at 22:05
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at a guess, try holding ctrl down when drawing. Alot of packages use it to lock the line to 90 and 45 angles.

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