Familiarize yourself with

the PowerPoint workspace

The working space, or Normal view, is designed to help you easily find and use the capabilities of Microsoft
PowerPoint 2010.
This article contains step-by-step instructions to help you prepare to create presentations with PowerPoint 2010.
NOTES

Another part of the PowerPoint 2010 working area is the menu bar at the top, also known as the ribbon. To
learn more about the PowerPoint ribbon, see Familiarize yourself with the ribbon in PowerPoint 2010.

If you are already familiar with the workspace in PowerPoint 2007 and you want information about the new
features in PowerPoint 2010, see What's new in PowerPoint 2010?

Step 1: Open PowerPoint

When you start PowerPoint, it opens in the view called Normal view, where you create and work on slides.
NOTES

If PowerPoint 2010 is already running, save and close any open presentations, and then exit and restart
PowerPoint 2010.

If PowerPoint 2010 isn't already running, start it.

A picture of PowerPoint 2010 in Normal view that has several labeled elements.
1. In the Slide pane, you can work directly on individual slides.

2. Dotted borders identify placeholders, where you can type text or insert pictures, charts, and other objects.
3. The Slides tab shows a thumbnail version of each full size slide shown in the Slide pane. After you add other slides,
you can click a thumbnail on the Slides tab to make the slide appear in the Slide pane. Or you can drag thumbnails to
rearrange the slides in your presentation. You can also add or delete slides on the Slides tab.
4. In the Notes pane, you can type notes about the current slide. You can distribute your notes to your audience or see
your notes in Presenter view when you give your presentation.

Step 2: Start with a blank presentation

By default, PowerPoint 2010 applies the Blank Presentation template, which appears in the previous illustration, to new
presentations. Blank Presentation is the simplest and most generic of the templates in PowerPoint 2010, and is a good
template to use when you first start to work with PowerPoint.
To create a new presentation that is based on the Blank Presentation template, do the following:
1.

Click the File tab.

1.

Point to New, and under Available Templates and Themes select Blank Presentation.

2.

Click Create.

Step 3: Adjust the size of the Notes pane

After you open the Blank Presentation template, only a small part of the Notes pane is visible. To see a larger part of
the Notes pane so that you have more room to type in it, do the following:
1.
2.

Point to the top border of the Notes pane.

When the pointer becomes a
in the following illustration.

, drag the border up to make some more room for your speaker notes, as shown

Notice that the slide in the Slide pane resizes automatically to fit the available space.

Step 4: Create your presentation

Now that you have prepared the working space for you to use, you are ready to start adding text, shapes, pictures,
animations, (and other slides, too) to your presentation. To learn more about how to create a basic presentation from
start to finish, see Create a basic PowerPoint presentation.
Near the top of the screen there are are three buttons that you might find useful as you start to work:

Undo

, which undoes your last change. (To see a ScreenTip about which action will be undone, rest the

pointer on the button. To see a menu of other recent changes that can also be undone, click the arrow to the right
of Undo

.) You can also undo a change by pressing CTRL+Z.

Redo

or Repeat

, which either repeats or redoes your last change, depending on what action that you

previously performed. (To see a ScreenTip about which action will be repeated or redone, rest the pointer on the button.)
You can also repeat or redo a change by pressing CTRL+Y.

Microsoft Office PowerPoint Help

, which opens the PowerPoint Help pane. You can also open Help by

pressing F1.
TIP Did you know that you can add more buttons to this area near the top of the screen? The area at the top of

the screen is called the Quick Access Toolbar. You can add other frequently used commands to this toolbar to help you
find them quickly. To learn more about how to add or remove commands from the Quick Access Toolbar,
see Customize the Quick Access Toolbar.

Name and save your

presentation
As with any software program, it is a good idea to name and save your presentation immediately and then to save your
changes frequently while you work:
1.

Click the File tab.

2.

Click Save As, and then do one of the following:

For a presentation that can be opened only in PowerPoint 2010 or PowerPoint 2007, in the Save as

typelist, select PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx).

For a presentation that can be opened in either PowerPoint 2010 or earlier versions of PowerPoint,

selectPowerPoint 97-2003 Presentation (*.ppt).

3.

On the left-hand pane in the Save As dialog box, click the folder or other location where you want to save your
presentation.

4.

In the File name box, type a name for your presentation, or do nothing to accept the default file name, and
then click Save.

From now on, you can press CTRL+S or click Save

any time.

near the top of the screen to save your presentation quickly at

Add text to a slide

You can add text to text placeholders, text boxes, and shapes.
NOTES Note the difference between how you use a text placeholder versus a text box in Slide Master view:

Add a text placeholder from within Slide Master view when you want to prompt users of your template to
replace the prompt text with text that is pertinent to their own project. Normal behavior of custom prompt text in a text
placeholder is that it disappears when you begin typing. To learn how to do this, see Specify what you want users of your
template to enter into text placeholders.

Add a text box from within Slide Master view when you want it to contain permanent, uneditable text.
When you add a text box in Normal view, the text is editable by anyone.

What do you want to do?

Add text to a placeholder
Add text to a text box
Add text that is part of a shape
Add text that is independent of a shape

Add text to a placeholder

Below, the dotted border represents the placeholder that contains the title text for the slide.

To add text to a text placeholder on a slide, do the following:

1.

Click inside the placeholder, and then type or paste text.

2.

To change the line spacing, do the following:

a.

Drag to select one or more lines of text for which you want to change the spacing.

b.

On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Dialog Box Launcher.

c.

In the Paragraph dialog box, on the Indents and Spacing tab, make any changes that you want to
alignment, indentation, or spacing, and then click OK.
NOTE If your text exceeds the size of the placeholder, Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 reduces the font size and line

spacing incrementally as you type to make the text fit.

Top of Page

Add text to a text box

Use text boxes to put text anywhere on a slide, such as outside a text placeholder. For example, to add a caption to a
picture, add a text box and position it near the picture.
To add a text box, and the add text to it, do the following:
NOTE When you add a text box in Normal view, the text is editable by anyone. When you add a text box in Slide

Master view, the text you add to it will become permanent and uneditable outside the slide master.
1.
On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Text Box.
NOTE If you are using an East Asian language, click the arrow below Text Box, and then click

eitherHorizontal or Vertical alignment.

2.
Click the slide, and then drag the pointer to draw the text box.
3.

Do one of the following:

To add text to a text box that anyone can edit, in Normal view, click inside the text box, and then type

o
or paste text.

To add text to a text box that is contain permanent and uneditable, in Slide Master view, click click

inside the text box, and then type or paste text.

4.

To change the line spacing, do the following:

Drag to select one or more lines of text for which you want to change the spacing.

On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Dialog Box Launcher.

In the Paragraph dialog box, on the Indents and Spacing tab, make any changes that you want to

alignment, indentation, or spacing, and then click OK.

Top of Page

Add text that is part of a shape

Shapes such as squares, circles, callout balloons, and block arrows can contain text. When you type text into a shape,
the text attaches to the shape and moves and rotates with it.

To add text that becomes part of a shape, select the shape, and then type or paste text.
Top of Page

Add text that is independent of a

shape
A text box is handy if you want to add text to a shape, but you don't want the text to attach to the shape. You can add a
border, fill, shadow, or three-dimensional (3-D) effect to text in a text box.
To add text that moves independently of a shape, add a text box, and then type or paste text:
NOTE When you add a text box in Normal view, the text is editable by anyone. When you add a text box in Slide

Master view, the text you add to it will become permanent and uneditable outside the slide master.
1.
On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Text Box.
NOTE If you are using an East Asian language, click the arrow below Text Box, and then click

eitherHorizontal or Vertical alignment.

2.
Click the slide, and then drag the pointer to draw the text box.
3.

Do one of the following:

To add text to a text box that anyone can edit, in Normal view, click inside the text box, and then type

o
or paste text.

To add text to a text box that is contain permanent and uneditable, in Slide Master view, click click

inside the text box, and then type or paste text.

4.
o

To change the line spacing, do the following:

Drag to select one or more lines of text for which you want to change the spacing.

On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Dialog Box Launcher.

In the Paragraph dialog box, on the Indents and Spacing tab, make any changes that you want to
alignment, indentation, or spacing, and then click OK.

Insert pictures or clip

art in Office 2010
You can add pictures from your computer or search the web, among other options.
In your Office 2010 program, click the Insert tab. If you want to search the web, click Clip Art. If you have your
image on your computer, click Picture.

Insert clip art

1.

Click Insert > Clip Art.

2.

In the Clip Art task pane, in the Search for text box, enter the type of clip art or picture you're looking for.

3.

Click Go.
When you search for clip art and pictures online, you'll be directed to Bing. You're responsible for respectingcopyright,
and the license filter in Bing can help you choose which images to use.

4.

In the list of results, click the clip art to insert it.

Insert a picture from a file

1.

Click Insert > Picture.

2.

Navigate to the image.

Click to select the file, and then click Insert.
NOTE To add multiple pictures, press and hold CTRL while you click the pictures, and then click Insert.

Add slide numbers,

page numbers, or the
date and time
You can add slide numbers, notes page numbers, and the date and time to your presentation.

1. Date and time

2. Slide number
If you want to add a slide to your presentation, see the article Add, rearrange, and delete slides.

Add slide numbers or notes page

numbers
1.
2.

3.

On the View tab, in the Presentation Views group, click Normal.

On the left of your screen, on the pane that contains the Outline and Slides tabs, click the Slides tab, and then
click the first slide thumbnail in your presentation.
On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Slide Number.

4.

In the Header and Footer dialog box, do one of the following:

If you want to add slide numbers, click the Slide tab, and then select the Slide number check box.

If you want to add notes page numbers, click the Notes and Handouts tab, and then select the Page
number check box.
5.

If you want to add numbers to all of the slides or notes pages in your presentation, click Apply to All.

6.

If you want to change the starting slide number, do the following:

On the Design tab, in the Page Setup group, click Page Setup.

In the Number slides from box, enter the number that you want to to print on the first slide or notes
page, with subsequent slides numbered.
Top of Page

Add the date and time

1.
2.

On the View tab, in the Presentation Views group, click Normal.

On the left of your screen, on the pane that contains the Outline and Slides tabs, click the Slides tab, and then
click the first slide thumbnail in your presentation.

3.

On the Insert tab, in the Text group, click Date & Time.

4.

In the Header and Footer dialog box, do one of the following:

If you want to add the date and time to your slides, click the Slide tab.

If you want to add the date and time to your notes pages, click the Notes and Handouts tab.
5.

Select the Date and time check box, and then do one of the following:
If you want to set the date and time to a specific date, click Fixed, and then in the Fixed box, type in

the date that you want.

NOTE By setting the date on your presentation so that it is Fixed, you can easily keep track of the last time that you

made changes to it.

If you want to specify that the date and time updates to reflect the current date and time each time you

open or print the presentation, click Update automatically, and then select the date and time format that you want .
6.

If you want to add the date and time to all of the slides or notes pages in your presentation, click Apply to All.

Print your slides or

handouts of your
presentation
Although you can also use Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 to print notes pages, this article describes you how to print your
slides (one slide per page) and how to print handouts of your presentation with one, two, three, four, six, or nine
slides on a page that your audience can use to follow along as you give your presentation or keep for future
reference.

The three-slides-per-page handout includes lines that your audience can use to take notes.
A Green Idea...
To conserve paper and printer ink, before printing slides or handouts for your whole audience, consider putting the
presentation in a shared location instead. Then, before your presentation, tell your audience where the presentation is
located. Those who want printouts can print them, and those that don't don't have to.

In this article
Set the slide size, page orientation, and starting slide number
Set printing options and then print your slides or handouts
Save your print settings

Set the slide size, page orientation,

and starting slide number
IMPORTANT Follow these steps only before you add content. If you change the slide size or orientation after you add

content, the content may be rescaled.

1.

On the Design tab, in the Page Setup group, click Page Setup.

2.

In the Slides sized for list, click the size of paper on which you will be printing.
NOTES

If you click Custom, type or select the measurements that you want in the Width and Height boxes.

To print an overhead transparency, click Overhead.

3.

To set the page orientation for the slides, under Orientation, under Slides, click Landscape or Portrait.
NOTE By default, PowerPoint slide layouts appear in landscape orientation. Although you can use only one

orientation (either landscape or portrait) in a presentation, you can link two presentations to display both portrait and
landscape slides in what seems to be one presentation. For more information, see Use portrait and landscape slide
orientation in the same presentation.
4.
In the Number slides from box, enter the number that you want to to print on the first slide or handout, with
subsequent slides numbered after it.
Top of Page

Set printing options and then print

your slides or handouts
To set your printing options (including number of copies, printer, slides to print, number of slides per page, color
options, and more) and then print your slides, do the following:
1.

Click the File tab.

2.

Click Print, and then under Print, in the Copies box, enter the number of copies that you want to print.

3.

Under Printer, select the printer that you want to use.

TIP If you want to print in color, be sure to select a color printer.

o
4.

Under Settings, do one of the following:

To print all slides, click Print All Slides.

To print one or more slides that you selected, click Print Selection.

o
o

TIP To select multiple slides to print, click the File tab, and then in Normal view, in the left-

hand pane that contains the Outline and Slides tabs, click the Slides tab, and then press and hold CTRL while you select
the slides that you want.
To print only the slide that is currently displayed, click Print Current Slide.
To print specific slides by number, click Custom Range, and then enter a list of individual slides, a
range, or both. Use commas to separate the numbers and no spaces, for example, 1,3,5-12.

Click the Print On Both Sides list, and then choose whether you want to print on one or both sides of

o
the page.
o

Click the Collated list, and then choose whether you want your slides to print collated or uncollated.

Click the Full Page Slides list, and then do the following:

To click one slide on a full page, under Print Layout, click Full Page Slides.

To click one or multiple slides per page in handout format, under Handouts, click the number
of slides you want per page, and whether you want them to appear in order vertically or horizontally.
NOTE When you want to create more complex handouts than what you can create

in PowerPoint, you can print your handouts in Microsoft Word 2010. For more information, see Send PowerPoint
handouts to Word for printing.
To print a thin border around your slides, select Frame Slides.

TIP Click it again to deselect it and prevent a border from printing.

To print your slides on the paper that you selected for your printer, click Scale to Fit Paper.

To increase resolution, blend transparent graphics, and print soft shadows in your print job,
click High quality.
TIP When you print in high quality, it may take longer for your presentation to

print. To prevent a possible decrease in your computer's performance, clear the High quality selection after you finish
printing.
o
Click the Color list, and then click one of the following:
Color

This option prints in color to a color printer.

NOTE

To prevent a color background from printing, do one of the following:

Print your slides in grayscale. See Grayscale below for more information.

Remove color backgrounds from your presentation. On the Design tab, in

the Background group, click Background Styles, and then select Style 1.
Grayscale

This option prints images that contain variations of gray tones between black

and white. Background fills are printed as white, so that the text will be more legible. (Sometimes grayscale appears the
same as Pure Black and White.)
Pure Black and White

5.

6.

This option prints the handout without gray fills.

To include or change headers and footers, click the Edit Header and Footer link, and then make your
selections in the Header and Footer dialog box that appears.
Click Print.
Top of Page

Save your print settings

If you want to reset the print options and keep them as your default settings, do the following:
1.
2.

Click the File tab.

Click Print, and then select your settings as described in the Set printing options and then print your slides or
handouts section of this article.

3.

Under Help, click Options, and then click Advanced.

4.

Under When printing this document, click Use the most recently used print settings, and then click OK.