How to change the format of PowerPoint Presentation

How to format & change slide layout in powerpoint.

In the below image, I changed the master slide theme, and it automatically applied it to all the slides. Carefully notice the change in color in the preview.

Preserve Slide Master

Ashishmohta@twc.

change format of powerpoint presentation

Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Presentations > How to Format Presentation Slides

How to Format Presentation Slides

Learn how to give your presentation slides a facelift so they captivate your audience.

change format of powerpoint presentation

Why is Presentation Design and Formatting Important?

A well-designed presentation can help you connect with your audience and gets your message across in an easily digestible manner. Great presentation design can impart a positive first impression and is more likely to draw in and engage an audience.

Pretend you’re attending a presentation and instead of formatted PowerPoint slides, each one is plain white with a lot of dark text that’s hard to read. And even though the background and text colors are the same, none of the text is lined up and multiple fonts are used. There are no transitions or title pages that help to differentiate between topics being discussed and you’re presented with slide after slide of confusing, jumbled text.

Tell your story with captivating presentations Banner

Tell your story with captivating presentations

Powerpoint empowers you to develop well-designed content across all your devices

Formatting slides in your presentation is what enhances the look of the slides and transforms them into something that complements the content and resonates with the audience.

What Else Should a Good Presentation Include?

While formatted slides can help to connect with the audience, a good presentation should also include:

  • Well-written, concise content that clearly explains the problem that you’re trying to solve and the unique solution you’ve come up with.
  • A great hook or emotionally compelling introduction.
  • Visuals that support your message and aren’t too busy.

Most importantly, a good presentation should be efficient and engage with the audience. And that engagement can be found in the content as well as how the slides are formatted.

Tips for Creating & Formatting Presentation Slides

Before you start creating your PowerPoint presentation, make sure that your content is solid. Making an outline can help you keep information organized, clear, and concise before you put it into a presentation. The outline can also help you break down what information is shared on each slide to keep things from being overcrowded or wordy. Take a minute to consider your audience and the best ways to connect with them and present what you’re trying to share.

Once your content is finalized, you can get to work on creating and formatting your presentation slides.

How to Make a Slide

A PowerPoint presentation is sometimes known as a deck and is composed of different slides. When you’re putting your own deck together, you’ll certainly need to add slides and format them in different ways.

In order to make a new slide appear in your presentation, first select the slide that you’d like your new slide to follow. Then click Home and choose New Slide . From there, you can choose your desired layout , and start inputting content. The layout options in PowerPoint are great for keeping your text lined up and consistent through the deck. You can also rearrange, duplicate, and delete slides as necessary.

Formatting Your Presentation Slides

Once you’ve created your content or slides, it’s time to consider design and formatting. This is where you make choices about themes, templates, color schemes, and fonts.

If you don’t feel confident about your design abilities, you might want to try applying a template . This customizable option offers a variety of artistic skins that can give your deck a professional polish. There is even a range of downloadable templates available from Microsoft to suit any kind of presentation.

Don’t feel like you must use a template, though. Many users may prefer to use or create a theme to visually tie together their presentations. PowerPoint provides a variety of themes which include color schemes, backgrounds, fonts, and placeholder slides. In the Design tab, you can choose a theme that appeals to you or matches with your content. You can even try different color variations within the theme by selecting Variants . Each variant has built in options for colors, fonts, and background colors and styles that can help you format your slides and create a cohesive look throughout the deck.

There are a few things to keep in mind if you decide to eschew the suggestions made by PowerPoint:

  • Consider the colors you’re using. There are definitely a few color combinations you should avoid .
  • Choose fonts that are easy to read and make sure that your text isn’t too small to be read across a large room. You’ll also want to remember to keep the text on your slides relatively sparse, with no more than three bullet points per slide.

Using Visual Aids in Your Presentation

One way to break up the monotony of an all-text presentation is to use visual aids like charts, graphs, static images, gifs, and movies.

As with all other aspects of your deck, ensure that your visuals are easy to see and understand, and aren’t too wordy. Imagine trying to read a line graph with lots of muddy colors and small text from across a conference room. The goal of a visual aid is to make the presentation you’re giving more compelling and the information you’re sharing easier to understand.

Here are a few tips for adding visuals to your presentation:

  • Make sure the images you use are of high quality and that they fit in your deck. They shouldn’t be distorted or pixelated, as this will distract from the content.
  • All charts should be very easy to read and understand. If someone can’t immediately glean what information is presented, you may be trying to fit too much into a single chart.
  • Don’t use more than one chart per slide unless it’s necessary. Keep it simple.
  • If you’re including a brand or logo in your deck, make sure you’re adhering to that brand’s style guide .

A great way to get design ideas for slides in your presentation us to use the Designer feature in PowerPoint. It automatically generates design ideas for you to choose from based on the content of your slide. Designer detects when you’re using pictures, charts, and tables and gives you suggestions for arranging them on your slides in a cohesive layout that’s easy on the eyes. Designer can also help to format your lists and timelines into easy-to-read graphics and suggests relevant graphics to pair with keywords that it finds within your content.

Create a PowerPoint deck that stands out and resonates with your audience by formatting it in a professional manner. And don’t forget to prep for your presentation !

Microsoft 365 Logo

Get started with Microsoft 365

It’s the Office you know, plus the tools to help you work better together, so you can get more done—anytime, anywhere.

Topics in this article

More articles like this one.

Close up of handshake

How to introduce yourself in a presentation

Gain your audience’s attention at the onset of a presentation. Craft an impressionable introduction to establish tone, presentation topic, and more.

Books pressed together in a pile

How to add citations to your presentation

Conduct research and appropriately credit work for your presentation. Understand the importance of citing sources and how to add them to your presentation.

A group of women working on computers at a table

How to work on a group presentation

Group presentations can go smoothly with these essential tips on how to deliver a compelling one.

A man and woman high fiving at a desk

How to create a sales presentation

Engage your audience and get them interested in your product with this guide to creating a sales presentation.

Everything you need to achieve more in less time

Get powerful productivity and security apps with Microsoft 365

LinkedIn Logo

Explore Other Categories

PresentationLoad

Change PowerPoint Slide Format: Changing Formats Skilfully and Use them Appropriately!

You’ll already be familiar with portrait and landscape orientation in PowerPoint, but there are many other PowerPoint slide formats at your fingertips. Some modern desktop and laptop monitors have different dimensions to traditional screen formats, so you really need to know how to change the format in PowerPoint.

There are several ways to do this. In this article we cover how to change the format of your slides and what you need to keep in mind.

Change PowerPoint slide format – What are the options?

In addition to the standard and widescreen options, Microsoft PowerPoint also offers the option of a custom slide size . You can select this under Design and then Slide size .

Change PowerPoint Slide format: your options

Of all the options on offer, 4:3 and 16:9 are possibly the most useful PowerPoint slide formats. In the following table we list all the standard dimensions at a glance:

NameWidthHeight
25.4 cm / 10”19.05 cm / 7.5”
25.4 cm / 10”14.288 cm / 5.625”
25.4 cm / 10”19.05 cm / 7.5”
33.831 cm / 13.319”25.374 cm / 9.99”
35.56 cm / 14”26.67 cm / 10.5”
27.517 cm / 10.833”19.05 cm / 7.5”
30.074 cm / 11.84”22.556 cm / 8.88”
19.914 cm / 7.84”14.936 cm / 5.88”
28.575 cm / 11.25”19.05 cm / 7.5”
25.4 cm / 10”15.875 cm / 6.25”
33.867 cm / 13.333”19.05 cm / 7.5”

Slide formats 4:3 and 16:9 – What’s the difference?

The 4:3 format was the slide format generally used until the 2010 PowerPoint version. This was because the majority of computer screens used until then had this aspect ratio. The PowerPoint slides could therefore be displayed filling the entire screen. The most popular 4:3 monitors used today are iPads.

However, most laptop displays and tablets have not been manufactured in 4:3 format for several years, and now have a 16:9 format .  So the majority of computer monitors today need a 16:9 format for your slides to be displayed full screen.

Note that 16:9 is a widescreen format – so do check the printer settings when printing your PowerPoint slides, or the contents of your slides will be printed cropped.

Change PowerPoint slide format – When is it useful, and when should you use which format?

change powerpoint slide format. when to choose which format

It might often seem unclear which PowerPoint slide format is appropriate for your presentation, and when you should change your PowerPoint format. This depends on several factors – firstly, what device you are using to create your presentation, and secondly, what the setup will be during your presentation.

If you are presenting from a smartphone or iPad, it is important to pay attention to the format. Smartphones and some tablets render PowerPoint presentations in 16:9, while iPads do so in 4:3.

The 16:9 format, on the other hand, is now the standard for the display resolutions of modern monitors and projectors . This format also gives you more space on each slide, and is the common format for videos.

Another factor in favor of the 16:9 format is presenting to a larger audience . The back rows of your audience might have their  view impeded by people in front of them, so it makes sense to choose the widescreen format, i.e. 16:9, to guarantee a larger area for your presentation.

Visually messy and distorted: What happens when you don’t change your PowerPoint format

Already created a presentation and realize you need to change the PowerPoint slide format? No problem – this can be done quickly and easily. However, please note that a little correction work may be necessary. We have listed the possible consequences of changing the slide format for you.

One thing you need to watch out for is images and other files distorting: this looks really unprofessional and will not leave a good impression on your audience.

Here are a few potential problems, and how to fix them:

1. Your PowerPoint slides are displayed squashed up.

If you try to present a presentation with 4:3 slides on a 16:9 format screen, the presentation may shrink to the height of the space available. Also, if you try to present a 16:9 format presentation on a 4:3 format screen, the height of your slides will shrink.

2. Your PowerPoint slides are cut off at the edges.

In the worst case, your presentation slides will be cut off at the edges of the screen. This can happen, for example, if you select an old projector for a 16:9 format presentation. These projectors cannot be converted, and only support the 4:3 format.

3. Your slide contents are compressed or stretched.

This can happen when you combine slides from presentations with different formats, leading to messy distortions.

If slides in 4:3 format are stretched into 16:9 format, your circles will become ellipses and squares rectangles. Your audience will notice that they are distorted and that something is wrong, especially in the case of pictures. This will obviously have a negative effect on the impression you leave on the audience.

Likewise, if 16:9 slides are transferred to a presentation with 4:3 format, the content will appear compressed.

Watch out for distortion! Changing the PowerPoint slide format requires you to adjust the contents of your slide

When changing your PowerPoint slide format, it is important that you take care to scale elements such as images, text and graphics . This is because the new format also changes the format of such objects.

For images, you can choose to maximize or scale to fit .

When maximizing, the inserted content is simply enlarged, while when scaling to fit, the elements will be automatically adjusted to fit optimally to the new format.

To scale or maximize, select Custom slide size under Slide size and then Portrait . After confirming your selection, the dialog box shown below opens.

change powerpoint slide format: it's important to scale pictures

Here is an example how maximizing and scaling can look like:

Example for adjusting powerpoint slide format

Change PowerPoint slide format: How to successfully switch 4:3 to 16:9 and vice versa

First select the Design tab, then click on Slide size . Here you can choose between standard (4:3) and widescreen (16:9). Alternatively, you can create your own format under Custom slide size . We go through this later in the article, under “Can’t find a suitable slide format? Just set your own!”

change powerpoint slide format: changing from 4:3 to 16:9

You can also set portrait or landscape orientation in the same window. You can find detailed instructions for this on our blog.

change powerpoint slide format: changing from 4:3 to 16:9

Tip: Use guidelines to help

To make sure the contents of your PowerPoint slides line up as you want, here’s a great tip! Select the Slide Master via the View/Master View tab in your presentation. Now, under the View/Display tab, place a check mark next to Guidelines .

Using guidelines for changing powerpoint slide format

You can move the guidelines to the position you want by hovering the pointer over a line until the cursor changes; this means you can adjust the contents of your slides uniformly across your presentation.

If you need to reset all the images or illustrations that now appear distorted, select Reset image and size under Image format / Adjust .

To set a slide size as default

To set up a new slide size as the default for all your slides, you first need to create a new design template. To do this, go to the Design tab and select the arrow to the right of the selectable designs and then Save current design . 

From now on, you will find your saved design in the Custom area. With a right click you can then Set this as default design .

change PowerPoint slide format: set a slide size as a default

Can’t find a suitable slide format? Just set your own!

If the templates PowerPoint offers aren’t working for you, you can also create your own format, so defining the slide size yourself.

To do this, open the Design tab again and click on Slide size or Custom slide size . Choose Custom for the paper format as well, and then enter the height and width you want.

Now right-click on your current layout in the Design tab and select Set as default design . The next time you start PowerPoint, your individual format will automatically be activated.

Other Aspects to Consider When Modifying the PowerPoint Format

  • Text Formatting: When changing the PowerPoint format, also consider that you may need to adjust text formatting and fonts to ensure a consistent appearance. After making adjustments, always review text sizes, line spacing, and indents on the slides and align them with the new format if necessary.
  • Backgrounds: Color schemes and the use of background images play a crucial role in changing the PowerPoint format. Check if the colors and background images remain effective and appealing in the new formatting . Adapt the color palette to the new format and ensure contrasts and readability are maintained. Also, verify if background images scale and position well in the new formatting to create an aesthetic overall look.
  • Animations: When adapting your PowerPoint format, review not only images but also animations. Ensure that animations and transitions continue to work smoothly and effectively after you’ve changed the format as desired. Check if all elements are animated correctly and if the speed and timing of animations remain appropriate.
  • Compatibility: When presenting your presentation on different devices, ensure compatibility and conversion of your PowerPoint presentations between various formats and versions. Check if your presentation displays correctly in older versions of PowerPoint in the new formatting. If needed, convert your presentation to the appropriate format to ensure smooth playback on different platforms and devices. Also, note that certain formatting may be lost when converting between different formats.

Pro tip: How to get the 16:9 format right

Planning to switch to the more modern 16:9 format and take the opportunity to optimize your content? We have three helpful tips to help you make the switch.

1. Divide your records into columns

The 4:3 format uses bulleted lists, sometimes with subheadings. Visually, however, such slides aren’t very exciting. An alternative, for 16:9, is to stack your content side by side rather than vertically. You can also strengthen the impact of your individual points with icons – we have an excellent selection of these in our store.

Use icons for projecting only one message

2. Make the best of the extra space.

Slide content arranged in a square would look out of place in the new 16:9 format. Instead, work with larger text fields and arrange elements such as images and icons according to the direction your audience will read them. This will make your slides look more dynamic compared to the older 4:3 format.

3. Reposition diagrams

If you carry over elements such as bar charts from older presentations with the 4:3 format, they will sometimes appear stretched out. When rejigging slides, it is a good idea to try this in thirds: One-third text and two-thirds chart, or vice versa, will make your slides look more dynamic.

Looking for professionally designed charts for your PowerPoint? Feel free to take a look around our store : we have a wide selection of charts. These, for example:

Cockpit charts Shop

Conclusion: Change PowerPoint slide format – Master the change in simple steps and choose the right format for your presentation

So, to make your presentations look more modern and dynamic, it makes sense to change from 4:3 to 16:9 format. Our tips will help you make these format changes with confidence, coming across as a PowerPoint expert !

If you have any questions about changing PowerPoint formats, or PowerPoint in general, do feel free to contact us at [email protected] . We’re always happy to help!

Looking for visually supportive and professionally designed slide templates? Browse our shop. We have numerous slides available for download covering various (business) topics. Check it out today! ► Visit the Shop

You might also be interested in the following articles:

  • Mirror PowerPoint Images
  • PowerPoint Layout
  • Set the PowerPoint Portrait Format

Share this post

  • share  
  • save  

change format of powerpoint presentation

Design Thinking: Problem Solving with a Difference

vision-mission-statement

Why Corporate Mission Statements Are So Important

7 Learnings from the apple keynote

7 Tips & Learnings from the Apple Keynote

Blog > PowerPoint change format (16:9 ↔ 4:3)

PowerPoint change format (16:9 ↔ 4:3)

07.21.20   •  #presentationtips.

There are basically two types of formats in PowerPoint - which slide size you should use in which situation, you can find out in the following article.

Usually the organizers of the event will tell you which format you should use. However, if this is not the case, you should definitely ask specifically, because although it is possible to convert the slides into the other format, but then, shapes will be distorted, lines are divided into several and in general, it takes a lot of time and patience to redesign the slides. Therefore, it is better to find out about it in advance.

Change the slide format

You can easily switch between these two formats. Just go to the Design tab and click on Slide Size . There you can choose the format you want.

change format of powerpoint presentation

Now you can select how the contents of your existing slides will be resized to portrait format. There are two options available:

Images and content are scaled to fill the whole slide. Attention: it's possible that images get cut off on left and right!

Images and content are fitted so that they are fully visible.

change format of powerpoint presentation

Differences between the formats

This format was the most common until the 2010 PowerPoint version, because most computer monitors in use until then also had this aspect ratio and could therefore display the slides full screen in presentation mode. All projectors are capable of displaying slides in this format at full size. Moreover, a printed slide fits on a DIN-A4 sheet.

change format of powerpoint presentation

16:9 format (widescreen)

This format is now displayed full screen on almost all computer monitors. However, a widescreen slide is larger than DIN A4. This must be taken into account when printing.

change format of powerpoint presentation

When should you use which type?

Smartphones and tablets.

It is now possible to create and view PowerPoint presentations on smartphones or iPads. However, on mobile devices these are displayed in 16:9 format, on iPads in 4:3.

Low room height

Assuming, you will present in a hall with a large audience and low ceiling height, it is difficult for those sitting in the back row to follow the presentation, because the people in the front rows block the view. Therefore, it is essential to use a widescreen format, i.e. 16:9, so that everyone can read the PowerPoint.

In case of doubt

In our opinion, in case of doubt, because you are not familiar with the technical conditions, you should choose the 16:9 format. Almost all projectors, beamers and screens can display this format and it is also set as default by PowerPoint itself.

change format of powerpoint presentation

The decision for one of the two slide formats 4:3 or 16:9 can only be made with knowledge of the conditions under which you will be presenting. If in doubt, you should give preference to 16.9. Since the conversion of the slides from one format to the other can be time-consuming, it is better if, you make this decision in good time.

Useful Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
CTRL+Z Undo an action
CTRL+Y Redo an action
CTRL+S Save

How can change the slide format in PowerPoint?

You can easily switch between the 16:9 and 4:3 format. Just go to the Design tab in PowerPoint and click on Slide Size . There you can choose the slide size you want.

Can I change 16:9 slides to 4:3 format in PowerPoint?

Yes, you can change the size afterwards. Go to the Design tab in PowerPoint and click on Slide Size . There you can switch to the desired format.

Related articles

About the author.

change format of powerpoint presentation

Philipp Angerer

Philipp is a creative supporter at SlideLizard in marketing and design. There he uses his imagination and provides creative freshness, also in blog articles.

change format of powerpoint presentation

Get 1 Month for free!

Do you want to make your presentations more interactive.

With SlideLizard you can engage your audience with live polls, questions and feedback . Directly within your PowerPoint Presentation. Learn more

SlideLizard

Top blog articles More posts

change format of powerpoint presentation

Editable Country & world map templates for PowerPoint Presentations

change format of powerpoint presentation

Effective Feedback for Presentations - digital with PowerPoint or with printable sheets

SlideLizard Live Polls

Get started with Live Polls, Q&A and slides

for your PowerPoint Presentations

The big SlideLizard presentation glossary

A pitch is a short presentation that is given with the intention of persuading someone (a person or company) to buy or invest. There are various forms of pitches, depending on the goal and intended outcome.

Fundraising Events

The aim of fundraising events is to raise funds for a specific organisation. They are often organised by charities and non-profit organisations.

Audience Dynamics

Audience Dynamics means the motivations, attitudes, beliefs and values, which influence the listener's behaviour.

Instructive Presentations

Instructive Presentations are similar to informative presentations, but it's more than just giving informations. People attend instructive presentations to learn something new and to understand the topic of the presentation better.

Be the first to know!

The latest SlideLizard news, articles, and resources, sent straight to your inbox.

- or follow us on -

We use cookies to personalize content and analyze traffic to our website. You can choose to accept only cookies that are necessary for the website to function or to also allow tracking cookies. For more information, please see our privacy policy .

Cookie Settings

Necessary cookies are required for the proper functioning of the website. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information about the number of visitors, etc.

Unsupported browser

This site was designed for modern browsers and tested with Internet Explorer version 10 and later.

It may not look or work correctly on your browser.

  • Presentations

How to Change Slide Layouts in PowerPoint in 60 Seconds

Andrew Childress

Microsoft PowerPoint makes it easy to make sharp looking slides fast. You could spend a lot of time building out your own slides, but in this video I show you how to change slide layouts in PowerPoint quickly—putting to use pre-set styles. 

We also have a helpful compliment to this tutorial. Download our FREE eBook:  The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations .  Grab it now before you read on. 

Free eBook PDF Download Make a Great Presentation

Note : In todays tutorial, we make use of the popular  Simplicity PowerPoint Template . You can also find more  professional PowerPoint templates  on GraphicRiver.

How to Change PowerPoint Slide Layouts Quickly

change format of powerpoint presentation

Note : Watch this short tutorial screencast or follow the quick steps that compliment this video.

1. Review Your Slide Layout Options

To use a layout, make sure that you're on the Home tab. Let's go ahead and insert a new slide by clicking on New Slide. Now let's click the Layout drop-down button that's right next to New Slide. 

Slide layout options in PowerPoint

2. Choose a PowerPoint Slide Layout to Use

PowerPoint themes like the Simplicity presentation template have a great selection of layouts to use. These thumbnails are previews of what each layout looks like. I'm going to click on one of these layouts called Dark Top slide.

Change PowerPoint Slide Layout to Dark Top slide option

3. Quickly Change Your PowerPoint Slide Layout

You can see here that we're now working in a great looking slide. Now, we could go ahead and add our content to the slide and type into these boxes or add images for example. We could always change up our layout by clicking on Layout and choosing another layout as you're seeing me do here.

Change up your PowerPoint slide layout

Finishing Up!

Notice that our content is still on the slide, but in a different layout. Layouts are all about having pre-built elements that make it easy to build out great looking slide decks quickly.

More Quick PowerPoint Videos (60 Second Tutorials)

Learn more PowerPoint tools quickly and start stacking up your presentation knowledge. We have additional  PowerPoint tutorials  here on Envato Tuts+ or jump into one of our  quick PowerPoint video tutorials : 

change format of powerpoint presentation

Make Great Presentations (Free PDF eBook Download)

We have the perfect compliment to this tutorial, which will walk you through the complete presentation process. Learn how to write your presentation, design it like a pro, and prepare it to present powerfully. 

Download our new eBook:  The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations . It's available for free with a subscription to the Tuts+ Business Newsletter. 

Free eBook PDF Download Make a Great Presentation

Note : In today's tutorial, we used the popular  Simplicity PowerPoint Template . Discover additional PowerPoint design options in our  Ultimate Guide to PowerPoint Templates  or browse through our  best PPT themes  on GraphicRiver.

Andrew Childress

How to Change Slide Format in PowerPoint

change format of powerpoint presentation

In today's digital age, PowerPoint has become an essential tool for creating visually appealing and engaging presentations. One key aspect of creating an impactful presentation is the slide format. By choosing the right slide format, you can enhance the overall design, readability, and effectiveness of your slides. In this article, we will guide you through the process of changing slide format in PowerPoint, so you can create stunning presentations that captivate your audience's attention.

Understanding PowerPoint Slide Formats

Before diving into the steps of changing slide format in PowerPoint, it is important to have a clear understanding of what slide formats are and how they can impact your presentation. Slide formats serve as templates that determine the layout, design, and overall look of your slides. They consist of pre-defined placeholders for text, images, charts, and other elements that make up your presentation. By selecting the right slide format, you can streamline the design process and ensure consistency throughout your presentation.

The Basics of Slide Formats

PowerPoint offers a wide range of built-in slide formats that cater to different presentation styles and content types. These formats may include standard layouts with title and content, title only, section headers, and more. Each slide format follows a specific structure and alignment, which you can customize according to your presentation's requirements.

Different Types of Slide Formats

When changing slide format in PowerPoint, you have the option to choose from a variety of different types. Some common types include:

  • Title Slide: This format typically includes a large title and minimalistic design, ideal for introductory slides.
  • Title and Content: This format features a title at the top and a content placeholder below, allowing you to add text, images, or other media.
  • Two Content: This format provides two equal-sized content placeholders, perfect for comparing and contrasting information.
  • Content with Caption: This format combines a content placeholder with a caption placeholder, useful for displaying images with accompanying text.

Aside from these common slide formats, PowerPoint also offers more specialized formats to suit specific presentation needs. For example, if you are presenting data-driven information, you can choose from various chart-focused slide formats that allow you to showcase your data in visually appealing ways. These formats often include pre-designed charts and graphs, making it easier for you to present complex information in a concise and visually engaging manner.

Furthermore, PowerPoint also provides slide formats tailored for presenting timelines, process flows, and organizational structures. These formats come with pre-defined shapes and layouts that enable you to present your information in a clear and organized manner. Whether you are showcasing a project timeline, explaining a step-by-step process, or illustrating the hierarchy within a company, these specialized slide formats can help you convey your message effectively.

Steps to Change Slide Format in PowerPoint

Now that you have a grasp of slide formats, let's explore the steps to change the slide format in PowerPoint.

Opening Your PowerPoint Presentation

To begin, open the PowerPoint presentation you want to modify. You can either create a new presentation or open an existing one.

Navigating to the Slide Master View

In PowerPoint, the Slide Master view allows you to modify the overall layout and formatting of your slides. To access the Slide Master view, follow these steps:

  • Click on the "View" tab in the ribbon menu at the top.
  • Select the "Slide Master" option from the "Master Views" group.

Once you enter the Slide Master view, you will see a sidebar displaying the various slide layouts and their corresponding placeholders.

Understanding the Slide Master view is crucial for making comprehensive changes to your presentation. It serves as the backbone of your slides, allowing you to set the design elements that will be consistent across all slides. Within the Slide Master view, you can adjust placeholders, fonts, colors, and other design elements to create a cohesive look for your presentation.

Selecting a New Slide Format

Now that you are in the Slide Master view, you can select a new slide format for your presentation. Follow these steps:

  • Click on the slide format you wish to apply from the sidebar. This will activate that specific layout for all slides.
  • Once you have selected the desired slide format, exit the Slide Master view by clicking on the "Slide Master" tab in the ribbon menu and selecting "Close Master View."

Your slides will now adopt the selected slide format, making them visually consistent and professional.

Customizing Your Slide Format

While the default slide formats in PowerPoint provide a solid foundation, you may want to customize them further to align with your branding or enhance the visual appeal of your presentation.

Imagine this: you're about to deliver a presentation to a room full of potential investors. As you click through your slides, you want them to be captivated not only by your content but also by the overall look and feel of your presentation. This is where customization comes into play.

Adding and Removing Elements

To add or remove elements from your slides, such as additional text boxes or images, simply click on the corresponding placeholder and make the necessary adjustments. You can also resize, reposition, or delete elements as needed.

For instance, let's say you want to emphasize a certain point in your presentation. By adding an eye-catching image or an attention-grabbing quote, you can instantly draw your audience's attention to that specific area of your slide.

Changing Colors and Fonts

PowerPoint offers a range of color schemes and fonts to choose from, allowing you to customize the appearance of your slides. To change the colors or fonts, follow these steps:

  • Click on the "Design" tab in the ribbon menu.
  • Select the desired color scheme or font combination from the available options.

Experiment with different combinations until you find the ideal match for your presentation. Remember, colors and fonts can evoke certain emotions and set the tone for your message. So, choose wisely!

Adjusting Layout and Design

If the default layout of your selected slide format does not meet your needs, you can modify it by following these steps:

  • Return to the Slide Master view by clicking on the "View" tab in the ribbon menu and selecting "Slide Master."
  • Click on the slide layout you want to modify.
  • Make the necessary changes, such as resizing or repositioning placeholders, adjusting spacing, or adding new placeholders.
  • Exit the Slide Master view by clicking on the "Slide Master" tab in the ribbon menu and selecting "Close Master View."

Your modified layout will now be applied to the corresponding slides. This gives you the power to create a unique and visually appealing presentation that stands out from the crowd.

Remember, the key to effective customization is to strike a balance between creativity and professionalism. By customizing your slide format, you can elevate your presentation to new heights and leave a lasting impression on your audience.

Saving and Applying Your New Slide Format

Once you have customized your slide format to your satisfaction, it's important to save it for future use and apply it to your existing slides.

Saving Your Customized Slide Format

To save your customized slide format as a template, follow these steps:

  • Click on the "File" tab in the ribbon menu.
  • Select "Save As" from the options.
  • In the "Save As" dialog box, choose the "PowerPoint Template (*.potx)" format from the dropdown menu.
  • Provide a name for your template and click "Save."

Your custom slide format will now be available under the "Custom" section when creating a new presentation.

Applying Your New Format to Existing Slides

If you want to apply your new slide format to existing slides in a presentation, follow these steps:

  • Open the presentation for which you want to apply the new format.
  • Select the slide or slides you want to change by holding down the "Ctrl" key while clicking on each slide.
  • Click on the "Home" tab in the ribbon menu.
  • In the "Slides" group, click on the "Layout" dropdown menu.
  • Select the desired layout from the available options.

Your selected slides will now adopt the new slide format, ensuring consistency throughout your presentation.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

While changing slide format in PowerPoint is generally straightforward, there may be some common issues that arise during the process.

Resolving Format Change Errors

If you encounter errors or unexpected changes when changing slide format, try the following troubleshooting steps:

  • Ensure that you are in the Slide Master view and modifying the correct slide layout.
  • Check for conflicting customizations or conflicting placeholders within the selected slide format.
  • Verify that you have the latest version of PowerPoint installed, as older versions may have limitations or bugs.

If the issue persists, consider reaching out to the Microsoft support team for further assistance.

Recovering Lost Format Changes

In the event that you accidentally lose your format changes or modifications, you can try the following steps to recover them:

  • Click on the "Undo" button in the toolbar to revert any recent changes.
  • If necessary, reopen the presentation backup file if one was created.
  • Ensure that AutoRecover is enabled in PowerPoint's settings to automatically save your work at regular intervals.

By following these steps, you can minimize the risk of losing your format changes and retrieve them if needed.

Changing slide format in PowerPoint is a powerful way to enhance the visual impact of your presentations. By selecting the right slide format, customizing it to your needs, and applying it consistently across your slides, you can create professional and visually appealing presentations that captivate your audience. Remember to experiment with different formats and designs to find the perfect fit for your content, and don't hesitate to troubleshoot any format change issues you may encounter. With these tips in mind, you are well on your way to mastering the art of slide format in PowerPoint.

Take Your Presentations to the Next Level with Bricks

While mastering slide formats in PowerPoint can significantly improve your presentations, imagine a tool that elevates your productivity by integrating spreadsheets, documents, and presentations seamlessly. Meet Bricks, the innovative solution that keeps your data connected and up-to-date, eliminating the hassle of manual updates. With Bricks, you can harness the power of AI to create compelling content and collaborate effectively with your team, all within a single platform. Say goodbye to the tedious task of copying and pasting between applications and hello to a more efficient way to visualize and present your data. Ready to transform your presentation workflow? Get started for free today and experience the future of integrated presentation tools with Bricks.

change format of powerpoint presentation

Get the spreadsheet powered by AI

You shouldn't have to be a spreadsheet expert to get your work done. Bricks makes it easy to create docs, reports, presentations, charts, and visuals backed by your data.

change format of powerpoint presentation

Share this post:

Other posts you might like..., how to make a dotted line in powerpoint, how to add a subscript in powerpoint, how to insert a template in powerpoint, how to make something transparent in powerpoint, how to link a slide to another slide in powerpoint, how to make harvey balls in powerpoint, how to change the font for all slides in powerpoint, how to insert equation in powerpoint, how to blur part of a picture in powerpoint, inspiration for every use case.

Get started fast with pre-built templates made by industry experts.

change format of powerpoint presentation

Spread sheets

change format of powerpoint presentation

Project Management

Your Slide Buddy

How to Format PowerPoint Slides: A Complete Tutorial

How-to-Format-PowerPoint-Slides-A-Complete-Tutorial

Complete Tutorial: How to Format PowerPoint Slides

Format text in powerpoint, format words, in running text in powerpoint, format a paragraph, format chunks of content, format the header and footer, format header and footer in powerpoint, format bullet lists, format the bullet point appearance in your powerpoint slides, space between bullet points and text., distance between bullet points and text., several levels in the bullet list, bullet list spacing, the format panel, add & format tables, add a table to a powerpoint slide, setting table options in powerpoint, select a table style in powerpoint, related posts, how to add music to powerpoint slideshow and find free music, how to record audio in powerpoint for narration or voice-over | step-by-step, [solved] how to upload powerpoint to google drive.

Stack Exchange Network

Stack Exchange network consists of 183 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow , the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers.

Q&A for work

Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search.

How can I apply a uniform format after finishing a presentation?

I realize that the slide master dictates a certain style on any new slides that are added to the presentation. However, users are free to override the style dictated by the slide master. Once all of the presentation content has been finalized, is there a way to reapply the slide master across the presentation in order to obtain uniform formatting (e.g. consistent bullets and fonts) on all slides prior to finalizing the presentation?

  • microsoft-powerpoint
  • presentations

Pylsa's user avatar

PowerPoint 2003

  • Go to Format > Slide Layout to open the Slide Layout task pane.
  • Select the slides you want to reapply the master layout to.
  • In the Slide Layout task pane, find the layout that you want to reapply.
  • Click the arrow on that layout and then select Reapply Layout .

PowerPoint 2007 / 2010

Select the slides you want to reapply the Slide Master formatting to.

On the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Slides section, click the Reset button.

Reset button in PowerPoint 2007

  • Awesome! This is extremely helpful. –  Puneet Lamba Commented Apr 20, 2011 at 11:59
  • Note for future users: Although, the later versions of PowerPoint look somewhat different, the steps are identical to the PowerPoint 2007 / 2010 instructions above. –  Mathematician Commented Oct 31, 2023 at 19:10

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for browse other questions tagged formatting microsoft-powerpoint presentations ..

  • The Overflow Blog
  • The world’s largest open-source business has plans for enhancing LLMs
  • Featured on Meta
  • User activation: Learnings and opportunities
  • Site maintenance - Mon, Sept 16 2024, 21:00 UTC to Tue, Sept 17 2024, 2:00...

Hot Network Questions

  • What is the oldest open math problem outside of number theory?
  • Rich Mental Images
  • Arduino Uno Serial.write() how many bits are actually transmitted at once by UART?
  • ASCII 2D landscape
  • What’s the name of this horror movie where a girl dies and comes back to life evil?
  • Will "universal" SMPS work at any voltage in the range, even DC?
  • Python script to renumber slide ids inside a pptx presentation
  • How many engineers/scientists believed that human flight was imminent as of the late 19th/early 20th century?
  • How do I completly remove "removed" disks from mdadm array
  • In Photoshop, when saving as PNG, why is the size of my output file bigger when I have more invisible layers in the original file?
  • What would a planet need for rain drops to trigger explosions upon making contact with the ground?
  • Delete only faces in whole scene
  • What does "иного толка" mean? Is it an obsolete meaning?
  • Do carbon fiber wings need a wing spar?
  • The walk radical in Traditional Chinese
  • What's the strongest material known to humanity that we could use to make Powered Armor Plates?
  • Solaris 11 cbe: no more updates?
  • Copyright Fair Use: Is using the phrase "Courtesy of" legally acceptable when no permission has been given?
  • Fast leap year check
  • Does the science work for why my trolls explode?
  • Multi-producer, multi-consumer blocking queue
  • Is it possible to draw this picture without lifting the pen? (I actually want to hang string lights this way in a gazebo without doubling up)
  • Is Entropy time-symmetric?
  • Building rear track wheel from road wheel

change format of powerpoint presentation

Zebra BI logo

How to Change Slide Format in PowerPoint

A computer screen showing the powerpoint interface with a slide being edited

Microsoft PowerPoint is a popular presentation program that allows users to create professional-looking slides for a variety of purposes. However, it is important to understand the importance of slide format in PowerPoint, as well as how to change it. In this article, we will provide a step-by-step guide and offer tips for customizing and personalizing your slide format in PowerPoint, as well as addressing common mistakes and troubleshooting common issues that may arise when changing slide format in PowerPoint. We will also explore advanced techniques and best practices for creating professional-looking slides with different formats and optimizing them for different screen sizes and resolutions.

Table of Contents

Understanding the Importance of Slide Format in PowerPoint

Slide format in PowerPoint refers to the design and layout of each slide, which can heavily influence the effectiveness of a presentation. The way you format your slides can impact how well the audience absorbs the information, and can make your presentation more engaging and memorable. A well-formatted slide can help your information stand out and make it easier for your audience to comprehend and remember.

One important aspect of slide format is the use of visual aids, such as images, charts, and graphs. These can help to break up text-heavy slides and make the information more digestible for the audience. However, it’s important to use these visual aids sparingly and strategically, as too many can overwhelm the audience and detract from the main message of the presentation.

Another key consideration when formatting slides is the use of color and font. Choosing a consistent color scheme and font style throughout the presentation can help to create a cohesive and professional look. It’s also important to ensure that the font size is large enough to be easily read by the audience, particularly for those sitting at the back of the room.

Overview of Different Slide Formats in PowerPoint

PowerPoint offers a range of different slide formats to choose from, depending on your specific needs and goals. Some of the most common slide formats include title slides with headings and subtitle slides with bullet points, as well as photo or video slides with captions. Additionally, you can choose from different themes, colors, and fonts to personalize your slides and give them a professional and cohesive look.

Another important slide format in PowerPoint is the chart or graph slide. These slides are useful for presenting data and statistics in a clear and visually appealing way. You can choose from a variety of chart and graph types, such as bar graphs, pie charts, and line graphs, and customize them with different colors and labels. PowerPoint also offers the option to animate your charts and graphs, making them more engaging and dynamic for your audience.

Step-by-Step Guide to Changing Slide Format in PowerPoint

To change the slide format in PowerPoint, follow these simple steps:

  • Open the PowerPoint presentation you wish to modify.
  • Select the slide you wish to change.
  • Click on the “Home” tab in the top menu bar.
  • Choose “Layout” from the “Slides” group.
  • Select the desired slide format from the list of available options.
  • Save your changes and preview the updated slide to ensure it appears as expected.

It is important to note that changing the slide format may affect the overall design and layout of your presentation. It is recommended to preview all slides after making changes to ensure consistency throughout the presentation.

Additionally, if you are working with a team on a PowerPoint presentation, it is important to communicate any changes made to the slide format to ensure everyone is on the same page and working with the same design elements.

How to Choose the Right Slide Format for Your Presentation

When choosing the right slide format for your presentation, it’s important to consider your audience and your specific goals. Think about the type of information you will be presenting, as well as any visual aids or multimedia you may be incorporating. A slide format that works well for one type of presentation may not be suitable for another, so it’s important to choose wisely. Additionally, following a consistent format throughout your presentation can help to maintain visual continuity and make your presentation more cohesive.

Another important factor to consider when choosing a slide format is the length of your presentation. If you have a shorter presentation, you may want to use a more concise format with fewer slides. On the other hand, if you have a longer presentation, you may want to use a more detailed format with more slides to ensure that you cover all of your points thoroughly. It’s also important to keep in mind that some slide formats may be more engaging and visually appealing than others, which can help to keep your audience interested and focused throughout your presentation.

Tips for Customizing and Personalizing Your Slide Format in PowerPoint

If you want to make your presentation stand out and add a personal touch, there are several ways to customize and personalize your slide format in PowerPoint. Some tips include:

  • Use high-quality images and multimedia to enhance your slides.
  • Choose fonts and colors that are consistent with your branding or style.
  • Add charts or diagrams to illustrate data or information.
  • Include relevant and engaging animations to make your slides more dynamic.

Another way to customize your slide format is to use slide layouts. PowerPoint offers a variety of pre-designed slide layouts that you can choose from, or you can create your own custom layout. This can help you to organize your content in a visually appealing way and make your presentation more professional.

Additionally, you can use slide transitions to add a bit of flair to your presentation. Slide transitions are the effects that occur when you move from one slide to the next. You can choose from a variety of different transitions, such as fade, dissolve, or slide, and adjust the speed and direction of the transition to fit your presentation style.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Changing Slide Format in PowerPoint

When changing slide format in PowerPoint, it’s important to avoid common mistakes that can detract from the effectiveness of your presentation, such as:

  • Choosing an inappropriate or inconsistent format.
  • Overloading slides with too much text or information.
  • Using low-quality images or multimedia.
  • Making your slides too busy or visually overwhelming.

Another common mistake to avoid when changing slide format in PowerPoint is not considering the audience. It’s important to choose a format that is appropriate for the audience and the purpose of the presentation. For example, if you are presenting to a group of executives, you may want to use a more professional and polished format, while a more casual format may be appropriate for a presentation to a group of colleagues.

Additionally, it’s important to ensure that your slides are consistent in terms of design and formatting. Inconsistencies can be distracting and take away from the overall impact of your presentation. Make sure that fonts, colors, and other design elements are consistent throughout your slides, and avoid using too many different fonts or colors, which can make your presentation look cluttered and unprofessional.

Troubleshooting Common Issues When Changing Slide Format in PowerPoint

If you experience issues when changing slide format in PowerPoint, there are several troubleshooting steps you can take, including:

  • Checking your formatting settings to make sure they are correct.
  • Making sure your images or multimedia are compatible with your presentation software.
  • Clearing your cache or restarting your computer to resolve any technical issues.

However, if these steps do not resolve your issue, there may be other factors at play. One common issue is a corrupted PowerPoint file. To fix this, try opening the file on a different computer or saving it as a different file type.

Another issue that can arise is a conflict with other software on your computer. Try closing any unnecessary programs or disabling any add-ins that may be causing the issue.

Advanced Techniques for Changing and Manipulating Slide Format in PowerPoint

For more advanced users, there are several techniques for changing and manipulating slide format in PowerPoint, such as:

  • Customizing slide masters and layouts for even greater control over the design and layout of your presentation.
  • Creating and applying custom themes to achieve a consistent visual style throughout your presentation.
  • Using add-ins or third-party tools to add additional functionality to your PowerPoint presentations.

Another advanced technique for changing and manipulating slide format in PowerPoint is using animations and transitions. Animations can add visual interest and help emphasize key points in your presentation, while transitions can create a smooth flow between slides. You can customize the timing, direction, and style of animations and transitions to create a unique and engaging presentation.

Best Practices for Creating Professional-Looking Slides with Different Formats

To create professional-looking slides with different formats, some best practices to follow include:

  • Using high-quality images and multimedia.
  • Creating visually appealing layouts with clear and concise information.
  • Proofreading your text and ensuring consistency in formatting.
  • Rehearsing your presentation to ensure smooth transitions between slides and effective delivery.

Optimizing Your Slide Format for Different Screen Sizes and Resolutions

With the increasing prevalence of mobile devices and varying screen sizes and resolutions, it’s important to optimize your slide format accordingly. Some tips for doing so include:

  • Using larger fonts and high-contrast colors to make your text more readable on smaller screens.
  • Testing your slides on different devices to ensure they still appear as intended.
  • Minimizing the use of text and maximizing the use of visuals to create a more engaging and dynamic presentation.

Maximizing the Impact of Your Presentation with Engaging and Visually Appealing Slides

The most effective presentations are those that engage and captivate the audience, and well-designed, visually appealing slides can go a long way in achieving this. To maximize the impact of your presentation, consider incorporating multimedia elements, animations, and other visual aids, while still maintaining a clean and consistent design.

Resources and Tools for Enhancing Your Skills in Changing Slide Format in PowerPoint

If you want to improve your skills in changing slide format in PowerPoint, there are many resources and tools available to help you do so. These include:

  • Online tutorials and training courses.
  • Books and other instructional materials.
  • Third-party add-ins and plugins to enhance PowerPoint functionality.
  • Forums and online communities where you can ask questions and share tips with other users.

In conclusion, changing slide format in PowerPoint can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of your presentation. By following the tips and best practices outlined in this article, you can create professional-looking slides that engage your audience and effectively communicate your message.

By humans, for humans - Best rated articles:

Excel report templates: build better reports faster, top 9 power bi dashboard examples, excel waterfall charts: how to create one that doesn't suck, beyond ai - discover our handpicked bi resources.

Explore Zebra BI's expert-selected resources combining technology and insight for practical, in-depth BI strategies.

change format of powerpoint presentation

We’ve been experimenting with AI-generated content, and sometimes it gets carried away. Give us a feedback and help us learn and improve! 🤍

Note: This is an experimental AI-generated article. Your help is welcome. Share your feedback with us and help us improve.

change format of powerpoint presentation

How-To Geek

How to change a powerpoint show (ppsx) to a work file (pptx).

4

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Quick Links

Changing the file extension, saving the file as a pptx.

PowerPoint files come in two formats: PPTX files are editable PowerPoint presentations and PPSX files are a view-only format intended for presentations. You can edit a PPSX file, but you must first convert it back to a PPTX format.

Before trying anything else, it’s always worth seeing if you can just change the file extension. This works sometimes, although it depends on the version of Office you and your colleagues are using.

To change the file extension, right-click the file and choose “Rename.”

rename file

Change the file extension (if it exists in the file name) from .ppsx to .pptx.

pptx presentation

Double-click the file to open as normal in PowerPoint.

open presentation

In our case, that didn’t work. The file still opens as a PPSX presentation. So, we’ll move on and try another way.

PowerPoint can convert a PPSX file to a PPTX one. Here's how.

First, open "PowerPoint" and choose File > Open to find the file you want to edit.

open presentation

Go to File > Save As to save the file.

save as

From the drop-down menu at the top right, choose "PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx)" to save the file as an editable file you can share with colleagues. Be sure to hit the "Save" button when you're done.

Now, when colleagues click to open the file, they’ll be taken to the PowerPoint editor to make quick edits and revisions.

  • Microsoft Office

A step-by-step guide to captivating PowerPoint presentation design

november 20, 2023

a dark pink colored circle logo with corporate powerpoint girl in the center of it

by Corporate PowerPoint Girl

Do you often find yourself stuck with a lackluster PowerPoint presentation, desperately seeking ways to make it more engaging and visually appealing? If your boss has ever told you to "please fix" a presentation and you didn't know where to start, you're not alone. In this article, we'll walk you through a straightforward method to transform your PowerPoint slides into a visually captivating masterpiece. 

Let's dive right in! 

Clean up your slides 

The first step in this journey to presentation excellence is all about decluttering your slides and elevating their impact. Say goodbye to those uninspiring bullet points that often dominate presentations. Instead, focus on what truly matters – the key call-out numbers. By increasing the font size of these numbers, you ensure they take center stage, immediately drawing your audience's attention. 

To make those numbers pop, consider breaking the text after the numbers into the next line and adding a touch of color. The contrast created by pairing a dark color with a lighter shade, like dark teal and light teal or burnt orange with peach, can work wonders. This simple adjustment makes your data more engaging , enhancing the overall impact of your presentation. 

Add dimension with boxes 

Now, let's introduce an element of depth and organization to your slides. By adding boxes, you'll create a visually pleasing structure that guides your audience through the content. In the "Insert" menu, select "Table" and opt for a one-by-one table. Change the table color to a light gray shade, elongate it, and position it neatly to the left of your text. 

To improve readability and aesthetics, increase the spacing between text phrases. A small adjustment in the before spacing setting (setting it to 48) significantly enhances the visual appeal of your slides. 

Insert circles 

To further enhance the visual appeal and engagement of your slides, let's introduce circles. In the Insert menu, navigate to Shapes and choose the circle. Adjust the circle's height and width to 1.2, ensuring it complements your content seamlessly. Match the circle's shape fill color with the corresponding text color for a harmonious look. 

Avoid using colored outlines for the circles, as they may distract from the overall aesthetic. This simple addition of circles adds an element of visual interest to your presentation, making it more captivating. 

Choose icons 

Now, it's time for a touch of creativity. Selecting icons to complement your text can elevate the clarity and appeal of your slides. In the "Insert" menu, you can search for relevant keywords to find the perfect icon from PowerPoint's extensive library . 

For instance, if your text discusses investment portfolio yield, search for "growth" and choose an upward arrow growth icon. These icons add an extra layer of visual appeal and clarity to your content, making it more engaging and informative. 

Final touches 

To wrap up the transformation process, we come to the final touches that give your presentation a polished, professional finish. Align your icons with their corresponding circles and change the shape fill color to white. This simple adjustment creates a crisp, cohesive look that ties everything together seamlessly. 

In conclusion, by following these steps, you've embarked on a journey to enhance your PowerPoint presentation . These initial steps are just the beginning of your exploration into the world of design elements and styles that can cater to your specific presentation needs. The key to a stunning PowerPoint presentation lies in the details. By following these steps, you can turn a lackluster set of slides into a visually engaging and dynamic presentation that will captivate your audience. So, the next time your boss says, "Please fix," you'll know exactly where to start. Happy presenting! 

Related topics

  • Slidesgo School
  • PowerPoint Tutorials

How to Format the Text in PowerPoint

How to Format the Text in PowerPoint | Quick Tips & Tutorial for your presentations

Most if not all presentations need words, since it’s one of the most representative ways of communication. Text is an indispensable element, so you should know all there is to make it appealing and useful for your audience. In this Slidesgo School tutorial, you’ll learn how to format your text in PowerPoint step by step . We’ll also talk about the Format Painter option.

Formatting the Text

Aligning the text, using the format painter.

  • Open your presentation in PowerPoint.
  • Select the text you want to modify.
  • On the Home tab, in the Font group, you’ll find a lot of buttons and settings that you can use to customize and modify the text. This group contains everything related to the font and its styles.
  • To change the font of a text, select it and click the Font drop-down arrow. You’ll see a list of available fonts.
  • Click the one you want to apply. The text will change accordingly.
  • To change the size of your text, select it, click the Font Size drop-down arrow and choose the desired value.
  • You can also enter your own value. To do so, click the Font Size text field (not the drop-down arrow), type the value and press Enter.
  • You can also increase or decrease the font size one step at a time by clicking the Increase Font Size or Decrease Font Size buttons respectively.
  • Next, we have the Bold, Italic and Underline buttons. The first one is used for emphasis. The second one makes your text lean slightly to the right. The third one draws a line under your text, in case you want to highlight something. To apply any of these styles, select the text and click the corresponding button.
  • If you click the Shadow button, you can add a shadow to your text.
  • Perhaps you want to cross out some words from your text. It’s easy to do so. Select the part of the text you want to cross out and click the Strikethrough button.
  • Next, we have the Text Highlight Color and Font Color buttons. As their names suggest, the first one determines the color of the highlight and the second one determines the color of the text itself. It’s easy to change any of them: select the text, click the arrow next to Text Highlight Color or Font Color and choose the desired color from the list.
  • For the Font Color, if you want a different color not included on the list, you can specify your own. Click More Colors and then, on the Custom tab, enter the RGB or HSL values of your desired color.
  • Finally, if you want to remove all the formatting from your text, just select it and click Clear All Formatting.
  • Horizontal align: If you click the Left Align, Center Align or Right Align buttons, you’ll align the text to the left, center or right, respectively. The last button, Justify, aligns the text so that each line has the exact same length.
  • Vertical align: If you click the Top, Middle or Bottom buttons found in the Align Text drop-down menu, you’ll align the text to the top, the middle or the bottom of the text box itself, respectively.
  • You might want to change how much spacing there is between the lines of a text. To do so, select the text, click the Line Spacing drop-down arrow and choose your desired value.
  • You can also enter a custom value for the spacing. To do so, select the text, click the Line Spacing drop-down arrow and choose Line Spacing Options. Enter the desired values under “Spacing” and click OK.
  • Lastly, you can modify the direction of the text. Just click the Text Direction drop-down arrow and choose the desired option.
  • There’s an interesting tool in PowerPoint called Format Painter. This tool allows you to copy the format of a text and apply it to another text without having to change manually all the styles and settings one by one.

Format Painter tool

  • First, select the text whose format you want to copy and then click Format Painter.
  • You’ll see that a little paintbrush has appeared next to the cursor. Select the text where you want to apply the copied format. The text will automatically change.
  • You can apply the copied format to multiple texts. Select the text whose format you want to copy and double-click Format Painter. After selecting any text where you want to apply the copied format, you’ll see that text has changed, but the cursor still keeps the little paintbrush next to the arrow, which means you can keep selecting other texts to apply the format.
  • When you’re done, click Format Painter or just press Esc.

Do you find this article useful?

Related tutorials.

New feature available: edit our templates with Canva | Quick Tips & Tutorial for your presentations

New feature available: edit our templates with Canva

Whenever you need to create, Slidesgo is there. We’re continually enhancing your presentation design process with templates that are primed to impress for any occasion. And in order to let your ideas flow best, comfort is key. How could Slidesgo help you with this? By making you feel right at home with our resources, no matter your preferred platform.You spoke, and we listened. Now, your favorite slides can be accessed on a new platform: Canva! This new format adds to our existing options (PowerPoint and Google Slides), expanding your ways to utilize our first-rate presentation content. We’ve started with a selection of Canva-ready...

How to print PowerPoint notes | Quick Tips & Tutorial for your presentations

How to print PowerPoint notes

Crafting an impactful PowerPoint slideshow and delivering a captivating presentation are distinct skills. The first focuses on designing appealing visuals to convey a clear message, while the second involves employing effective presentation techniques to ensure the audience grasps the idea. The content of this article will help you with the latter part of this process, guiding future presenters on how to print PowerPoint with speaker notes to enhance your presentations success and effectiveness.

Discover Our Online Presentation Software for Free | Quick Tips & Tutorial for your presentations

Discover Our Online Presentation Software for Free

We have great news for you today! If you’ve been a Slidesgo fan for years (or months, or weeks, or days, or mere hours, we welcome everyone!), you’ll probably know for now that our templates are available mostly in two formats: for use in Google Slides and PowerPoint.Google Slides is a free tool, since you only need a Google account in order to use it. PowerPoint, on the other hand, is part of the Microsoft Office suite, so it’s not a free program, but that didn’t stop it from being one of the most popular options in the world!What if we...

Webinar: Presentation Audit | Quick Tips & Tutorial for your presentations

Webinar: Presentation Audit

With more than 15,000 templates released on Slidesgo and a user base composed of millions of people, we estimate that the total number of presentations created adds up to… um, a lot! Our team of professional designers work very hard to provide you with editable slides so that the only thing you need to do is, well, customize the elements to your liking. Starting from any given template, the results may vary a lot depending on the person who edited the contents.Have you ever wondered “Is my presentation good enough?” and wished that an expert on presentations looked at your template...

  • What is a slide master? Article
  • Add, rearrange, duplicate, and delete slides in PowerPoint Article
  • Apply a slide layout Article
  • Add color and design to your slides with Themes Article
  • Start with a template Article
  • Get design ideas for slides Article
  • Customize a slide master Article
  • Change the page orientation in PowerPoint between landscape and portrait Article
  • Organize your PowerPoint slides into sections Article
  • Add a DRAFT watermark to the background of slides Article
  • Create, merge, and group objects on a slide Article
  • Guides for arranging things on a slide in PowerPoint Article
  • Change the order in which stacked objects, placeholders, or shapes appear on a slide Article
  • Rotate or flip an object Article

change format of powerpoint presentation

Change the page orientation in PowerPoint between landscape and portrait

Landscape slide orientation

Select the Design tab:

Select the Design tab on the toolbar ribbon. The Slide Size menu button towards the right end has the slide orientation control.

Near the right end, select Slide Size , and then click Custom Slide Size .

Custom Slide Size menu option

In the Slide Size dialog box, select Portrait , then select OK .

Click Portrait

In the next dialog box, you can select Maximize to take full advantage of the space available, or you can select Ensure Fit to make sure that your content fits on the vertical page.

On the Design tab, click Slide Size .

Click Slide Size

Click Page Setup .

Click Page Setup

In the Page Setup dialog box, under Orientation , click the orientation that you want:

Portrait orientation

There are separate orientation settings for Slides (projected on-screen) and for Printed notes, handouts, and outlines .

Click the Design tab of the toolbar ribbon, and then, near the right end, click Slide Size .

On the Slide Size menu that appears, select Custom Slide Size .

Options for slide size are available near the right end of the Design tab of the toolbar ribbon in PowerPoint Online

The Slide Size dialog box opens.

In the Slide Size dialog box, select Portrait , and then select OK .

In the Slide Size dialog box, you can choose between a standard or widescreen aspect ratio, and you can choose between landscape or portrait orientation.

When PowerPoint for the web is unable to automatically scale your content, it prompts you with two options:

Maximize : Select this option to increase the size of your slide content when you are scaling to a larger slide size. Choosing this option could result in your content not fitting on the slide.

Ensure Fit : Select this option to decrease the size of your content when scaling to a smaller slide size. This could make your content appear smaller, but you’ll be able to see all content on your slide.

Select Maximize to take full advantage of the space available, or select Ensure Fit to make sure that your content fits on the vertical page

Use portrait and landscape orientation in the same presentation

Change the size of your slides

Rotate a text box, shape, WordArt, or picture

Facebook

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

change format of powerpoint presentation

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

change format of powerpoint presentation

Microsoft 365 training

change format of powerpoint presentation

Microsoft security

change format of powerpoint presentation

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

change format of powerpoint presentation

Ask the Microsoft Community

change format of powerpoint presentation

Microsoft Tech Community

change format of powerpoint presentation

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

IMAGES

  1. How to format and change Slide layout in PowerPoint at once

    change format of powerpoint presentation

  2. Microsoft PowerPoint

    change format of powerpoint presentation

  3. PowerPoint change slide format (2022)

    change format of powerpoint presentation

  4. Change Slide Formatting in PowerPoint

    change format of powerpoint presentation

  5. PowerPoint change slide format (2022)

    change format of powerpoint presentation

  6. Change PowerPoint Slide Format: It’s Easy when You know how!

    change format of powerpoint presentation

VIDEO

  1. 11. How to Save PowerPoint Slide as Presentation Mode (PowerPoint)

  2. Powerpoint Magic: Transform Dull Images

  3. Free custom graphic format / PowerPoint presentation template No: 11 Download

  4. Free custom graphic format / PowerPoint presentation template No: 08 Download

  5. How to Change Presentation View in PowerPoint

  6. Easy PowerPoint Presentation Idea 💡🤗 #powerpoint #viral

COMMENTS

  1. How to Change an Entire Presentation's Formatting in PowerPoint

    Here are the different options available for reformatting: Colors: Changes all the colors used in your presentation, as well as the color options available in the color picker. Fonts: Changes all the headings and body fonts used in the presentation. Effects: Changes the appearance (shading, border, etc.) of objects in your presentation. Background Styles: Choose the background style for the ...

  2. Edit and re-apply a slide layout

    Add, edit, or remove a placeholder on a slide layout. To rename the layout, in the thumbnail list of layouts, right-click the layout that you customized, and then click Rename Layout. In the Rename Layout dialog box, type a new name that describes the layout you've just created, and then click Rename. On the Slide Master tab, click Close ...

  3. How to change the format of PowerPoint Presentation

    Open the presentation, and then switch to View mode. Next, click on Slide Master under Master Views. Notice how the rest of the slides are now under the 1st slide. In Slide Master mode, you have ...

  4. Apply or change a slide layout

    Select the slide that you want to change the layout for. Select Home > Layout. Select the layout that you want. The layouts contain placeholders for text, videos, pictures, charts, shapes, clip art, a background, and more. The layouts also contain the formatting for those objects, like theme colors, fonts, and effects,.

  5. How to Format Presentation Slides

    When you're putting your own deck together, you'll certainly need to add slides and format them in different ways. In order to make a new slide appear in your presentation, first select the slide that you'd like your new slide to follow. Then click Home and choose New Slide. From there, you can choose your desired layout, and start ...

  6. Change PowerPoint Slide Format: It's Easy when You know how!

    Change PowerPoint slide format: How to successfully switch 4:3 to 16:9 and vice versa. First select the Design tab, then click on Slide size. Here you can choose between standard (4:3) and widescreen (16:9). Alternatively, you can create your own format under Custom slide size.

  7. PowerPoint change slide format (2022)

    Change the slide format. You can easily switch between these two formats. Just go to the Design tab and click on Slide Size. There you can choose the format you want. Now you can select how the contents of your existing slides will be resized to portrait format. There are two options available: Maximize. Images and content are scaled to fill ...

  8. How to Change Layouts in PowerPoint

    A PowerPoint template is composed of several layouts applied to the slides. The layouts are the set of elements that form up the appearance of any given slide. These elements can be text boxes, placeholders, backgrounds, logos, etc.These layouts can be changed in any of the slides of your presentation, and you can apply them to any new slide that you create.

  9. How to Change Slide Layouts in PowerPoint in 60 Seconds

    1. Review Your Slide Layout Options. To use a layout, make sure that you're on the Home tab. Let's go ahead and insert a new slide by clicking on New Slide. Now let's click the Layout drop-down button that's right next to New Slide. PowerPoint Slide Layout options displayed for Simplicity template. 2.

  10. Change Slide Formatting in PowerPoint

    In this video, we'll cover three practical skills to utilize when optimizing a Power Point presentation for a variety of practical applications, whether that...

  11. How to Change Slide Format in PowerPoint

    Open the presentation for which you want to apply the new format. Select the slide or slides you want to change by holding down the "Ctrl" key while clicking on each slide. Click on the "Home" tab in the ribbon menu. In the "Slides" group, click on the "Layout" dropdown menu.

  12. How to Format PowerPoint Slides: A Complete Tutorial

    1 Open the PowerPoint file. Then, click the "View" button in the top menu, and then navigate down to the "Normal" or "Slide Sorter" views that you see in the top left. 2. Click the "Insert" menu. Then click the "Header and Footer" option. Click on "Slide.".

  13. Change the page layout

    On the Design tab, in the Customize group, click Slide Size. Click Custom Slide Size. Change the orientation for the slides to Portrait or Landscape. Note: You can also change the orientation of your notes, handouts, and outline. Click OK. PowerPoint now asks you to choose between maximizing the size of your content on the new layout (to do ...

  14. How can I apply a uniform format after finishing a presentation?

    Go to Format > Slide Layout to open the Slide Layout task pane. Select the slides you want to reapply the master layout to. In the Slide Layout task pane, find the layout that you want to reapply. Click the arrow on that layout and then select Reapply Layout. PowerPoint 2007 / 2010.

  15. Change the size of your slides

    Open PowerPoint again. On the File tab of the toolbar ribbon, select New.. The custom theme that you just saved is listed at the top left corner, named Default Theme.The thumbnail image looks like a widescreen slide, but in reality, when you create a new presentation based on that theme, the presentation has the aspect ratio that you've defined for this default theme.

  16. How to Quickly Change the Font on All Slides in PowerPoint

    To start, open your PowerPoint presentation. From the "Home" tab on the ribbon bar, click the arrow next to the "Replace" button. In the drop-down menu, select the "Replace Fonts" option. In the "Replace Fonts" window, select the font you wish to find and replace from the "Replace" drop-down menu. Choose the font you wish to use instead from ...

  17. How to Change Slide Format in PowerPoint

    To change the slide format in PowerPoint, follow these simple steps: Open the PowerPoint presentation you wish to modify. Select the slide you wish to change. Click on the "Home" tab in the top menu bar. Choose "Layout" from the "Slides" group. Select the desired slide format from the list of available options.

  18. Formatting Your PowerPoint Presentation Using Slide Masters and Layouts

    Slide masters are used in PowerPoint to format the color, font, and layout of slides in PowerPoint presentations. Learn about themes, slide masters, and how to create or modify layouts when ...

  19. How to Change a PowerPoint Show (PPSX) to a Work File (PPTX)

    PowerPoint can convert a PPSX file to a PPTX one. Here's how. First, open "PowerPoint" and choose File > Open to find the file you want to edit. Go to File > Save As to save the file. From the drop-down menu at the top right, choose "PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx)" to save the file as an editable file you can share with colleagues.

  20. A step-by-step guide to captivating PowerPoint presentation design

    In the "Insert" menu, select "Table" and opt for a one-by-one table. Change the table color to a light gray shade, elongate it, and position it neatly to the left of your text. To improve readability and aesthetics, increase the spacing between text phrases. A small adjustment in the before spacing setting (setting it to 48) significantly ...

  21. Change the background of slides

    Format the slide background with color. On the ribbon, select the Design tab. At the far-right end, select Format Background. The Format Background pane opens on the right side of the window. Under Fill, select Solid fill, Gradient fill, or Pattern fill. Select a color and other accompanying options, as applicable.

  22. How to Format the Text in PowerPoint

    Formatting the Text. Open your presentation in PowerPoint. Select the text you want to modify. On the Home tab, in the Font group, you'll find a lot of buttons and settings that you can use to customize and modify the text. This group contains everything related to the font and its styles. To change the font of a text, select it and click the ...

  23. Change the page orientation in PowerPoint between landscape and

    PowerPoint slides are automatically set up in landscape (horizontal) layout , but you can change the slide orientation to portrait (vertical) layout . Near the right end, select Slide Size, and then click Custom Slide Size. In the Slide Size dialog box, select Portrait, then select OK. In the next dialog box, you can select Maximize to take ...