Add and remove slides

The appearance and structure of slides is defined by the slide layouts associated with the design template. Slide layouts define the elements on specific types of slides, such as:

• Slide backgrounds and incorporated graphics.

• Text box locations, sizes, and formats.

• Default paragraph and character formats for each text box location.

• Standard headers or footers.

A template could have only one slide layout, but most have unique slide layouts for slides that display the presentation title, section titles, various combinations of slide titles and content, and a blank slide that contains only the background. Each slide layout is named; the name suggests the primary application of the slide layout, but you aren’t limited to that suggestion; you can enter any type of content in any slide layout and modify the layout of any slide. The slide layouts available in a presentation are displayed on the New Slide menu.

You can modify the built-in slide layouts, create your own slide layouts, or create entirely new sets of slide layouts called slide masters, and you can reset slides to match their slide layouts or apply different slide layouts to existing slides.

Insert new slides

When you create a new slide, PowerPoint inserts it after the currently active slide. In a new presentation based on a standard PowerPoint template, a slide you add after the title slide has the Title And Content layout, and a slide added after a slide other than the title slide has the layout of the preceding slide.

If you want to add a slide that has a different layout, you can select the layout when you insert the slide, or you can change the slide layout at any time after you create the slide.

To add a slide based on the default slide layout

1. Select the slide after which you want to add the new slide.

2. Do either of the following:

   • On the Home tab, in the Slides group, select the New Slide button (not its arrow).

   • Press Ctrl+M.

To add a slide based on any slide layout

1. Select the slide after which you want to add the new slide.

2. On the Home tab, in the Slides group, select the New Slide arrow to display the New Slide gallery and menu.

3. In the gallery, select a slide layout thumbnail to add a slide based on that slide layout.

Copy and import slides and content

You can reuse slides from one presentation in another, in one of two ways: you can copy the slides from the original presentation to the new presentation, or you can use the Reuse Slides tool, which displays the content of an original presentation and allows you to choose the slides you want to insert in the new presentation.

Within a presentation, you can duplicate an existing slide to reuse it as the basis for a new slide. You can then customize the duplicated slide instead of having to create it from scratch.

If you frequently include a certain type of slide in your presentations, such as a slide that introduces you to the audience, you don’t have to re-create the slide for each presentation. You can easily reuse a slide from one presentation in a different presentation. (You can use the same techniques to reuse a slide from someone else’s presentation to standardize the appearance or structure of slide content with other members of your organization.) Depending on the technique you use, the reused slide might automatically take on the destination theme.

If the content of your presentation exists in a document, you can configure that content in outline format and then import the outline into PowerPoint. For the import process to work smoothly, format as headings the document content that you want to import to the presentation. PowerPoint converts some styles into slide headings, converts some styles into bullet points, and ignores other styles.

The following table illustrates how PowerPoint converts Word document styles to PowerPoint slide elements.

Word document style	PowerPoint presentation style
Title, Subtitle, Heading 1, any bulleted list level, or any numbered list level	Slide title
Heading 2	First-level bulleted list item
Heading 3	Second-level bulleted list item
Heading 4	Third-level bulleted list item
Heading 5	Fourth-level bulleted list item
Heading 6	Fifth-level bulleted list item
Heading 7	Sixth-level bulleted list item
Heading 8	Seventh-level bulleted list item
Heading 9	Eighth-level bulleted list item

To select a single slide

• In Normal view, select the slide in the Thumbnails pane.

• In Outline view, select the slide header in the Outline pane.

• In Slide Sorter view, select the slide in the Slide pane.

To select multiple slides

1. In Normal view, Outline view, or Slide Sorter view, click the first slide you want to select.

2. Do either of the following:

   • To select a contiguous series of slides, press and hold the Shift key and then click the last slide you want to select.

   • To select noncontiguous slides, press and hold the Ctrl key and then click each additional slide you want to select.

To insert a copy of a slide immediately following the original slide

1. Display the presentation in Normal view.

2. In the Thumbnails pane, right-click or long-press (tap and hold) the slide that you want to copy, and then select Duplicate Slide.

To insert a copy of one or more slides anywhere in a presentation

1. Display the source and destination presentations in Normal view or Slide Sorter view.

2. Do either of the following:

   • Select the thumbnail or thumbnails of the slide or slides you want to copy, and then press Ctrl+C or, on the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, select the Copy button.

   • Right-click the thumbnail of the slide that you want to copy, and then select Copy.

3. Do either of the following:

   • Select the thumbnail that you want to insert the slide copy or copies after, or select the empty space after the thumbnail. Then press Ctrl+V or, on the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, select Paste.

   • Right-click after an existing thumbnail where you want to insert the slide copy or copies, and then, in the Paste Options section of the shortcut menu, select the Use Destination Theme button or the Keep Source Formatting button.

   

Tip

When PowerPoint displays the paste options, press H to use the destination style or K to use the source style.

To insert a slide from another presentation

1. Open the source and destination presentations in PowerPoint. Display each presentation in Normal view or Slide Sorter view.

2. Display the two PowerPoint windows side by side.

3. In the source presentation, select the slide or slides you want to copy.

4. Drag the selection to the destination presentation. A horizontal line between slide thumbnails in Normal view or a vertical line between thumbnails in Slide Sorter view indicates the location at which PowerPoint will insert the slides.

   PowerPoint creates copies of the slides and applies the destination theme to the copies.

Or

1. Display the destination presentation in Normal view.

2. On the Home tab or Insert tab, in the Slides group, select Reuse Slides to open the Reuse Slides pane on the right side of the screen.

3. The Reuse Slides pane displays thumbnails of the available presentations.

4. If necessary, enter search text in the Search PowerPoint Files for Slides box to narrow down the presentation choices.

5. In the Reuse Slides pane, select Choose Slides below the presentation from which you want to insert slides, to display only the slides in that presentation.

6. For each slide you want to insert into your presentation, select the slide thumbnail or Insert Slide.

   Tip

   Use the Paste Options button to specify whether the inserted slide matches the source or destination formatting.

7. Close the Reuse Slides pane.

To prepare a source document to import as a presentation

1. Enter the content that you want to appear on the slides (and any other content) in a document.

2. Review the styles applied to the content you want to include in the presentation.

   • Title, Subtitle, Heading 1, and any list items will convert to slide titles.

   • Heading 2 through Heading 8 will convert to bulleted list items.

3. Save and close the document.

To create a presentation by importing a Word document

1. On the Open page of the Backstage view, select Browse.

2. In the file type list, select All Files (*.*).

3. Browse to the folder that contains the Word document that contains the slide title and bullet point information.

4. Double-click the document to create a new presentation.

5. Select all the slides in the new presentation, and then on the Home tab, in the Slides group, select the Reset button.

6. Apply the design template you want.

To create slides in an existing presentation by importing a Word document

1. Select the slide after which you want to insert the new slides.

2. On the Home tab or Insert tab, in the Slides group, select the New Slide arrow.

3. On the New Slide menu, below the gallery, select Slides from Outline to open the Insert Outline dialog, which resembles the Open dialog.

4. Use standard Windows techniques to browse to the folder that contains the Word document you want to use for the slide titles and content.

5. Double-click the document to insert slides based on its content.

Hide and delete slides

If you create a slide and then later realize that you don’t need it, you can delete it. If you don’t need the slide for a presentation to a specific audience but might need it later, you can hide the slide instead. Hidden slides aren’t presented in slideshows. They remain available from the Thumbnails pane, but their thumbnails are dimmed, and their slide numbers are crossed through with a backslash.

When you select a hidden slide, the Hide Slide button on the Slide Show tab is shaded to indicate that the command is in effect. You can edit a hidden slide in the Slide pane just as you can any other, so you might use this feature to keep a slide that you’re still working on hidden until it’s final. You can unhide a slide to include it in the slideshow.

To hide or unhide slides

• Right-click a single slide, and then select Hide Slide.

Or

1. Select the slide or slides you want to hide or unhide.

2. Do either of the following:

   • Right-click the selection, and then select Hide Slide.

   • On the Slide Show tab, in the Set Up group, select Hide Slide.

Tip

The name of the Hide Slide command and button doesn’t change; when a hidden slide is active, the command and button are shaded.

To delete slides

• Right-click a single slide, and then select Delete Slide.

Or

1. Select the slide or slides you want to delete.

2. Do any of the following:

   • Right-click the selection, and then select Delete Slide.

   • On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, select Cut.

   • Press the Delete key.

Tip

When you add or delete slides, PowerPoint renumbers all the subsequent slides.

Apply themes

The appearance of every presentation that you create is governed by a theme—a combination of colors, fonts, effect styles, and background graphics or formatting that coordinates the appearance of all the presentation elements. Even a blank presentation has a theme: the Office theme, which has a white slide background, a standard set of text and accent colors, and the Office font set, which uses Calibri Light for headings and Calibri for body text.

PowerPoint and the other Microsoft 365 apps (Office apps) share a common set of themes and theme elements. This enables you to easily produce coordinated print and presentation materials. Approximately 30 of these themes are available to you from the PowerPoint Themes gallery. Many of the themes come with predefined variants, which have a different color scheme or background graphic.

Each thumbnail in the PowerPoint Themes gallery displays a sample of the font set in the form of an uppercase and lowercase letter A (Aa) and the color scheme in the form of colored blocks over the default title slide. Title slides frequently have background graphics that set the tone for the presentation. The standard slides associated with the theme will often have a more subtle background graphic that coordinates with the title slide background. You can choose to hide the background graphic and use only a colored background if you want.

You can change the theme applied to an entire presentation or to only one section of the presentation. If you like the colors of one theme, the fonts of another, and the effects of another, you can mix and match theme elements. You can also create your own themes.

When working in Normal view, you can use the Live Preview feature to see how your presentation would look with a different theme applied. Simply point to any theme and pause. PowerPoint temporarily applies the selected formatting to the slide in the Slide pane. This makes it easy to try different themes and theme elements until you find the ones you want.

To apply a standard theme to a presentation

1. Display the presentation in Normal view.

2. On the Design tab, in the Themes group, select the More button (below the scroll arrows) to display the menu that includes the Office theme gallery.

   Tip

   The menu displays the currently applied template and any custom Office templates on your computer above the Office themes.

3. Point to thumbnails in the gallery to display the theme names in tooltips and preview the effect of applying the themes to your presentation.

   

4. Select a theme thumbnail to apply that theme to the entire presentation.

To change the color scheme of the presentation

• On the Design tab, in the Variants group, select a variant thumbnail.

Or

1. On the Design tab, in the Variants group, select the More button (below the scroll arrows) to expand the Variants menu.

2. On the Variants menu, select Colors.

   

3. On the Colors menu, select the color set you want to apply.

To change the font set of the presentation

1. On the Design tab, in the Variants group, select the More button (below the scroll arrows) to expand the Variants menu.

2. On the Variants menu, select Fonts.

   

3. On the Fonts menu, select the font set you want to apply.

To change the effect style of the presentation

1. On the Design tab, in the Variants group, select the More button (below the scroll arrows) to expand the Variants menu.

2. On the Variants menu, select Effects.

   

3. On the Effects menu, select the effect style you want to apply.

To apply a theme or theme variant to only part of a presentation

1. Create a section that contains the slides you want to have a different theme.

2. Click the section header to select the section.

3. Apply the theme or theme element.

Change slide backgrounds

The presentation theme includes a standard background. The background might be a color or range of colors and might include image elements.

You can customize slide backgrounds by removing the background graphic and filling the slide background with a solid color, a color gradient, a texture, a pattern, or a picture of your choice. You make these changes in the Format Background pane.

Each of the options in the Format Background pane has specific settings that appear when you select the option.

A solid color background is a good choice for readability, but if you want to add some interest without a lot of distraction, you can use a color gradient in which a solid color gradually changes to another. PowerPoint offers several light-to-dark and dark-to-light gradient patterns based on the color scheme. You can also create custom gradients of two, three, or more colors. Each change in color within a gradient is controlled by a gradient stop. For each gradient stop, you can specify the location and specific color (including the transparency and brightness of the color). A color gradient can have from 2 to 10 gradient stops.

If you want something fancier than a solid color or a color gradient, you can give the slide background a texture or pattern. PowerPoint comes with several built-in textures that you can easily apply to the background of slides.

If none of these meets your needs, you might want to use a picture of a textured surface. For a dramatic effect, you can even incorporate a picture of your own, although these are best reserved for small areas of the slide rather than the entire background.

If you prefer to use a simple pattern rather than a texture, you can choose from 48 patterns and set the background and foreground color to your liking.

To display the Format Background pane

• On the Design tab, in the Customize group, select Format Background.

To close the Format Background pane

• In the upper-right corner of the pane, select the Close button (the X).

• To the right of the pane name, click the down arrow, and then select Close.

To apply a background change to all slides

1. In the Format Background pane, configure the slide background formatting you want.

2. At the bottom of the pane, select Apply to All.

To remove the slide background graphic applied by a theme

1. Display the Format Background pane.

2. In the Format Background pane, select the Hide background graphics checkbox.

To apply a solid background color to one or more slides

1. In the Format Background pane, select Solid fill.

2. Select the Color button to display the color palette.

   

   See Also

   For information about the colors you can use, see the sidebar “Non-theme colors” later in this topic.

3. Select a theme color variant, a solid color, or a recent color, or select More Colors and select a custom color.

4. Move the Transparency slider to adjust the background color transparency, or set a specific transparency percentage.

To apply a gradient background color to one or more slides

1. In the Format Background pane, select Gradient fill.

2. Select the Preset gradients button, and then select a gradient option based on the current color palette.

   

Or

1. In the Type list, select Linear, Radial, Rectangular, Path, or Shade from title.

2. In the Direction list, select the direction you want the gradient to flow.

3. If you chose the Linear type, you can specify the angle you want the gradient to move along. Enter the angle in the Angle box.

4. If you want to add gradient stops, do either of the following in the Gradient Stops area:

   • Select the Add gradient stop button, and then reposition the marker that appears on the slider.

   • Click the slider in the approximate location where you want to insert the gradient stop.

   

5. If you want to remove gradient stops, do either of the following in the Gradient stops area:

   • On the slider, select the marker for the gradient stop you want to remove. Then select the Remove gradient stop button.

   • Drag the gradient stop marker off the slider.

6. In the Gradient stops area, set the color, position, transparency, and brightness for each color in the gradient. Note the following:

   • You can select a color swatch or match an existing color by using the Eyedropper tool to select a color.

   • You can change the transparency and brightness by moving the markers on the sliders, by entering specific percentages, or by scrolling the dials.

To apply a textured background to one or more slides

1. In the Format Background pane, select Picture or texture fill.

2. Select the Texture button to display the texture gallery. You can select from a variety of textures, including fabric, marble, granite, wood grain, and Formica-like textures in various colors.

3. In the texture gallery, select the texture you want to apply.

4. Move the Transparency slider to adjust the background color transparency, or set a specific transparency percentage.

To apply a patterned background to one or more slides

1. In the Format Background pane, select Pattern fill.

2. In the Pattern palette, select one of the 48 pattern swatches.

3. Select the Foreground button, and then select the primary pattern color.

4. Select the Background button, and then select the secondary pattern color.

Divide presentations into sections

To make it easier to organize and format a longer presentation, you can divide it into sections. In both Normal view and Slide Sorter view, sections are designated by titles above their slides. The titles do not appear in other views, and they do not create slides or otherwise interrupt the flow of the presentation.

Because you can collapse entire sections to leave only the section titles visible, the sections make it easier to focus on one part of a presentation at a time.

Some templates include a slide layout, similar to the title slide layout, that is specifically designed for section divider slides. If you divide a long presentation into sections based on topic, you might want to transfer your section titles to these slides to provide guidance to the audience or to mark logical points in the presentation to take breaks or answer questions.

To create a section

1. In Normal view or Slide Sorter view, select the slide that you want to be first in the new section.

2. On the Home tab, in the Slides group, select the Section button, and then select Add Section to insert a section title named Untitled Section before the selected slide.

To rename a section

1. In Normal view or Slide Sorter view, do either of the following to open the Rename Section dialog:

   • Right-click the section title you want to change, and then select Rename Section.

   • On the Home tab, in the Slides group, select the Section button, and then select Rename Section.

   

2. In the Section name box, replace or edit the existing section name, and then press Enter or select Rename.

To collapse or expand one slide section

• In Normal view or Slide Sorter view, click the arrow that precedes the section title.

To collapse or expand all slide sections

• On the Home tab, in the Slides group, select the Section button, and then select Collapse All or Expand All.

• Right-click any section name, and then select Expand All or Collapse All.

Rearrange slides and sections

After you’ve added several slides to a presentation, you might want to rearrange their order so that they more effectively communicate your message.

You can rearrange a presentation by moving individual slides or entire sections of slides.

To move a slide within a presentation

• In Normal view or Slide Sorter view, drag the slide thumbnail to its new position. Notice as you drag that the other thumbnails move to indicate where the selected slide will appear when you release the mouse button.

Or

1. Select the slide thumbnail, and then press Ctrl+X or, on the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, select Cut.

2. Do either of the following:

   • Select the slide thumbnail that you want to insert the cut slide after, and then press Ctrl+V or, in the Clipboard group, select Paste.

   • Click between the other slide thumbnails to insert a thin red marker (horizontal in Normal view or vertical in Slide Sorter view) where you want to move the slide. Then press Ctrl+V or, in the Clipboard group, select Paste.

Or

1. Right-click the slide thumbnail, and then select Cut.

2. Right-click between the other slide thumbnails where you want to move the slide.

   Tip

   The thin red destination marker appears only when you click between thumbnails, not when you right-click between thumbnails.

3. In the Paste Options section of the shortcut menu, select the Use Destination Theme button or the Keep Source Formatting button.

   Tip

   When PowerPoint displays the paste options, press H to use the destination style or K to use the source style.

To move a section within a presentation

1. Click the title of the section of slides you want to move, to select all the slides in the section.

2. Drag the section to its new location.

Or

• Right-click the section title, and then select Move Section Up or Move Section Down to move the section and all its slides before the preceding section or after the following section.

To merge a section into the preceding section by removing the section divider

1. Select the title of the section of slides you want to ungroup.

2. On the Home tab, in the Slides group, select the Section button, and then select Remove Section.

Or

• Right-click the section title, and then select Remove Section.

To merge all sections by removing all section dividers

• On the Home tab, in the Slides group, select the Section button, and then select Remove All Sections.

To delete a section of slides

1. Select the title of the section of slides you want to delete, to select all the slides in the section.

2. Press the Delete key.

Or

1. Right-click the section title, and then select Remove Section & Slides.

   

2. If PowerPoint prompts you to confirm the deletion, select Yes to delete the section title and all the slides in the section.

Key points

• You can add as many slides as you want to a presentation. Most templates provide a variety of readymade slide layouts to choose from. If you change your mind about a slide layout, you can easily switch to a different layout.

• Grouping slides into sections makes it easy to focus on and format specific parts of a presentation.

• If you need to change the order of slides or sections, you can rearrange them in Slide Sorter view or in the Thumbnails pane in Normal view.

• Switching to another predefined theme or theme variant is an easy way to change the look of a presentation. Applying a different theme variant is a simple way to signal a topic change within a presentation.

• To dress up the background of a slide or all the slides in a presentation, you can apply a solid color, color gradient, texture, pattern, or picture to the slide background.

Practice tasks

Before you can complete these tasks, you must copy the book’s practice files to your computer. The practice files for these tasks are in the Office365SBSCh10 folder. You can save the results of the tasks in the same folder.

The introduction includes a complete list of practice files and download instructions.