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PowerPoint 2016 and 2019 cheat sheet

Are you getting the most from powerpoint 2016 and 2019 for windows learn about the key features in microsoft’s powerful presentation app..

Preston Gralla

Contributing Editor, Computerworld |

presentation powerpoint 2016

Use the Ribbon

Use tell me to accomplish tasks quickly, try smart lookup for online research, collaborate live.

  • Add new types of charts
  • Morph and Zoom your slides in PowerPoint 2019
  • Other useful PowerPoint 2019 features
  • Handy keyboard shortcuts

Need to create and share a presentation? If so, you probably turn to the most popular presentation application in the world, PowerPoint, one of the core apps that make up Microsoft’s Office suite.

Microsoft sells Office under two models: Individuals and businesses can pay for the software license up front and own it forever (what the company calls the “perpetual” version of the suite), or they can purchase an Office 365 or Microsoft 365 subscription, which means they have access to the software for only as long as they keep paying the subscription fee.

When you purchase a perpetual version of the suite — say, Office 2016 or Office 2019 — its applications will never get new features, whereas apps in an Office 365/Microsoft 365 subscription are continually updated with new features. (For more details, see “ What are the differences between Microsoft Office 2019 and Office 365? ”)

This cheat sheet gets you up to speed on the features that were introduced in PowerPoint 2016 and PowerPoint 2019, the perpetual-license versions of PowerPoint included with Office 2016 and Office 2019, respectively. In Office 365/Microsoft 365, PowerPoint has all those features, plus several more. See our separate PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 cheat sheet to see all its latest features.

Most of the tips in this article apply to both PowerPoint 2016 and PowerPoint 2019 for Windows. Near the end are tips for PowerPoint 2019 only, and then we wrap up with handy keyboard shortcuts for both versions.

Share this story: IT folks, we hope you'll pass this guide on to your users to help them learn to get the most from PowerPoint 2016 and 2019.

The Ribbon interface in PowerPoint 2016 and 2019 hasn't changed much compared to earlier versions. Because the Ribbon has been included in Office suite applications since Office 2007, we assume you're familiar with how it works. If you need a refresher, see our PowerPoint 2010 cheat sheet .

As in PowerPoint 2013, the Ribbon in PowerPoint 2016 and 2019 has a flattened look that's cleaner and less cluttered than in PowerPoint 2010 and 2007. The newer Ribbon is smaller than it was in PowerPoint 2013, the title bar is red rather than white, and the text for the Ribbon tabs (File, Home, Insert and so on) is a mix of upper- and lowercase rather than all caps. But it still works in the same way, and you'll find most of the commands in the same locations as in PowerPoint 2013.

The Ribbon hasn't changed a great deal from PowerPoint 2013. (Click image to enlarge it.)

To find out which commands live on which tabs on the Ribbon, download our PowerPoint 2016 and 2019 Ribbon quick reference . Also see the nifty new Tell Me feature described below. 

As in previous versions of PowerPoint, if you want the commands underneath the tabs on the Ribbon to go away, press Ctrl-F1. To make them reappear, press Ctrl-F1 again. (Note that the Ribbon tabs — File, Home, Insert and so on — stay visible.)

You’ve got other options for displaying the Ribbon as well. To get to them, click the Ribbon Display Options icon at the top right of the screen, just to the left of the icons for minimizing and maximizing PowerPoint. A drop-down menu appears with these three options:

  • Auto-hide Ribbon: This hides the entire Ribbon, both the tabs and commands underneath them. To show the Ribbon again, click at the top of PowerPoint.
  • Show Tabs: This shows the tabs but hides the commands underneath them. It’s the same as pressing Ctrl-F1. To display the commands underneath the tabs when they’re hidden, press Ctrl-F1, click a tab, or click the Ribbon display icon and select “Show Tabs and Commands.”
  • Show Tabs and Commands: Selecting this shows both tabs and commands.

And if for some reason that nice red color on the title bar is just too much for you, you can turn it white or gray. (In PowerPoint 2019, there’s also a black option.) To do it, select File > Options > General . In the "Personalize your copy of Microsoft Office" section, click the down arrow next to Office Theme, and select Dark Gray or White (or Black) from the drop-down menu. To make the title bar red again, instead choose the "Colorful" option from the drop-down list. Just above the Office Theme menu is an Office Background drop-down menu — here you can choose to display a pattern such as a circuit board or circles and stripes in the title bar.

You can change PowerPoint’s red title bar to gray, white, or (in Office 2019) black. (Click image to enlarge it.)

There’s a very useful change in what Microsoft calls the backstage area that appears when you click File on the Ribbon: If you click Open, Save a Copy, Save or Save As from the menu on the left, you can see the cloud-based services you've connected to your Office account, such as SharePoint and OneDrive. Each location displays its associated email address underneath it. This is quite helpful if you use a cloud service with more than one account, such as if you have one OneDrive account for personal use and another one for business. You'll be able to see at a glance which is which.

You can also easily add new cloud-based services. From the screen that shows you your online locations, click “Add a Place,” and choose which service to add. Note, though, that you’re limited to SharePoint and OneDrive.

The backstage area (under the File tab) shows which cloud-based services you've connected to your Office account and lets you connect to additional ones. (Click image to enlarge it.)

PowerPoint is so chock-full of powerful features that it can be tough to remember where to find them all. Microsoft has made it easier with a feature in PowerPoint 2016 and 2019 called Tell Me, which puts even buried tools or those you rarely use in easy reach.

To use it, click the "Tell me what you want to do" text to the right of the Ribbon tabs. (Those who prefer keyboard shortcuts can instead press Alt-Q.) Then type in a task you want to do, such as "change handout orientation." You'll get a menu showing potential matches for the task.

In this instance, the top result is a Handout Orientation listing that when clicked gives you two options — one to set the orientation to horizontal and the other to vertical. Just click the one you want to use. If you'd like more information about your task, the last two items that appear in the Tell Me menu let you select from related Help topics or search for your phrase using Smart Lookup. (More on Smart Lookup below.)

The Tell Me feature makes it easy to perform just about any task. (Click image to enlarge it.)

Even if you consider yourself a PowerPoint pro, give Tell Me a try. It'll save you lots of time and is much more efficient than hunting through the Ribbon to find a command. It also remembers the features you've previously clicked on in the box, so when you click in it, you first see a list of previous tasks you've searched for. That makes sure that tasks that you frequently perform are always within easy reach, while at the same time making tasks you rarely do easily accessible.

If you do research to gather information for presentations, you’ll want to check out another feature, Smart Lookup. It lets you do online research from right within PowerPoint while you're working on a presentation, so there’s no need to fire up your browser, search the web, and then copy the information to your presentation.

To use Smart Lookup, right-click a word or group of words and select Smart Lookup from the menu that appears. PowerPoint then uses Bing to do a web search on the word or phrase and displays definitions, any related Wikipedia entries, and other results from the web in the Smart Lookup pane that appears on the right. If you just want a definition of the word, click the Define tab in the pane.

Smart Lookup lets you do web research from right within PowerPoint. (Click image to enlarge it.)

Smart Lookup has been getting smarter over time. When the feature first launched, it wasn’t very good at finding specific, timely information such as the current inflation rate in the United States. It was much better at finding more general information, such as a biography of the artificial intelligence pioneer Arthur Samuel. But Microsoft has done a lot of work on it, and it now works well when finding granular information as well.

Keep in mind that in order to use Smart Lookup in PowerPoint or any other Office app, you might first need to enable Microsoft's intelligent services feature, which collects your search terms and some content from your presentations and other documents. (If you're concerned about privacy, you'll need to decide whether the privacy hit is worth the convenience of doing research from right within the app.) If you haven't enabled it, you'll see a screen when you click Smart Lookup asking you to turn it on. Once you do so, it will be turned on across all your Office applications.

The most important feature that launched with PowerPoint 2016 for those who work with others is live collaboration that lets people work on presentations together from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. To do it, you must be logged into your Microsoft or Office 365 account, and the presentation must be stored in OneDrive, OneDrive for Business or SharePoint Online.

However, while Office 365 subscribers or anyone using PowerPoint Online can see the changes that other users of those versions make to a shared presentation in real time as they happen, PowerPoint 2016 and 2019 users have to save their presentations periodically to see and share changes. So while it is live collaboration, it’s not real-time visibility into that collaboration. Still, it does allow you to work with others on the same presentation at the same time.

To collaborate on a presentation, open it, then click the Share icon in the upper-right part of the screen. If you haven’t yet saved your file in OneDrive, OneDrive for Business or SharePoint Online, you’ll be prompted to do so.

Clicking the Share button opens the Share pane on the right-hand side of the screen. Think of the pane as command central for collaboration. At the top of the pane, type in the email addresses of the people with whom you want to collaborate on the presentation, separated by commas. As you type, PowerPoint looks through your address book and displays the matches it finds; click the person you want to invite. If you’re on a corporate network, you can click the address book on the right to search through your corporate email address book. If a person isn’t in your address book, type in the complete email address.

Selecting people with whom to collaborate via the Share pane. (Click image to enlarge it.)

After you enter the addresses, select either "Can edit" or "Can view" in the drop-down to allow collaborators full editing or read-only privileges. (If you want to assign different rights to different users, send separate emails, or you can change any collaborator’s permissions later by right-clicking their name in the Share pane.) Type a message in the text box if you want. When you’re done, click Share. An email is sent out to everyone with whom you’ve shared the file, showing a button that they can click to open the presentation.

Your collaborators get an email message like this when you share a document. (Click image to enlarge it.)

There’s another way to share a file stored in a personal OneDrive for collaboration: At the bottom of the Share pane, click “Get a sharing link,” and from the screen that appears, choose “Create an edit link” if you want to create a link to the file that will allow people to edit the file, or “Create a view-only link” if you want to create a link that will allow them to view the file only. Then create an email using any email program, copy the link and send it.

When your recipients get the email invitation from you, they click a button or link to open the presentation, which opens in PowerPoint Online in a web browser rather than in the PowerPoint desktop client. At this point, they can view the presentation but not edit it. Users who aren’t signed into a Microsoft account will see an Edit in Browser button; once they click that, they can start editing in their browser window. Logged in users will see an Edit Presentation menu, from which they can choose Edit in PowerPoint to open the file in the client version of PowerPoint, or Edit in Browser to work in the free web version.

The web version isn’t as fully featured as the client version — for instance, there aren’t as many transitions and animations, you can’t record your screen from inside PowerPoint, and you can’t give slideshows or use several other features. But for basic editing, it works fine.

When one or more collaborators are working in a shared presentation, the Share button will change to reflect the number of people working on it (including you). As mentioned above, you’ll have to save your presentation periodically to see their changes or have them see yours. After you save, your collaborators’ additions appear in your presentation.

When collaborating in PowerPoint 2016 and 2019, you must save the document to see changes made by others and to share your changes with them. (Click image to enlarge it.)

Be aware that how well real-time collaboration works depends on the strength of your internet connection. On slow or flaky connections, you won’t immediately see edits that other people make and they won’t see yours immediately — there will be a lag. So it’s always best, when possible, to have the strongest connection possible when collaborating.

In addition to seeing each other’s changes to the presentation, you can communicate with your collaborators in other ways. The Share pane shows a list of people who have access to the presentation, with a note underneath their name indicating if they are currently editing the presentation, and if not, whether they have editing or viewing access.

Click or hover your cursor over the icon of anyone working on the presentation, and a screen pops out with the various ways you can contact that person, including text chat, phone and video via Skype (if the person has Skype) and email. That lets you talk or text while you're working on the presentation together, making collaboration that much more effective.

Click the icon of someone working with you on a document to see other ways you can contact that person. (Click image to enlarge it.)

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Microsoft PowerPoint 2016

Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 for Windows

  • V  2016

Softonic review

Joe Wainer

Important note: Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 is no longer available

The Download button for this program will redirect you to the latest PowerPoint version. Also you can find the Premium version and create your best work with Office 365 .

Presentation software gets an update with Microsoft PowerPoint 2016

Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 adds a range of new feature to the most popular presentation software on the market. A variety of new features make design and presentation recording easier (although some of these are available only to Office 365 subscribers). Like the other Microsoft Office apps, PowerPoint has also had its Help feature significantly upgraded -- finding out how to achieve a particular task is much simpler than in previous versions .

More of the same with a few tweaks

If you've used PowerPoint 2013 , you won't see a lot of changes in Microsoft PowerPoint 2016. The interface is essentially the same, with the only changes being a few small additions such as the Help menu. Some design processes are now streamlined or automated : for instance, if you start entering a list of bullet points, PowerPoint will now offer to turn your list into an eye-catching SmartArt graphic. If you want to make your slides the old-fashioned way, of course, that's still possible.

Still the standard for presentation design

Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 is essentially a slightly improved version of its predecessor, with a few new features and some overall improvements in Office 2016 . If you need to create presentations for work or school, it remains the go-to tool. If you didn't like the old version, however, there isn't a lot here to change your mind. In case you are looking for free alternatives, you may want to download Prezi or Free Slideshow Maker . If you need help, on the Microsoft Support website you will find support and tutorials. 

  • Improved help menu
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Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 for PC

User reviews about microsoft powerpoint 2016.

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How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation (Step-by-Step)

  • PowerPoint Tutorials
  • Presentation Design
  • January 22, 2024

In this beginner’s guide, you will learn step-by-step how to make a PowerPoint presentation from scratch.

While PowerPoint is designed to be intuitive and accessible, it can be overwhelming if you’ve never gotten any training on it before. As you progress through this guide, you’ll will learn how to move from blank slides to PowerPoint slides that look like these.

Example of the six slides you'll learn how to create in this tutorial

Table of Contents

Additionally, as you create your presentation, you’ll also learn tricks for working more efficiently in PowerPoint, including how to:

  • Change the slide order
  • Reset your layout
  • Change the slide dimensions
  • Use PowerPoint Designer
  • Format text
  • Format objects
  • Play a presentation (slide show)

With this knowledge under your belt, you’ll be ready to start creating PowerPoint presentations. Moreover, you’ll have taken your skills from beginner to proficient in no time at all. I will also include links to more advanced PowerPoint topics.

Ready to start learning how to make a PowerPoint presentation?

Take your PPT skills to the next level

Start with a blank presentation.

Note: Before you open PowerPoint and start creating your presentation, make sure you’ve collected your thoughts. If you’re going to make your slides compelling, you need to spend some time brainstorming.

For help with this, see our article with tips for nailing your business presentation  here .

The first thing you’ll need to do is to open PowerPoint. When you do, you are shown the Start Menu , with the Home tab open.

This is where you can choose either a blank theme (1) or a pre-built theme (2). You can also choose to open an existing presentation (3).

For now, go ahead and click on the  Blank Presentation (1)  thumbnail.

In the backstage view of PowerPoint you can create a new blank presentation, use a template, or open a recent file

Doing so launches a brand new and blank presentation for you to work with. Before you start adding content to your presentation, let’s first familiarize ourselves with the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint interface

Picture of the different parts of the PowerPoint layout, including the Ribbon, thumbnail view, quick access toolbar, notes pane, etc.

Here is how the program is laid out:

  • The Application Header
  • The Ribbon (including the Ribbon tabs)
  • The Quick Access Toolbar (either above or below the Ribbon)
  • The Slides Pane (slide thumbnails)

The Slide Area

The notes pane.

  • The Status Bar (including the View Buttons)

Each one of these areas has options for viewing certain parts of the PowerPoint environment and formatting your presentation.

Below are the important things to know about certain elements of the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint Ribbon

The PowerPoint Ribbon in the Microsoft Office Suite

The Ribbon is contextual. That means that it will adapt to what you’re doing in the program.

For example, the Font, Paragraph and Drawing options are greyed out until you select something that has text in it, as in the example below (A).

Example of the Shape Format tab in PowerPoint and all of the subsequent commands assoicated with that tab

Furthermore, if you start manipulating certain objects, the Ribbon will display additional tabs, as seen above (B), with more commands and features to help you work with those objects. The following objects have their own additional tabs in the Ribbon which are hidden until you select them:

  • Online Pictures
  • Screenshots
  • Screen Recording

The Slides Pane

The slides pane in PowerPoint is on the left side of your workspace

This is where you can preview and rearrange all the slides in your presentation.

Right-clicking on a slide  in the pane gives you additional options on the slide level that you won’t find on the Ribbon, such as  Duplicate Slide ,  Delete Slide , and  Hide Slide .

Right clicking a PowerPoint slide in the thumbnail view gives you a variety of options like adding new slides, adding sections, changing the layout, etc.

In addition, you can add sections to your presentation by  right-clicking anywhere in this Pane  and selecting  Add Section . Sections are extremely helpful in large presentations, as they allow you to organize your slides into chunks that you can then rearrange, print or display differently from other slides.

Content added to your PowerPoint slides will only display if it's on the slide area, marked here by the letter A

The Slide Area (A) is where you will build out your slides. Anything within the bounds of this area will be visible when you present or print your presentation.

Anything outside of this area (B) will be hidden from view. This means that you can place things here, such as instructions for each slide, without worrying about them being shown to your audience.

The notes pane in PowerPoint is located at the bottom of your screen and is where you can type your speaker notes

The  Notes Pane  is the space beneath the Slide Area where you can type in the speaker notes for each slide. It’s designed as a fast way to add and edit your slides’ talking points.

To expand your knowledge and learn more about adding, printing, and exporting your PowerPoint speaker notes, read our guide here .

Your speaker notes are visible when you print your slides using the Notes Pages option and when you use the Presenter View . To expand your knowledge and learn the ins and outs of using the Presenter View , read our guide here .

You can click and drag to resize the notes pane at the bottom of your PowerPoint screen

You can resize the  Notes Pane  by clicking on its edge and dragging it up or down (A). You can also minimize or reopen it by clicking on the Notes button in the Status Bar (B).

Note:  Not all text formatting displays in the Notes Pane, even though it will show up when printing your speaker notes. To learn more about printing PowerPoint with notes, read our guide here .

Now that you have a basic grasp of the PowerPoint interface at your disposal, it’s time to make your presentation.

Adding Content to Your PowerPoint Presentation

Notice that in the Slide Area , there are two rectangles with dotted outlines. These are called  Placeholders  and they’re set on the template in the Slide Master View .

To expand your knowledge and learn how to create a PowerPoint template of your own (which is no small task), read our guide here .

Click into your content placeholders and start typing text, just as the prompt suggests

As the prompt text suggests, you can click into each placeholder and start typing text. These types of placeholder prompts are customizable too. That means that if you are using a company template, it might say something different, but the functionality is the same.

Example of typing text into a content placeholder in PowerPoint

Note:  For the purposes of this example, I will create a presentation based on the content in the Starbucks 2018 Global Social Impact Report, which is available to the public on their website.

If you type in more text than there is room for, PowerPoint will automatically reduce its font size. You can stop this behavior by clicking on the  Autofit Options  icon to the left of the placeholder and selecting  Stop Fitting Text to this Placeholder .

Next, you can make formatting adjustments to your text by selecting the commands in the Font area and the  Paragraph area  of the  Home  tab of the Ribbon.

Use the formatting options on the Home tab to choose the formatting of your text

The Reset Command:  If you make any changes to your title and decide you want to go back to how it was originally, you can use the Reset button up in the Home tab .

Hitting the reset command on the home tab resets your slide formatting to match your template

Insert More Slides into Your Presentation

Now that you have your title slide filled in, it’s time to add more slides. To do that, simply go up to the  Home tab  and click on  New Slide . This inserts a new slide in your presentation right after the one you were on.

To insert a new slide in PowerPoint, on the home tab click the New Slide command

You can alternatively hit Ctrl+M on your keyboard to insert a new blank slide in PowerPoint. To learn more about this shortcut, see my guide on using Ctrl+M in PowerPoint .

Instead of clicking the New Slide command, you can also open the New Slide dropdown to see all the slide layouts in your PowerPoint template. Depending on who created your template, your layouts in this dropdown can be radically different.

Opening the new slide dropdown you can see all the slide layouts in your PowerPoint template

If you insert a layout and later want to change it to a different layout, you can use the Layout dropdown instead of the New Slide dropdown.

After inserting a few different slide layouts, your presentation might look like the following picture. Don’t worry that it looks blank, next we will start adding content to your presentation.

Example of a number of different blank slide layouts inserting in a PowerPoint presentation

If you want to follow along exactly with me, your five slides should be as follows:

  • Title Slide
  • Title and Content
  • Section Header
  • Two Content
  • Picture with Caption

Adding Content to Your Slides

Now let’s go into each slide and start adding our content. You’ll notice some new types of placeholders.

Use the icons within a content placeholder to insert things like tables, charts, SmartArt, Pictures, etc.

On slide 2 we have a  Content Placeholder , which allows you to add any kind of content. That includes:

  • A SmartArt graphic,
  • A 3D object,
  • A picture from the web,
  • Or an icon.

To insert text, simply type it in or hit  Ctrl+C to Copy  and Ctrl+V to Paste  from elsewhere. To insert any of the other objects, click on the appropriate icon and follow the steps to insert it.

For my example, I’ll simply type in some text as you can see in the picture below.

Example typing bulleted text in a content placeholder in PowerPoint

Slides 3 and 4 only have text placeholders, so I’ll go ahead and add in my text into each one.

Examples of text typed into a divider slide and a title and content slide in PowerPoint

On slide 5 we have a Picture Placeholder . That means that the only elements that can go into it are:

  • A picture from the web

A picture placeholder in PowerPoint can only take an image or an icon

To insert a picture into the picture placeholder, simply:

  • Click on the  Picture  icon
  • Find  a picture on your computer and select it
  • Click on  Insert

Alternatively, if you already have a picture open somewhere else, you can select the placeholder and paste in (shortcut: Ctrl+V ) the picture. You can also drag the picture in from a file explorer window.

To insert a picture into a picture placeholder, click the picture icon, find your picture on your computer and click insert

If you do not like the background of the picture you inserted onto your slide, you can remove the background here in PowerPoint. To see how to do this, read my guide here .

Placeholders aren’t the only way to add content to your slides. At any point, you can use the Insert tab to add elements to your slides.

You can use either the Title Only  or the  Blank  slide layout to create slides for content that’s different. For example, a three-layout content slide, or a single picture divider slide, as shown below.

Example slides using PowerPoint icons and background pictures

In the first example above, I’ve inserted 6 text boxes, 3 icons, and 3 circles to create this layout. In the second example, I’ve inserted a full-sized picture and then 2 shapes and 2 text boxes.

The Reset Command:  Because these slides are built with shapes and text boxes (and not placeholders), hitting the  Reset button up in the  Home tab  won’t do anything.

That is a good thing if you don’t want your layouts to adjust. However, it does mean that it falls on you to make sure everything is aligned and positioned correctly.

For more on how to add and manipulate the different objects in PowerPoint, check out our step-by-step articles here:

  • Using graphics in PowerPoint
  • Inserting icons onto slides
  • Adding pictures to your PowerPoint
  • How to embed a video in PowerPoint
  • How to add music to your presentation

Using Designer to generate more layouts ideas

If you have Office 365, your version of PowerPoint comes with a new feature called Designer (or Design Ideas). This is a feature that generates slide layout ideas for you. The coolest thing about this feature is that it uses the content you already have.

To use Designer , simply navigate to the  Design tab  in your Ribbon, and click on  Design Ideas .

To use Designer on your slides, click the

NOTE: If the PowerPoint Designer is not working for you (it is grey out), see my troubleshooting guide for Designer .

Change the Overall Design (optional)

When you make a PowerPoint presentation, you’ll want to think about the overall design. Now that you have some content in your presentation, you can use the Design tab to change the look and feel of your slides.

For additional help thinking through the design of your presentation,  read my guide here .

A. Picking your PowerPoint slide size

If you have PowerPoint 2013 or later, when you create a blank document in PowerPoint, you automatically start with a widescreen layout with a 16:9 ratio. These dimensions are suitable for most presentations as they match the screens of most computers and projectors.

However, you do have the option to change the dimensions.

For example, your presentation might not be presented, but instead converted into a PDF or printed and distributed. In that case, you can easily switch to the standard dimensions with a 4:3 ratio by selecting from the dropdown (A).

You can also choose a custom slide size or change the slide orientation from landscape to portrait in the Custom Slide Size dialog box (B).

To change your slide size, click the Design tab, open the slide size dropdown and choose a size or custom slide size

To learn all about the different PowerPoint slide sizes, and some of the issues you will face when changing the slide size of a non-blank presentation,  read my guide here .

 B. Selecting a PowerPoint theme

The next thing you can do is change the theme of your presentation to a pre-built one. For a detailed explanation of what a PowerPoint theme is, and how to best use it,  read my article here .

In the beginning of this tutorial, we started with a blank presentation, which uses the default Office theme as you can see in the picture below.

All PowerPoint presentations start with the default Microsoft Office theme

That gives you the most flexibility because it has a blank background and quite simple layouts that work for most presentations. However, it also means that it’s your responsibility to enhance the design.

If you’re comfortable with this, you can stay with the default theme or create your own custom theme ( read my guide here ). But if you would rather not have to think about design, then you can choose a pre-designed theme.

Microsoft provides 46 other pre-built themes, which include slide layouts, color variants and palettes, and fonts. Each one varies quite significantly, so make sure you look through them carefully.

To select a different theme, go to the  Design tab  in the Ribbon, and click on the  dropdown arrow  in the  Themes section .

On the Design tab you will find all of the default PowerPoint templates that come with the Microsoft Office Suite

For this tutorial, let’s select the  Frame  theme and then choose the third Variant in the theme. Doing so changes the layout, colors, and fonts of your presentation.

Example choosing the Frame PowerPoint theme and the third variant of this powerpoint presentation

Note: The theme dropdown area is also where you can import or save custom themes. To see my favorite places to find professional PowerPoint templates and themes (and recommendations for why I like them), read my guide here .

C. How to change a slide background in PowerPoint

The next thing to decide is how you want your background to look for the entire presentation. In the  Variants area, you can see four background options.

To change the background style of your presentation, on the Design tab, find the Background Styles options and choose a style

For this example, we want our presentation to have a dark background, so let’s select Style 3. When you do so, you’ll notice that:

  • The background color automatically changes across all slides
  • The color of the text on most of the slides automatically changes to white so that it’s visible on the dark background
  • The colors of the objects on slides #6 and #7 also adjust, in a way we may not want (we’ll likely have to make some manual adjustments to these slides)

What our PowerPoint presentation looks like now that we have selected a theme, a variant, and a background style

Note: If you want to change the slide background for just that one slide, don’t left-click the style. Instead, right-click it and select Apply to Selected Slides .

After you change the background for your entire presentation, you can easily adjust the background for an individual slide.

You can either right-click a PowerPoint slide and select format background or navigate to the design tab and click the format background command

Inside the Format Background pane, you can see you have the following options:

  • Gradient fill
  • Picture or texture fill
  • Pattern fill
  • Hide background

You can explore these options to find the PowerPoint background that best fits your presentation.

D. How to change your color palette in PowerPoint

Another thing you may want to adjust in your presentation, is the color scheme. In the picture below you can see the Theme Colors we are currently using for this presentation.

Example of the theme colors we are currently using with this presentation

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own color palette. By default, the Office theme includes the Office color palette. This affects the colors you are presented with when you format any element within your presentation (text, shapes, SmartArt, etc.).

To change the theme color for your presentation, select the Design tab, open the Colors options and choose the colors you want to use

The good news is that the colors here are easy to change. To switch color palettes, simply:

  • Go to the  Design tab in the Ribbon
  • In the Variants area, click on the  dropdown arrow  and select  Colors
  • Select  the color palette (or theme colors) you want

You can choose among the pre-built color palettes from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

As you build your presentation, make sure you use the colors from your theme to format objects. That way, changing the color palette adjusts all the colors in your presentation automatically.

E. How to change your fonts in PowerPoint

Just as we changed the color palette, you can do the same for the fonts.

Example of custom theme fonts that might come with a powerpoint template

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own font combination. By default, the Office theme includes the Office font pairing. This affects the fonts that are automatically assigned to all text in your presentation.

To change the default fonts for your presentation, from the design tab, find the fonts dropdown and select the pair of fonts you want to use

The good news is that the font pairings are easy to change. To switch your Theme Fonts, simply:

  • Go to the  Design tab  in the Ribbon
  • Click on the  dropdown arrow  in the  Variants  area
  • Select  Fonts
  • Select  the font pairing you want

You can choose among the pre-built fonts from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

If you are working with PowerPoint presentations on both Mac and PC computers, make sure you choose a safe PowerPoint font. To see a list of the safest PowerPoint fonts, read our guide here .

If you receive a PowerPoint presentation and the wrong fonts were used, you can use the Replace Fonts dialog box to change the fonts across your entire presentation. For details, read our guide here .

Adding Animations & Transitions (optional)

The final step to make a PowerPoint presentation compelling, is to consider using animations and transitions. These are by no means necessary to a good presentation, but they may be helpful in your situation.

A. Adding PowerPoint animations

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust animations engine designed to power your creativity. That being said, it’s also easy to get started with basic animations.

Animations are movements that you can apply to individual objects on your slide.

To add an animation to an object in PowerPoint, first select the object and then use the Animations tab to select an animation type

To add a PowerPoint animation to an element of your slide, simply:

  • Select the  element
  • Go to the  Animations tab in the Ribbon
  • Click on the  dropdown arrow  to view your options
  • Select the  animation  you want

You can add animations to multiple objects at one time by selecting them all first and then applying the animation.

B. How to preview a PowerPoint animation

There are three ways to preview a PowerPoint animation

There are three ways to preview a PowerPoint animation:

  • Click on the Preview button in the Animations tab
  • Click on the little star  next to the slide
  • Play the slide in Slide Show Mode

To learn other ways to run your slide show, see our guide on presenting a PowerPoint slide show with shortcuts .

To adjust the settings of your animations, explore the options in the  Effect Options ,  Advanced Animation  and the  Timing  areas of the  Animation tab .

The Animations tab allows you to adjust the effects and timings of your animations in PowerPoint

Note:  To see how to make objects appear and disappear in your slides by clicking a button,  read our guide here .

C. How to manage your animations in PowerPoint

You can see the animations applied to your objects by the little numbers in the upper right-hand corner of the objects

The best way to manage lots of animations on your slide is with the Animation Pane . To open it, simply:

  • Navigate to the  Animations tab
  • Select the  Animation Pane

Inside the Animation Pane, you’ll see all of the different animations that have been applied to objects on your slide, with their numbers marked as pictured above.

Note: To see examples of PowerPoint animations that can use in PowerPoint, see our list of PowerPoint animation tutorials here .

D. How to add transitions to your PowerPoint presentation

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust transition engine so that you can dictate how your slides change from one to the other. It is also extremely easy to add transitions to your slides.

In PowerPoint, transitions are the movements (or effects) you see as you move between two slides.

To add a transition to a slide, select the slide, navigate to the transitions tab in PowerPoint and select your transition

To add a transition to a PowerPoint slide, simply:

  • Select the  slide
  • Go to the  Transitions tab in the Ribbon
  • In the Transitions to This Slide area, click on the  dropdown arrow  to view your options
  • Select the  transition  you want

To adjust the settings of the transition, explore the options in the  Timing  area of the Transitions tab.

You can also add the same transition to multiple slides. To do that, select them in the  Slides Pane  and apply the transition.

E. How to preview a transition in PowerPoint

There are three ways to preview a transition in PowerPoint

There are three ways to preview your PowerPoint transitions (just like your animations):

  • Click on the Preview  button in the Transitions tab
  • Click on the little star  beneath the slide number in the thumbnail view

Note:  In 2016, PowerPoint added a cool new transition, called Morph. It operates a bit differently from other transitions. For a detailed tutorial on how to use the cool Morph transition,  see our step-by-step article here .

Save Your PowerPoint Presentation

After you’ve built your presentation and made all the adjustments to your slides, you’ll want to save your presentation. YOu can do this several different ways.

Click the file tab, select Save As, choose where you want to save your presentation and then click save

To save a PowerPoint presentation using your Ribbon, simply:

  • Navigate to the  File tab
  •  Select  Save As  on the left
  • Choose  where you want to save your presentation
  • Name  your presentation and/or adjust your file type settings
  • Click  Save

You can alternatively use the  Ctrl+S keyboard shortcut to save your presentation. I recommend using this shortcut frequently as you build your presentation to make sure you don’t lose any of your work.

The save shortcut is control plus s in PowerPoint

This is the standard way to save a presentation. However, there may be a situation where you want to save your presentation as a different file type.

To learn how to save your presentation as a PDF, see our guide on converting PowerPoint to a PDF .

How to save your PowerPoint presentation as a template

Once you’ve created a presentation that you like, you may want to turn it into a template. The easiest – but not technically correct – way, is to simply create a copy of your current presentation and then change the content.

But be careful! A PowerPoint template is a special type of document and it has its own parameters and behaviors.

If you’re interested in learning about how to create your own PowerPoint template from scratch, see our guide on how to create a PowerPoint template .

Printing Your PowerPoint Presentation

After finishing your PowerPoint presentation, you may want to print it out on paper. Printing your slides is relatively easy.

The print shortcut is control plus P in PowerPoint

To open the Print dialog box, you can either:

  • Hit Ctrl+P on your keyboard
  • Or go to the Ribbon and click on File and then Print

In the Print dialog box, make your selections for how you want to print your PowerPoint presentation, then click print

Inside the Print dialog box, you can choose from the various printing settings:

  • Printer: Select a printer to use (or print to PDF or OneNote)
  • Slides: Choose which slides you want to print
  • Layout: Determine how many slides you want per page (this is where you can print the notes, outline, and handouts)
  • Collated or uncollated (learn what collated printing means here )
  • Color: Choose to print in color, grayscale or black & white

There are many more options for printing your PowerPoint presentations. Here are links to more in-depth articles:

  • How to print multiple slides per page
  • How to print your speaker notes in PowerPoint
  • How to save PowerPoint as a picture presentation

So that’s how to create a PowerPoint presentation if you are brand new to it. We’ve also included a ton of links to helpful resources to boost your PowerPoint skills further.

When you are creating your presentation, it is critical to first focus on the content (what you are trying to say) before getting lost inserting and playing with elements. The clearer you are on what you want to present, the easier it will be to build it out in PowerPoint.

If you enjoyed this article, you can learn more about our PowerPoint training courses and other presentation resources by  visiting us here .

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Let's create a powerpoint design, frequently asked questions, where can i find slide templates and themes that i can customize.

To find customizable slide templates and themes, you can explore the business presentations templates or search by PowerPoint templates . Once you find a template that resonates with you, customize it by changing its color scheme, add in your own photos, and swap out the font.

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After you've chosen a PowerPoint template to use, customize it. Explore [design tips] on how to customize a deck that resonates with your brand while putting emphasis on the topic at hand. Play with other design elements, like photo shapes, to make each slide unique.

How can I make or edit my own custom PowerPoint templates?

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PowerPoint 2016  - Presenting Your Slide Show

Powerpoint 2016  -, presenting your slide show, powerpoint 2016 presenting your slide show.

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PowerPoint 2016: Presenting Your Slide Show

Lesson 12: presenting your slide show.

/en/powerpoint2016/printing/content/

Introduction

Once your slide show is complete, you'll need to learn how to present it to an audience. PowerPoint offers several tools and features to help make your presentation smooth, engaging, and professional.

Optional: Download our practice presentation .

Watch the video below to learn more about presenting your slide show.

Presenting a slide show

Before you present your slide show, you'll need to think about the type of equipment that will be available for your presentation. Many presenters use projectors during presentations, so you might want to consider using one as well. This allows you to control and preview slides on one monitor while presenting them to an audience on another screen.

To start a slide show:

There are several ways you can begin your presentation:

clicking the Start From Beginning command on the Quick Access Toolbar

To advance and reverse slides:

You can advance to the next slide by clicking your mouse or pressing the spacebar on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can use or arrow keys on your keyboard to move forward or backward through the presentation.

You can also hover your mouse over the bottom-left and click the arrows to move forward or backward.

hovering the mouse to access navigation buttons in Slide Show view

To stop a slide show:

You can exit presentation mode by pressing the Esc key on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can click the Slide Show Options button in the bottom-left and select End Show .

ending a slide show

The presentation will also end after the last slide . You can click the mouse or press the spacebar to return to Normal view.

returning to PowerPoint after the final slide

Presentation tools and features

PowerPoint provides convenient tools you can use while presenting your slide show. For example, you can change your mouse pointer to a pen or highlighter to draw attention to items in your slides. In addition, you can jump around to slides in your presentation or access other programs from your taskbar if needed.

To show the taskbar:

Sometimes you may need to access the Internet or other files and programs on your computer during your presentation. PowerPoint allows you to access your taskbar without ending the presentation.

  • Locate and select the Slide Options button in the bottom-left corner.

showing the Taskbar

Slide options

You can also access any of the menu items above by right-clicking anywhere on the screen during your slide show.

opening the Slide options menu

To skip to a nonadjacent slide:

You can jump to slides out of order if needed.

clicking the See All Slides button

  • The selected slide will appear.

To access drawing tools:

Your mouse pointer can act as pen or highlighter to draw attention to items in your slides.

  • Locate and select the Pen Tools button in the bottom-left corner.

selecting the Pen tool

You can also use the laser pointer feature to draw attention to certain parts of your slide. Unlike the pen and highlighter, the laser pointer will not leave markings on your slides. To use the laser pointer, select it from Pen Tools, or press and hold the Ctrl key and the left mouse button.

selecting the Laser Pointer

To erase ink markings:

erasing ink on slides

When you end a slide show, you'll also have the option to Keep or Discard any ink annotations made during your presentation. If you keep ink markings, they'll appear as objects on your slides in Normal view.

deciding to keep or discard annotations

Presenter view

If you're presenting your slide show with a second display—like a projector—you can use Presenter view . Presenter view gives you access to a special set of controls on your screen that the audience won't see, allowing you to easily reference slide notes , preview the upcoming slide , and much more.

To access Presenter view:

Start your slide show as you normally would, then click the Slide Options button and select Presenter View . Alternatively, you can press Alt+F5 on your keyboard to start the slide show in Presenter view.

opening presenter view

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn more about using Presenter view.

Presenter View

End Slide Show

Click here to end the presentation.

Display Settings

From here, you can customize your d isplay settings , including the option to duplicate—or mirror—the slide show on two screens and swap the monitors if Presenter view is appearing on the wrong screen.

Show Taskbar

Click here to show the taskbar and access other programs without closing the presentation.

Here, you can see how long you've been giving the presentation. You can also pause and restart the timer if necessary.

Current Slide

This is the current slide being shown to the audience.

Slide Options

Here, you can access the same slide options you would find in normal presentation mode, including the Pen Tools and See All Slides buttons.

Advance and Reverse Slides

Use the arrows to move forward and backward through your presentation.

Here, you'll see any speaker notes for the current slide. You can use the Increase and Decrease buttons below to make the notes larger or smaller.

Here, you can preview the next slide that will appear in the presentation.

Slide show setup options

PowerPoint has various options for setting up and playing a slide show. For example, you can set up an unattended presentation that can be displayed at a kiosk and make your slide show repeat with continuous looping.

To access slide show setup options:

clicking Set Up Slide Show

  • The Set Up Show dialog box will appear. From here, you can select the desired options for your presentation.

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn about various options for setting up and playing a slide show.

setting custom options for slide show playback

Here, you can choose a show type .

Show Options

Here, you choose playback settings and disable certain features if desired.

Show Slides

Here, you can choose which slides you want to show during the presentation. All is selected by default, but you can choose to show only certain slides or use any custom shows you have created from your original presentation.

Advance Slides

If you have set timings in your slide show, they will play automatically. However, if you want to disable the timings and control the slides yourself, select Manually .

Multiple Monitors

If you have more than one monitor, you can choose which one to display the slide show on. It's usually best to leave this setting on Automatic .

To advance slides automatically, you'll need to customize the slide timing on the Transitions tab. Review our lesson on Applying Transitions to learn how.

setting automatic slide advancement

  • Open our practice presentation .
  • In the Set Up Slide Show options, change the pen color to purple.
  • Start your slideshow, then access Presenter view .
  • Advance to slide 8.
  • Use the pen tool to circle the fundraising amounts for the 2015-2016 school year. These are the amounts over the green bars.

Presenting Challenge

/en/powerpoint2016/lists/content/

  • Start the presentation and see your notes in Presenter view Article
  • Add speaker notes to your slides Article
  • Rehearse and time the delivery of a presentation Article
  • Record a slide show with narration and slide timings Article
  • Print your PowerPoint slides, handouts, or notes Article
  • Create a self-running presentation Article

presentation powerpoint 2016

Record a slide show with narration and slide timings

You can record your PowerPoint presentation—or a single slide—and capture voice, ink gestures, and your video presence. When completed, it’s like any other presentation. You can play it for your audience in a Slide Show or you can save the presentation as a video file. So, instead of just “handing the deck” to someone, people can see your presentation with the passion and personality intact. 

A new feature for Microsoft 365 was rolled out in early 2022. Exactly when your business has this feature is also based on when your admin distributes new features in Microsoft 365.

This article contains procedures for both the new experience and the classic experience:

New experience

Classic experience

Your browser does not support video. Install Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe Flash Player, or Internet Explorer 9.

All recording tools are in the  Record  tab in the ribbon, but you can start by selecting the  Record  button. 

Record button in top bar

You can also record by selecting one of the options in the Record section of the Record tab.

Record a Slide Show with timings and Narrations screenshot one

If you have notes in your presentation, they’re turned into text at the top of the screen so you can use them like a teleprompter as you record.  

Tip:  Use the auto-scroll feature in teleprompter and set it to scroll at your preferred speed.

Record a Slide Show with timings and Narrations screenshot two

There are several options you can use when you record a presentation. You can turn your camera and microphone on or off by selecting the icons at the top. There are several options you can use when you record a presentation. You can turn your camera and microphone on or off by selecting the icons at the top. To change your camera or microphone, choose the  Select more options  <···> icon. You can even add a customizable camera that can be resized, repositioned, and formatted to go with your slide content. Select Edit , then select Cameo . Adjust the formatting for the camera, then select Record again to return  to the recording environment. 

In the  Select the camera mode  menu, you can select Show Background  or  Blur Background .

Blur background

You can also change the layout in the  Views menu to switch between  Teleprompter ,  Presenter View , or  Slide View .

View menu

When you’re ready, select  Start recording  and a countdown will begin.

Use the onscreen laser, colored pens, or highlighters in the tray below markup slides and it’ll record as well.

To record narration for a specific slide, use the previous or next arrows.

Note:  Narration won’t record during slide transitions so let those play first before you start speaking. 

Pause  the recording as needed or select  Stop  if you’re done.

To review the video, select the  Play  button. 

To quickly delete and re-record your video on current slide or on all slides, select Delete . While Clear  will delete the recorded narration, Reset to Cameo  additionally replaces the recorded narration with the camera feed for an easy retake.  

Record a slide show with narration and slide timings screenshot four

When you’re done, select  Export  >  Export Video .

After you successfully export the video, you can view the video by selecting View and share video .

View and share video

At any time, you can return to your document by selecting the  Edit  button.  

Want more? 

About Record in PowerPoint

Create a self-running presentation   

Export or turn your presentation into a video

Classic experience

Turn on the Recording tab of the ribbon: On the File tab of the ribbon, click  Options . In the Options  dialog box, click the Customize Ribbon  tab on the left. Then, in the right-hand box that lists the available ribbon tabs, select the Recording  check box. Click OK .

The Customize Ribbon tab of the PowerPoint 2016 Options dialog box has an option to add the Recording tab to the PowerPoint ribbon.

To get ready to record, select Record on either the Recording  tab or the Slide Show  tab of the ribbon.

Clicking the upper half of the button starts you on the current slide.

Clicking the lower half of the button gives you the option to start from the beginning or from the current slide.

The Record Slide Show commands on the Recording Tab in PowerPoint.

(The Clear  command deletes narrations or timings, so be careful when you use it. Clear  is grayed out unless you have previously recorded some slides.)

The slide show opens in the Recording window (which looks similar to Presenter view), with buttons at the top left for starting, pausing, and stopping the recording. Click the round, red button (or press R on your keyboard) when you are ready to start the recording. A three-second countdown ensues, then the recording begins.

The Presentation Recording window in PowerPoint 2016, with video narration window preview turned on.

The current slide is shown in the main pane of the Recording window.

You can stop the recording any time by pressing Alt + S on your keyboard.

Navigation arrows on either side of the current slide allow you to move to the previous and next slides.

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 automatically records the time you spend on each slide, including any Animate text or objects  steps that occur, and the use of any triggers on each slide.

You can record audio or video narration as you run through your presentation. The buttons at the lower-right corner of the window allow you to toggle on or off the microphone, camera, and camera preview:

On/off buttons for the microphone, camera, and camera previewing window

If you use the pen, highlighter, or eraser, PowerPoint records those actions for playback also.

Inking tools in the Recording window

If you re-record your narration (including audio and ink), PowerPoint erases your previously recorded narration (including audio and ink) before you start recording again on the same slide.

You can also re-record by going to Slide Show  >  Record .

You can pick a pointer tool (pen, eraser, or highlighter) from the array of tools just below the current slide. There are also color selection boxes for changing the color of the ink. ( Eraser  is grayed out unless you have previously added ink to some slides.)

To end your recording, select the square Stop button (or press S on your keyboard).

When you finish recording your narration, a small picture appears in the lower-right corner of the recorded slides. The picture is an audio icon, or, if the web camera was on during the recording, a still image from the webcam.

Sound icon

The recorded slide show timing is automatically saved. (In Slide Sorter view, the timings are listed beneath each slide.)

In this process, what you record is embedded in each slide, and the recording can be played back in Slide Show. A video file is not created by this recording process. However, if you need one, you can save your presentation as a video with a few extra steps.

Preview the recorded slide show

On the Slide Show  tab, click From Beginning  or From Current Slide .

During playback, your animations, inking actions, audio and video will play in sync.

Shows the "from beginning" button on the slide show tab in PowerPoint

Preview the recorded sound

In the Recording window, the triangular Play  button near the top left corner lets you preview the recording of the slide that currently has the focus in that window.

Start, Stop, and Play buttons in the Recording window

In Normal view, click the sound icon or picture in the lower-right corner of the slide, and then click Play . (When you preview individual audio in this way, you won't see recorded animation or inking.)

Click Play

You can pause playback while previewing the audio.

Set the slide timings manually

PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 automatically records your slide timings when you add narrations, or you can manually set the slide timings to accompany your narrations.

In Normal view, click the slide that you want to set the timing for.

On the Transitions tab, in the Timing group, under Advance Slide , select the After check box, and then enter the number of seconds that you want the slide to appear on the screen. Repeat the process for each slide that you want to set the timing for.

If you want the next slide to appear either when you click the mouse or automatically after the number of seconds that you enter—whichever comes first—select both the On Mouse Click and the After check boxes.

You can use manual slide timings to the trim the end of a recorded slide segment. For example, if the end of a slide segment concludes with two seconds of unnecessary audio, simply set the timing for advancing to the next slide so that it happens before the unnecessary audio. That way you don't have to re-record the audio for that slide.

Delete timings or narration

The Clear command is for deleting timings or narration from your recording that you don't want or that you want to replace.

In the Recording window, the Clear command in the top margin of the window allows you to:

Clear recordings on the current slide

Clear recordings on all slides

In Normal view, there are four different Clear commands that allow you to:

Delete the timings on the currently selected slide

Delete the timings on all slides at once

Delete the narration on the currently selected slide

Delete the narration on all slides at once

If you do not want to delete all the timings or narration in your presentation, open a specific slide that has a timing or narration that you do want to delete.

On the Recording tab of the PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 ribbon, on the Record Slide Show button, click the down arrow, point to Clear , and then choose the appropriate Clear command for your situation.

The Clear commands on the Record Slide Show menu button in PowerPoint.

Turn off timings or turn off narrations, and ink

After you've recorded your PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 presentation, any timings, gestures, and audio you performed are saved on the individual slides. But you can turn them all off if you want to view the slide show without them:

To turn off recorded slide timings: On the Slide Show tab, clear the Use Timings box.

To turn off recorded narrations and ink: On the Slide Show tab, clear the Play Narrations box.

Publish the recording to share it with others

Once you've edited the recording to your satisfaction, you can make it available to others by publishing to Microsoft Stream.

With the presentation open, on the Recording tab, select Publish to Stream .

Type a title and a description for the video.

Set other options, including whether you want others in your organization to have permission to see the video.

Select the Publish button.

The upload process can take several minutes, depending on the length of the video. A status bar at the bottom of the PowerPoint window tracks the progress, and PowerPoint shows a message when the upload is finished:

PowerPoint notifies you when the upload is finished

Click the message to go directly to the video playback page on Microsoft Stream.

Create closed captions

To make your video more accessible by including closed captions, choose from these options, which are described in separate Help articles:

Manually write a closed caption file yourself

Get a closed-caption file automatically generated by Microsoft Stream

Once you have a closed-caption file, you can add it to your video file by using PowerPoint .

Record a slide show

With your presentation open, on the Slide Show tab, click Record Slide Show .

(The Clear command deletes narrations or timings, so be careful when you use it. Clear is grayed out unless you have previously recorded some slides.)

In the Record Slide Show box, check or clear the boxes for your recording, and click Start Recording .

Shows record slideshow dialog in PowerPoint

More about these options:

Slide and animation timings : PowerPoint automatically records the time you spend on each slide, including any animation steps that occur, and the use of any triggers on each slide.

Narrations, ink, and laser pointer: Record your voice as you run through your presentation. If you use the pen, highlighter, eraser, or laser pointer, PowerPoint records those for playback as well.

Important:    Pen, highlighter, and eraser recording are available only if you have the February 16, 2015 update for PowerPoint 2013 or a later version of PowerPoint installed. In earlier versions of PowerPoint, pen and highlighter strokes are saved as ink annotation shapes.

At the top left corner of the window is the Recording toolbar, which you can use to:

Go to the next slide

If you re-record your narration (including audio, ink, and laser pointer), PowerPoint erases your previously recorded narration (including audio, ink, and laser pointer) when you start recording again on the same slide.

You can also re-record by going to Slide Show > Record Slide Show .

To use ink, eraser, or the laser pointer in your recording, right-click the slide, click Pointer options , and pick your tool:

Laser Pointer

Highlighter

Eraser (This option is grayed out unless you have previously added ink to some slides.)

To change the color of the ink, click Ink Color .

To end your recording, right-click the final slide, and click End Show .

Tip:  When you finish recording your narration, a sound icon appears in the lower-right corner of each slide that has narration.

The recorded slide show timings are automatically saved. Timings are shown in Slide Sorter view just beneath each slide.

In this process, what you record is embedded in each slide, and the recording can be played back in Slide Show. A video file is not created by this recording process. However, if you want a video file, you can save your presentation as a video with a few extra steps.

On the Slide Show tab, click From Beginning or From Current Slide.

During playback, your animations, inking actions, laser pointer, audio and video play in sync.

Preview the recorded audio

In Normal view, click the sound icon in the lower-right corner of the slide, and then click Play.

PowerPoint automatically records your slide timings when you add narrations, or you can manually set the slide timings to accompany your narrations.

On the Transitions tab, in the Timing group, under Advance Slide , select the After check box, and then enter the number of seconds indicating how long the slide should appear on the screen. Repeat the process for each slide that you want to set the timing for.

Tip:  If you want the next slide to appear either when you click the mouse or automatically after the number of seconds that you enter—whichever comes first—select both the On Mouse Click and the After check boxes.

The Clear command is for deleting timings or narration from your recording that you don't want or that you want to replace. There are four different Clear commands that allow you to:

On the Slide Show tab of the PowerPoint ribbon, on the Record Slide Show button, click the down arrow, point to Clear, and then choose the appropriate Clear command for your situation.

Turn off timings or turn off narrations, ink, and laser pointer

After you've recorded your PowerPoint presentation, any timings, gestures, and audio you performed are saved on the individual slides. But you can turn them all off if you want to view the slide show without them:

To turn off recorded narrations, ink, and the laser pointer: On the Slide Show tab, clear the Play Narrations box.

Turn your mouse into a laser pointer

Animate text or objects

Turn your presentation into a video

Create a self-running presentation

Record your presentation

...

Toggle video and audio options in the options  dropdowns in the recording toolbar.

Image of audio and video options with dropdowns

Note:  Your video will be re-recorded just as you had styled. 

After you exit Recording Studio with the  Esc  key (or by clicking  End show ) you will see narration (audio/video) applied to your slide along with the proper slide timings and ink animations. 

Tip:  Audio, video, and inking elements can all be resized and moved in edit view after recording. 

...

Reset to Cameo 

To delete your recording and retain your camera style, do the following: 

On the Record tab, select Reset to Cameo .

...

Clear timings or narration 

On the Record tab, select Clear Recording

...

Keyboard shortcuts during the recording process

Related information.

Present with Cameo

Save a presentation as a movie file or MP4

Record audio in PowerPoint for Mac

Add or delete audio in your presentation

Prepare to record

To begin, open the presentation you want and click the Slide Show tab.

Tip:     If your presentation has a lot of slides, you might find it more convenient to work in Slide Sorter view. Click View > Slide Sorter to try it out.

Here are some things to check before you begin recording:

If you want to record only part of your slide deck, do one of the following before you begin:

Select the slides you don't want to include, and click Hide Slide .

Click Custom Show > Custom Slide Show > + (add).

Select Hide Slide or Custom Show to record a subset of slides

Use the Rehearse button to change the timing between slides without affecting the narration or gestures you've already recorded.

Try out different timing between slides with the Rehearse button

Make sure your microphone is set up correctly. On the Mac, go to System Preferences > Sound .

Record your slide show

If you want to add narration or commentary to the slide show, make sure your microphone is set up and working.

To start recording:

Click the Slide Show tab, select the slide where you want the recording to begin, and then click Record Slide Show .

Click Record Slide Show to start recording

During recording, use Ctrl+click to access the recording commands that let you navigate through the slides, change cursors, or trigger screen blackouts or whiteouts.

Control-click to see a list commands while you're recording

Click End Show to stop recording.

A Save dialog box appears. Click Yes to save your recording, or No if you want to record it again.

Saving overwrites anything you've previously recorded. If you want to record another slide show with the same set of slides, save your presentation file with a different name.

Click Play from Start to preview your recording.

You may want to print this list of keyboard shortcuts to refer to while you're recording:

Set playback options

When you've finished recording and are ready to distribute the presentation, click Set up Slide Show and choose the options that are right for your audience.

Set the show type and other options before you distribute the show

Show type     Show full screen or windowed.

Show options     Turn off narration or animations.

Slides     Choose a subset of slides, or a Custom show if you've set one up.

Advance slides     Set up this version of the slide show so someone can page through it manually.

Add, change, or remove transitions between slides

Start the presentation and see your notes in Presenter view

We're sorry. PowerPoint for the web doesn't support recording a slide show.

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Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows

The go-to presentation tool for business and leisure.

Microsoft PowerPoint

Professionals have long trusted its power and functionality to put their best foot forward. Students find it helpful as they create presentations for school projects and homework. PowerPoint 2016 is Microsoft’s latest version with new features and streamlined automation. This tool is ideal for anyone creating an impressive presentation, either with all the bells and whistles or with a simple and minimalist style. Suggested design templates help those who are not as tech savvy, while also being incredibly customizable for those who know their way around the interface. It currently occupies 95% of the world’s presentation software, solidifying its place as the industry standard. Using this program is sure to take your presentation to the next level.

Make your slides shine

Microsoft PowerPoint stays ahead of the curve as it releases innovative new features, still remaining the tried and true presentation software of the industry.

Some of PowerPoint’s newest and most innovative updates are only available to O365 users. Those with Office 365 also have access to Microsoft’s mobile apps, including PowerPoint for mobile, automatically syncing projects across all of your devices. PowerPoint via Microsoft Office Online allows users to collaborate within a presentation simultaneously, streamlining workflow and fostering teamwork. The latest version also offers templates in over 40 categories including business cards, calendars, flyers, photo albums, business plans, and of course business presentations.

Microsoft stays relevant with their Office Blog where users can connect with experts, see what’s new, and get the most out of their software. Microsoft provides support for large-scale presentations and offers tips on various subjects to improve user success and satisfaction. Within the software program itself, easily navigate PowerPoint’s toolbars to achieve the desired presentation. Business collaboration is upgraded with the ability to use @mentions within slide comments to notify others when you need their input.

Perhaps the most interesting new feature for business users is PowerPoint’s ink conversion capability. Users can draw directly within the “Draw” tab and PowerPoint will convert it to standard shapes. Sketch out an organizational chart within a slide and the ink converter will turn it into actual shapes and text. This takes on-the-fly edits and brainstorming to a whole new level. This feature, like many, is only available to Office 365 subscribers using Windows 10 version 1511 or later.PowerPoint is not just for your average work project though. With new features like 3-D animation and updated slide transitions, students and hobbyists can get creative as they showcase their information. PowerPoint consistently runs smoothly and quickly.

Microsoft PowerPoint 2016’s “Help” feature is enhanced from previous versions, which novices will find handy. All users are subject to Microsoft’s standard privacy policy. They do not use email, chat, files, or other personal content to target ads to users, a welcomed differentiator from other large companies such as Google and Instagram. Microsoft collects search data, location services (when activated), and stored sign-in and payment data (when authorized). Users can log into their Privacy dashboard to adjust settings, clear browsing, search, location, voice, media, and product activity. Microsoft seems committed to keeping privacy controls in the hands of its userbase.

Where can you run this program?

Microsoft Office 365 2019 (subscription) and PowerPoint 2016 (software installation only) are compatible with Windows 10 or macOS. The 32bit version is automatically installed but users can manually choose the 64bit download.

Is there a better alternative?

Google Slides and Apple Keynote are the two biggest competitors to Microsoft PowerPoint. The first and biggest difference between these three is that Microsoft PowerPoint is a paid software and Google Slides and Apple Keynote are both free.

There are also some additional capabilities that come included with Keynote but are an upgrade for PowerPoint users. Google Slides allows you to present via Chromecast, Airplay, or Hangouts, never having to connect any wires. Other than that, the abilities of each program are mostly similar, with some additions and deletions here and there.The big tradeoff lies in familiarity vs free.

Is it worth the learning curve to try Keynote or Slides? Most large companies and those with formal presentation needs will feel safer staying close to home with what they know, which is PowerPoint. With new features added with nearly every monthly release update, Microsoft simply adds to a program you already know, facilitating easier adoption.

Microsoft PowerPoint has been and will continue to be the presentation software front runner for the foreseeable future. For important presentations for business and school, reliability cannot be left up to chance. Making the leap from PowerPoint to another program may introduce risk when the stakes are already high. People like what is working for them and Microsoft is a brand people can trust.

Should you download it?

Yes. Most business professionals and students are working with Microsoft Office products like PowerPoint already. You may be wondering if the O365 subscription is worth it or if you can get by with similar, free programs. That depends on your needs. Download an O365 subscription with Microsoft PowerPoint if you need a familiar, fast, and ever-evolving presentation software. Go for Google Slides if you are willing to work through a learning curve, adapt to a new interface, and if there will not be a negative reception of non-Microsoft products at your school or office. You cannot go wrong with Microsoft.

  • Integrates with other Microsoft products
  • Simultaneous collaboration available to work on the same project at the same time as your teammates
  • PowerPoint app allows on-the-go presentation creation and editing
  • Free options available (Google Slides or Apple Keynote)
  • Some functionality upgrades cost additional money

Also available in other platforms

  • Microsoft PowerPoint: Slideshows and Presentations for Android

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  • Descargar Microsoft PowerPoint [ES]

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IMAGES

  1. Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 Advanced

    presentation powerpoint 2016

  2. Présentation De Microsoft PowerPoint 2016

    presentation powerpoint 2016

  3. How to Create a New Presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint 2016

    presentation powerpoint 2016

  4. What’s new in PowerPoint 2016 for Mac?

    presentation powerpoint 2016

  5. 20+ Best New PowerPoint Templates of 2016

    presentation powerpoint 2016

  6. TUTO Nouveautés PowerPoint 2016 avec PowerPoint 2016 sur Tuto.com

    presentation powerpoint 2016

VIDEO

  1. Power Point Presentation

  2. PowerPoint Tutorial #3

  3. PowerPoint 2013 Demo

  4. Power Point Presentation (PPT)

  5. PowerPoint Presentation

  6. power point presentation 2013

COMMENTS

  1. PowerPoint 2016: Getting Started with PowerPoint

    Open PowerPoint 2016, and create a blank presentation. Change the Ribbon Display Options to Show Tabs. Click the drop-down arrow next to the Quick Access Toolbar and add New, Quick Print, and Spelling. In the Tell me bar, type Shape and press Enter. Choose a shape from the menu, and double-click somewhere on your slide.

  2. Create a presentation in PowerPoint

    Create a presentation. Open PowerPoint. In the left pane, select New. To create a presentation from scratch, select Blank Presentation. To use a prepared design, select one of the templates. To see tips for using PowerPoint, select Take a Tour, and then select Create, .

  3. PowerPoint 2016: Creating and Opening Presentations

    For example, if you open a presentation created in PowerPoint 2003, you can only use tabs and commands found in PowerPoint 2003. In the image below, you can see at the top of the window that the presentation is in Compatibility Mode. This will disable some PowerPoint 2016 features, including newer types of slide transitions.

  4. Free Online Slide Presentation: PowerPoint

    PowerPoint for the web and PowerPoint desktop app for offline use. Premium templates, fonts, icons, and stickers with thousands of options to choose from. Dictation, voice commands, and transcription. Advanced spelling and grammar, in-app learning tips, use in 20+ languages, and more. Up to 6 TB of cloud storage, 1 TB (1000 GB) per person.

  5. Free PowerPoint 2016 Tutorial at GCFGlobal

    PowerPoint 2016 is the presentation application in the Microsoft Office suite. Get PowerPoint help creating and managing presentations. ... In this free PowerPoint 2016 tutorial, learn how to use themes and background styles, add pictures and clip art, modify charts and lists, and do more to create standout presentations. ...

  6. Create and open a PowerPoint presentation

    Create a new presentation. Open PowerPoint. Select Blank presentation, or select one of the themes. Select More themes to view the gallery and search for more. Add a slide. Select the slide you want your new slide to follow. Select Home > New Slide. Select Layout and the you type want from the drop-down.

  7. PowerPoint 2016 Tutorial

    A comprehensive 31 module tutorial (in Full HD 1080P) on PowerPoint 2016 for business professionals, students or anyone who wants to advance in their career....

  8. Microsoft PowerPoint 2016

    [VOICE + TEXT] ***THANKS FOR 1100 LIKES!♥*** Get into a new Way of Learning Microsoft PowerPoint 2016. PowerPoint 2016 tutorial for beginners, getting starte...

  9. Create and Manage Slides in Microsoft PowerPoint 2016

    Browse to the folder that contains the Word document that contains the slide title and bullet point information. Double-click the document to create a new presentation. Select all the slides in the new presentation, and then on the Home tab, in the Slides group, click the Reset button. Apply the design template you want.

  10. PowerPoint 2016 and 2019 cheat sheet

    To do it, select File > Options > General. In the "Personalize your copy of Microsoft Office" section, click the down arrow next to Office Theme, and select Dark Gray or White (or Black) from the ...

  11. PDF Microsoft PowerPoint 2016: Step-by-Step Guide

    Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 is presentation software that allows you to create dynamic slide presentations that include animation, narration, images, videos and more. These features are meant to accompany the oral delivery of the topic. Originally designed for the Macintosh computer, the initial release was called "Presenter", developed

  12. PowerPoint 2016 Beginner Tutorial

    PowerPoint 2016 Beginner TutorialGet Ad-Free Training by becoming a member today!https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqyBfm_H9ugGirk1ufYA2YA/joinWho it's For: P...

  13. PDF PowerPoint 2016

    New to PowerPoint 2016? Use this guide to learn the basics. Quick Access Toolbar Keep favorite commands permanently visible. Share your work with others Invite other people to view and edit cloud-based presentations. PowerPoint 2016 Find whatever you need Look up PowePoint commands, get Help, or search the Web. Show or hide the ribbon

  14. Microsoft PowerPoint 2016

    Still the standard for presentation design. Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 is essentially a slightly improved version of its predecessor, with a few new features and some overall improvements in Office 2016. If you need to create presentations for work or school, it remains the go-to tool. If you didn't like the old version, however, there isn't a ...

  15. How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation (Step-by-Step)

    To do that, simply go up to the Home tab and click on New Slide. This inserts a new slide in your presentation right after the one you were on. You can alternatively hit Ctrl+M on your keyboard to insert a new blank slide in PowerPoint. To learn more about this shortcut, see my guide on using Ctrl+M in PowerPoint.

  16. PowerPoint 2016

    In this course, you will learn: Discover new features in PowerPoint 2016. Effortlessly add text, graphics, audio, video, charts and tables to your slides. Quickly create top-notch visuals for your audiences. Discover ways to shift shapes, text boxes, and images. Learn all of the new tools to master presentation management. Import audio and video.

  17. Top 20 PowerPoint 2016 Tips and Tricks

    Here is the top 20 tips and tricks for PowerPoint 2016. This list is compiled from several years using PowerPoint for presentations in a corporate environme...

  18. PowerPoint design templates

    Find the perfect PowerPoint presentation template Bring your next presentation to life with customizable PowerPoint design templates. Whether you're wowing with stats via charts and graphs or putting your latest and greatest ideas on display, you'll find a PowerPoint presentation template to make your ideas pop.

  19. PowerPoint 2016: Presenting Your Slide Show

    Click the Start From Beginning command on the Quick Access Toolbar, or press the F5 key at the top of your keyboard. The presentation will appear in full-screen mode. Select the Slide Show view command at the bottom of the PowerPoint window to begin a presentation from the current slide. Go to the Slide Show tab on the Ribbon to access even ...

  20. Record a slide show with narration and slide timings

    In the Options dialog box, click the Customize Ribbon tab on the left. Then, in the right-hand box that lists the available ribbon tabs, select the Recording check box. Click OK. To get ready to record, select Record on either the Recording tab or the Slide Show tab of the ribbon.

  21. Download Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows

    The go-to presentation tool for business and leisure. Professionals have long trusted its power and functionality to put their best foot forward. Students find it helpful as they create presentations for school projects and homework. PowerPoint 2016 is Microsoft's latest version with new features and streamlined automation.

  22. PowerPoint 2016 Essential Training

    Course details. Learn how to best create, edit, and share presentations with PowerPoint 2016, the popular presentation platform. Jess Stratton shows how to build a slideshow from scratch or ...