how to make a presentation in powerpoint 2013

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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.

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.

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

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 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).

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

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 .

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.

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  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 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 .

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.

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.

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 .

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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 .

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 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.

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 .

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.).

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.

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.

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 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:

• 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 .

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

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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

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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Simple Steps to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

Last Updated: April 28, 2024 Fact Checked

Creating a New PowerPoint

Creating the title slide, adding a new slide, adding content to slides, adding transitions, testing and saving your presentation.

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Darlene Antonelli, MA . Darlene Antonelli is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Darlene has experience teaching college courses, writing technology-related articles, and working hands-on in the technology field. She earned an MA in Writing from Rowan University in 2012 and wrote her thesis on online communities and the personalities curated in such communities. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 4,323,901 times. Learn more...

Do you want to have your data in a slide show? If you have Microsoft 365, you can use PowerPoint! PowerPoint is a program that's part of the Microsoft Office suite (which you have to pay for) and is available for both Windows and Mac computers. This wikiHow teaches you how to create your own Microsoft PowerPoint presentation on a computer.

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

• Open the PowerPoint app, select a template and theme, then like “Create.”
• Click the text box to add your title and subtitle to create your title slide.
• Click the “Insert” tab, then “New Slide” to add another slide.
• Choose the type of slide you want to add, then add text and pictures.
• Rearrange slides by dragging them up or down in the preview box.

Things You Should Know

• Templates make it easy to create vibrant presentations no matter your skill level.
• When adding photos, you can adjust their sizes by clicking and dragging in or out from their corners.
• You can add animated transitions between slides or to individual elements like bullet points and blocks of text.

• If you don't have a Microsoft Office 365 subscription, you can use the website instead of the desktop app. Go to https://powerpoint.office.com/ to use the website version.
• You can also use the mobile app to make presentations, though it's easier to do this on a computer, which has a larger screen, a mouse, and a keyboard.

• If you don't want to use a template, just click the Blank option in the upper-left side of the page and skip to the next part.

• Skip this step if your selected template has no themes available.

• If you're creating a PowerPoint presentation for which an elaborate title slide has been requested, ignore this step.

• You can change the font and size of text used from the Home tab that's in the orange ribbon at the top of the window.

• You can also just leave this box blank if you like.

• You can also click and drag in or out one of a text box's corners to shrink or enlarge the text box.

• On a Mac, you'll click the Home tab instead. [1] X Research source

• Clicking the white slide-shaped box above this option will result in a new text slide being inserted.

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

• Naturally, the title slide should be the first slide in your presentation, meaning that it should be the top slide in the left-hand column.

• Skip this step and the next two steps if your selected slide uses a template that doesn't have text boxes in it.

• Text boxes in PowerPoint will automatically format the bulk of your text for you (e.g., adding bullet points) based on the context of the content itself.
• You can add notes that the Presentation will not include (but you'll still be able to see them on your screen) by clicking Notes at the bottom of the slide.

• You can change the font of the selected text by clicking the current font's name and then clicking your preferred font.
• If you want to change the size of the text, click the numbered drop-down box and then click a larger or smaller number based on whether you want to enlarge or shrink the text.
• You can also change the color, bolding, italicization, underlining, and so on from here.

• Photos in particular can be enlarged or shrunk by clicking and dragging out or in one of their corners.

• Remember to keep slides uncluttered and relatively free of distractions. It's best to keep the amount of text per slide to around 33 words or less. [2] X Research source

• Slide content will animate in the order in which you assign transitions. For example, if you animate a photo on the slide and then animate the title, the photo will appear before the title.
• Make your slideshow progress automatically by setting the speed of every transition to align with your speech as well as setting each slide to Advance . [3] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

• If you need to exit the presentation, press Esc .

• Windows - Click File , click Save , double-click This PC , select a save location, enter a name for your presentation, and click Save .
• Mac - Click File , click Save As... , enter the presentation's name in the "Save As" field, select a save location by clicking the "Where" box and clicking a folder, and click Save .

Community Q&A

• If you save your PowerPoint presentation in .pps format instead of the default .ppt format, double-clicking your PowerPoint presentation file will prompt the presentation to open directly into the slideshow view. Thanks Helpful 5 Not Helpful 0
• If you don't have Microsoft Office, you can still use Apple's Keynote program or Google Slides to create a PowerPoint presentation. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Your PowerPoint presentation (or some features in it) may not open in significantly older versions of PowerPoint. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 2
• Great PowerPoint presentations avoid placing too much text on one slide. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=DBDCE00C929AA5D8!252&ithint=file%2cpptx&app=PowerPoint&authkey=!AH4O9NxcbehqzIg
• ↑ https://www.virtualsalt.com/powerpoint.htm
• ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/set-the-timing-and-speed-of-a-transition-c3c3c66f-4cca-4821-b8b9-7de0f3f6ead1#:~:text=To%20make%20the%20slide%20advance,effect%20on%20the%20slide%20finishes .

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PowerPoint 2013  - Getting to Know PowerPoint

Powerpoint 2013  -, getting to know powerpoint, powerpoint 2013 getting to know powerpoint.

PowerPoint 2013: Getting to Know PowerPoint

Lesson 4: getting to know powerpoint.

/en/powerpoint2013/understanding-office-365/content/

Introduction

PowerPoint 2013 is a presentation software that allows you to create dynamic slide presentations. Slideshows can include animation, narration, images, videos, and much more.

Opening PowerPoint 2013

When you open PowerPoint 2013 for the first time, the Start Screen will appear. From here, you'll be able to create a new presentation , choose a template , and access your recently edited presentations .

Getting to know PowerPoint 2013

PowerPoint 2013 is similar to PowerPoint 2010. If you've previously used PowerPoint 2010, PowerPoint 2013 should feel familiar. But if you are new to PowerPoint or have more experience with older versions, you should first take some time to become familiar with the PowerPoint 2013 interface .

Click the buttons in the interactive below to become familiar with the PowerPoint 2013 interface.

Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar lets you access common commands no matter which tab is selected. You can customize the commands depending on your preference.

The Ribbon contains all of the commands you will need to perform common tasks in PowerPoint. It has multiple tabs , each with several groups of commands.

Microsoft Account

From here, you can access your Microsoft account information, view your profile , and switch accounts .

The Ruler is located at the top and to the left of your current slide. It makes it easy to align text and objects on your slide.

Here, you can view and edit the selected slide.

Slide Navigation Pane

The slide navigation pane allows you to view and organize the slides in your presentation.

Slide Number Indicator

Here, you can quickly see the total number of slides in your presentation , as well as which slide you are viewing.

Click Notes to add notes to your current slide. Often called speaker notes , they can help you deliver or prepare for your presentation.

Reviewers can leave comments on any slide. Click Comments to view comments for the current slide.

Slide View Options

There are four ways to view a presentation. Simply click a command to select the desired view.

Zoom Control

Click and drag the slider to use the zoom control . The number to the right of the slider reflects the zoom percentage .

Vertical and Horizontal Scroll Bars

The scroll bars allow you to scroll up and down or side to side. To do this, click and drag the vertical or horizontal scroll bar .

Working with the PowerPoint environment

If you've previously used PowerPoint 2010 or 2007, PowerPoint 2013 will feel familiar. It continues to use features like the Ribbon and the Quick Access toolbar —where you will find commands to perform common tasks in PowerPoint—as well as Backstage view .

PowerPoint 2013 uses a tabbed Ribbon system instead of traditional menus. The Ribbon contains multiple tabs , each with several groups of commands . You will use these tabs to perform the most common tasks in PowerPoint.

Exploring the Ribbon

You'll need to move between tabs to perform common tasks in PowerPoint. Knowing where to find the right command will make PowerPoint easier to use.

Click the arrows in the slideshow below to learn more about the different commands available within each tab on the Ribbon.

The Home tab gives you access to the most commonly used commands, including copy and paste , formatting , and the New Slide command. The Home tab is selected by default whenever you open PowerPoint.

The Insert tab allows you to insert pictures , charts , tables , shapes , and videos , which can help you communicate information visually and add style to your presentation.

You can apply themes from the Design tab. A theme is a predefined combination of colors, fonts, and effects that can quickly change the look and feel of your entire slide show. Different themes also include different slide layouts .

You can apply slide transitions from the Transitions tab. Transitions are the movements you see between slides when presenting your slide show.

The Animations tab allows you to animate text and objects such as clip art, shapes, and pictures. Animations can be used to draw attention to specific content or make the slide easier to read.

When you're ready to present your slide show, the Slide Show tab gives you tools to make your presentation smooth and professional, including the option to rehearse timings and record narration .

You can use the Review tab to access PowerPoint's powerful editing features , including spell check and comments . These features make it easy to review and collaborate on presentations.

The View tab allows you to switch between several different views for your presentation, including Outline View , Slide Sorter , and Slide Master . These views can help you prepare and organize your slide show.

Contextual tabs will appear on the Ribbon when working with certain items like tables , shapes , and pictures . These tabs contain special command groups that can help you format these items as needed.

To minimize and maximize the Ribbon:

The Ribbon is designed to respond to your current task, but you can choose to minimize it if you find that it takes up too much screen space.

• Autohide Ribbon: Autohide displays PowerPoint in full-screen mode and completely hides the Ribbon. To show the Ribbon , click the Expand Ribbon command at the top of screen.
• Show Tabs: This option hides all command groups when not in use, but tabs will remain visible. To show the Ribbon , simply click a tab.
• Show Tabs and Commands: This option maximizes the Ribbon. All of the tabs and commands will be visible. This option is selected by default when you open PowerPoint for the first time.

The Quick Access toolbar

Located just above the Ribbon, the Quick Access toolbar lets you access common commands no matter which tab is selected. By default, it includes the Save , Undo , Repeat , and Start Presentation commands. You can add other commands depending on your preference.

To add commands to the Quick Access toolbar:

• Click the drop-down arrow to the right of the Quick Access toolbar .

The Ruler, guides, and gridlines

PowerPoint includes several tools to help organize and arrange content on your slides, including the Ruler , guides , and gridlines . These tools make it easier to align objects on your slides. Simply click the check boxes in the Show group on the View tab to show and hide these tools.

Simply click and drag to move the horizontal or vertical guides to a new position.

Backstage view

Backstage view gives you various options for saving, opening, printing, and sharing your presentations.

To access Backstage view:

• Backstage view will appear.

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

Back to PowerPoint

You can use the arrow to close Backstage view and return to PowerPoint.

The Info pane will appear whenever you access Backstage view. It contains information about the current presentation.

From here, you can create a new blank presentation or choose from a large selection of templates .

From here, you can open recent presentations , as well as presentations saved to your OneDrive or on your computer .

Save and Save As

Use Save and Save As to save your presentation to your computer or to your OneDrive .

From the Print pane, you can change the print settings and print your presentation. You can also see a preview of your presentation.

From here, you can invite people to view and collaborate on your presentation. You can also share your presentation by emailing it as an attachment.

You can choose to export your workbook in another format, such as PDF/XPS or PowerPoint 97-2003 .

Click here to close the current presentation.

From the Account pane, you can access your Microsoft accoun t information, modify your theme and background , and sign out of your account.

Here, you can change various PowerPoint options , settings , and language preferences.

You can review our lesson on Working with Your Microsoft Account and OneDrive to learn more about using OneDrive.

• Open PowerPoint 2013 and create a new presentation.
• Click through all of the tabs and review the commands on the Ribbon .
• Try minimizing and maximizing the Ribbon.
• Add a command to the Quick Access toolbar .
• Navigate to Backstage view and open your Account settings .

/en/powerpoint2013/creating-and-opening-presentations/content/

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How to Create a New PowerPoint 2013 Presentation

Style and color are very important when making a presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint 2013. Getting your message across in an elegant and appealing way is easily accomplished by changing the slide background colour.

Here is how you do it:

• First, open your PowerPoint 2013 Presentation. • Next, click on the button to the far right of the main control panel, it features a paint bucket and says ‘Format background’. • From this screen you can adjust the background colour of your slide. Some other options are pictures, patterns or gradients. • Choose the appropriate background colour and watch as it changes on your main slide.

Nothing to it!

Watch the free video here, transcripts for the entire video follow:

Learn how to master Microsoft PowerPoint 2013. Get 9 hours of PowerPoint 2013 training – click here .

Video transcripts:

Hello again and welcome back to our course on PowerPoint 2013. In this section, we’re going to create a new presentation and this is the first completely new presentation that we’ve worked on. To get started, we click on File to go into Backstage View, then select New, and as you’ve already seen, there are a number of templates available each with a name like Celestial or Integral or Ion, and the very first item in the list here is Blank presentation and on this occasion we’re going to use Blank presentation.

Now before we really get going on this, I need to point out a couple of things to you. First of all, when we say Blank presentation there is actually quite a lot of information setup already when you select Blank presentation. It may not be a very colorful template but there is still a template involved, as you will see. And the second thing to point out is that in this section and the next one when we’re working on the first presentation, I’m going to show you some of the main tools and techniques for creating presentations, but almost without exception we’ll be coming back to them and looking at them in a lot more detail in later sections of the course. So if in some of the things we do in this section and the next one it all seems a little bit sort of quick or that there are many unanswered questions left behind, don’t worry because we should be covering all of those unanswered questions later on in the course.

Now when you create a new presentation, it’s given a default name by PowerPoint 2013. The name will normally be Presentation 1 or Presentation 2 or something like that and the name appears in the title bar at the top. The first thing I do with any new presentation is to save it with a name of my choice. So I go into File, Save As, choose My Computer, and I’ll browse to a folder where I’m going to keep the working files on this course. Now this is a different folder to the one where I’m keeping the sample files that you have as well. So I’m going to browse to that folder now and I’m going to give this presentation a suitable name. So I’ve located the folder. It’s currently empty. I’ve typed in a file name. I’ve called it Demo presentation 1.pptx. Whenever you’re saving a file in PowerPoint 2013, you will need to make sure that you have the correct file type selected. For a standard regular PowerPoint presentation, the extension will be .pptx. If you look at the drop down to the right as Save As type, there are actually many types of document that you can save in PowerPoint 2013. For instance, if you look at the third option in the list here, there is a PowerPoint 97 to 2003 presentation format, a .ppt format, which is the old format presentation. I’ll talk about that briefly a little bit later on. But you can also save a presentation, for example, as a PDF file, a Portable Document Format file. You can also if you are programming, you are including program code in a PowerPoint presentation, it becomes a PowerPoint Macro Enabled presentation, a .pptm file. But for the moment, we only really need to look at .pptx files. I’ll talk about some of the others later. So when I’ve put in my name, made sure I’ve got the right file type, I click on Save. And as you would expect, once I’ve saved I’ve now got the correct title for the presentation on the title bar at the top of the window there.

Now if you look at the way that different people set about creating presentations, they tend to do things in their own particular sequence. And of course, like other people I have my way of going about creating presentations as well. And the method when I’m starting from scratch with a completely new presentation is often quite different from the one where I am for example using an old presentation and just modifying it. In the example here, we’re pretty much starting from scratch. So I’m going to go through some of the main steps in what seems to be a pretty sensible order and you may adapt and adjust that yourself once you get used to using PowerPoint.

Now one of the first things we need to do is to decide on the size of the slides. In the past, the size of slides and the templates have tended largely to be sort of inextricably linked together. In PowerPoint 2013, one of the changes is that it is now a standard basic decision whether a presentation is going to be standard or whether it’s going to be widescreen; that is 4:3 aspect ratio or 16:9 aspect ratio. And I suggest that’s a good starting point. If you click on the Design tab on the right in the Customize Group, there is a Slide Size box and if you click on the bottom of it, the drop down, there are the two most popular settings. There’s standard 4:3 and widescreen 16:9. You also have an option of going for a custom slide size and you can pretty much create any size you like. And you need to be a little bit careful there because depending on how you’re going to present this presentation, a very strange slide size may cause you problems later on. The other fundamental decision you can take at this point is whether you’re making landscape slides or portrait slides, and there is an Orientation option here. In the vast majority of cases, presentations are landscape but there’s absolutely no reason that you shouldn’t make a presentation with portrait slides.

Another fundamental decision related to that is that for the notes, handouts, and outlines, do you want those in portrait or landscape format? Now, that may not mean a lot to you at the moment and the fact that it defaults to portrait may seem a little strange. But when I show you some notes and handouts later on, you’ll see why the portrait option here is the default. So for the moment on this particular presentation, we’re going to stick with widescreen, landscape slides, and portrait notes, handouts, and outline, click on OK, and that’s the most fundamental decision made really.

Now before we go any farther, I should just point out to you that I have got AutoSave set and I will from time to time in any case save my work. But for the rest of the course, I’m not going to say to you every few minutes don’t forget to save your work. But just this once, don’t forget to save your work. So generally when I’ve made any kind of major change even allowing for AutoSave, I’ll go up there and click on the Save button. This is one of the ones where I know the keyboard shortcut by the way. So Save is there. The keyboard shortcut is Control plus S. Get used to pressing Control plus S every now and then, particularly just after you’ve completed a large piece of work on a presentation. So press the Save button or use the keyboard shortcut Control plus S frequently.

Now we’re going to be working on the stylistic and design aspects of presentations extensively later in the course. But let’s do a little simple operation here. Also in the Customize Group on the Design tab, there’s a button called Format Background. So let’s just try a very simple example within Format Background. Click there and what happens is this Format Background Pane or Panel opens on the right hand side. Now this kind of pane is going to be a common feature during the course to achieve certain effects, and Format Background is certainly one which is a flexible and powerful way of making our presentation really look more attractive. Now in this case, the option we’re looking at is Fill. We’re going to be looking at these options for Fill later on. We can have solid fill, gradient fill, picture or texture fill, pattern fill. You’ll see what they mean later on. Let’s just try a solid fill here and let’s choose a solid fill color. Now further down the pane, there is a color option and a control over here, Fill Color; click on that. We get a thing called a Color Picker that I’ll talk to you about later on and what we’re going to do is to choose a fairly pale color from there as a background to these slides. So let’s go for that color there, click on that one, and we’ve changed the background color of a slide to that sort of pale, pasteley blue type of color. We can also adjust another setting transparency, more of that later.

And at any time when you’ve been working on the background of your slides, you have a button at the bottom that says Reset background. And that’s a good example of the type of reset button we see throughout PowerPoint 2013 where basically if you’ve been working on something such as the background in this case and it’s all gone a bit sort of horribly wrong or you’ve changed your mind, if you click on Reset Background, it will put it back to how it was at the beginning. But for the moment, I think I’m quite happy to stick with this light blue background.

So I’ve finished working on the background for now. All I need to do is to click on the Close button on the Format Background Pane and it’s gone. Note that when I’m using those kinds of pane PowerPoint 2013 always automatically resizes the other things that are on display in the workspace here to make good use of the available space. So in this case, the slide that I’m looking at is made bigger to fill the space left by the disappearing pane.

So we’ve added a tiny bit of style to our widescreen presentation. Let’s move on now to actually put some content into it. We’re going to cover that in the next section so please join me for that.

Simon Calder

Chris “Simon” Calder was working as a Project Manager in IT for one of Los Angeles’ most prestigious cultural institutions, LACMA.He taught himself to use Microsoft Project from a giant textbook and hated every moment of it. Online learning was in its infancy then, but he spotted an opportunity and made an online MS Project course - the rest, as they say, is history!

START LEARNING HOW TO CREATE A NEW POWERPOINT 2013 PRESENTATION ON SIMONSEZIT.COM

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Open PowerPoint.

Select one of the Blank Presentation and start typing. 

Note:  Microsoft 365 subscribers will find Design Ideas based on the words you type. You can browse and select a new look.

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Double-click a theme in the gallery to create a presentation in that theme. Or search for more templates.

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15 PowerPoint Tips & Tricks To Improve Your Presentations

Creating a presentation in PowerPoint will be significantly easier if you know a few tips and tricks. We’ve shown you how to change the size of your slides, insert a PDF , add music , and how to make your PowerPoint more engaging. 

Whether you’re brand new to creating PowerPoint presentations or you’re a pro, you can improve further by incorporating new PowerPoint design ideas. 

1. How to Lock an Image in PowerPoint

Locking an image in a PowerPoint presentation will prevent the image’s proportions or aspect ratio from getting distorted or out of scale.

To lock an image in PowerPoint, follow the steps below:

• Right-click on the image and select Size and Position .

• Check the box labeled Lock aspect ratio .

It’s also possible to lock an image or object so it cannot be resized or moved around the slide at all. This feature may be missing from most PowerPoint desktop versions. You might be able to right-click on an image, shape, or object and select Lock .

If you don’t see that option, one workaround is to place objects into the master slide. To learn how, read how to edit master slides in PowerPoint . 

2. Loop a Slideshow in PowerPoint

If you plan on continuously running a PowerPoint slide show, you can set the slideshow to loop instead of having to restart it manually.

• Open the PowerPoint you want to loop.
• Select the Slide Show tab.
• Select the Set Up Slide Show button.

• Check the box labeled Loop continuously until ‘Esc.’

• Select the OK button.

You’ll need to press the Esc key to end the looped PowerPoint presentation. Clicking on the final slide in your deck or pressing the right arrow key on your keyboard will cause the slideshow to restart.

3. How to Reduce the Size of a PowerPoint

PowerPoint files can become large if you’ve inserted high-resolution images or media files. We’ve got a few PowerPoint tips and tricks that can help reduce the size of your PowerPoint file.

• Embed only the font characters used in your presentation by selecting File > Options > Save in the menu on the left.

• If you’ve chosen to embed fonts in the file, select the Embed only the characters used in the presentation option.

• Select File > Options > Advanced .
• Under Image Size and Quality , check the box labeled Discard editing data .
• To further reduce the size of your PowerPoint, uncheck the box labeled Do not compress images in file and opt for a lower default resolution for your images.

• In the Picture Format tab, select the Compress Pictures button. You can choose whether to apply compression options to all images or only the picture you’ve chosen.
• Check the box labeled Delete cropped areas of pictures , and select Use default resolution . Press OK .

By reducing the size of your PowerPoint file, you’ll make the file easier to store and email.

4. How to Add and Print PowerPoint Notes

Add speaker notes to help the presenter remember what to say during the presentation by selecting the Notes button at the bottom of the PowerPoint. Type a script or just a few notes as reminders.

To print the presentation with the notes, select Notes Pages in the Settings section of the Print dialog box.

5. How to Edit PowerPoint Backgrounds

To add, remove, or edit a background graphic from your slides using the PowerPoint desktop app, you’ll need to select Slide Master from the View menu. Then, on the left, select the slide master or one of the layouts that appears below it: Right-click and select Format Background . Check a box labeled Hide background graphics .

If you’re using PowerPoint in a browser, you might have noticed there is no slide master. When you use the online version, you can directly add, remove, or edit any graphics that appear on a slide.

6. How to Link to Another Slide in the Presentation

Linking to another slide in the same presentation can be helpful if you anticipate the need to skip part of your presentation due to time constraints or refer back to a previous slide. It is as simple as adding a hyperlink.

• Select the text, image, or shape you want to use as a link.
• Select Insert > Link or right-click and select Hyperlink .
• In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, under Link to , select Place in This Document .

• Choose which slide you want to link to and press the OK button.

7. Stay Consistent by Using the Format Painter

Consistency is a hallmark of a well-designed PowerPoint presentation. For example, slide headings should have the same color, font, and font size throughout the deck. Using the format painter makes standardizing all the headings and element labels in your presentation quick and easy.

• Select the content that has the formatting you like.
• In the Home tab, select the Format Painter .
• Next, select something else, and the formatting of the first element will automatically be applied.

Simple. To apply formatting to multiple elements, double-click the Format Painter and repeat step #3 above until you’ve applied the formatting to all the elements you want. Press the Esc key to stop using the Format Painter.

8. Look Smart with SmartArt

PowerPoint’s built-in SmartArt feature will help take your presentations to the next level. With SmartArt, you can convert plain, boring text to engaging graphics.

• Select the text you want to convert into a graphic.
• On the Home tab, select Convert to SmartArt .

• Select the option you like the most. As you move your mouse over the different options, you’ll see what your text looks like converted to that SmartArt option.
• If you’d like a SmartArt option that allows you to add pictures, select More SmartArt Graphics .
• In the menu on the left, select Picture .

• Select the option you like best.
• To add an image, select an image icon in a SmartArt element and choose whether to insert an image from a file on your computer or from an online source like Bing.

The SmartArt gallery has dozens of options to choose from. One of them is bound to make your slide more engaging.

9. Align Your Objects

You’ve used the Format Painter to ensure your formatting is consistent throughout your presentation. While you’re at it, make sure all your objects are perfectly aligned using PowerPoint’s Align tool.

• Select the objects you want to align by holding down Shift as you select each object.
• In the Format tab, select Align .
• Choose how you want the selected object to align.

• To distribute three or more objects evenly, select the objects, and then select Align and either Distribute Horizontally or Distribute Vertically .

Being intentional about how objects on your slides are aligned goes a long way to making a professional-looking presentation.

10. How to Use Picture Layout

When you’re working with a slide with one or more images, try using PowerPoint’s built-in Picture Layout tool. It’s SmartArt for images.

• Select all the images on the slide (hold down Shift to select multiple images).
• In the Picture Tools menu, select Format > Picture Layout .

• Mouse over the options to find the Picture Layout you like best, and select it.

If you decide you don’t want to use a Picture Layout, you can convert your images back to Shapes by selecting Design > Convert > Convert to Shapes .

11. Be Sparing with the Slide Transitions

Once you discover that you can add animations between slides, you might be tempted to try them all. However, you should remember the cardinal rule of PowerPoint presentations: less is more. If you absolutely must use a transition, stick to the simple ones like Cut and Fade .

• Select a slide.
• From the Transitions tab, select a transition.

• Select Effect Options if it’s available to choose additional settings for the transition.

• Select Preview to see the transition in action.

12. Use Animations Wisely

While you’re toning down your slide transitions, make sure you’re using animations judiciously, too. Animating text or objects on a slide can help the flow of your presentation, but too many animations can be distracting. Be discerning about when and where you use them.

To add animations and effects:

• Select the text or object you want to animate.
• On the Animations tab, select an animation.

• Next, select Effect Options to choose an effect. Note, the Effect Options will be different depending on which animation you have selected.

You can select different ways to start the animations. In the Timing section of the Animations tab, choose when to start the animation.

• On click . This option will start the animation when you click the slide.
• With previous . Choose this option if you want the animation to play at the same time as the previous animation in the sequence.
• After previous . The animation will begin immediately after the prior one concludes.
• Duration . This option allows you to make an effect last longer or shorter.
• Delay . Add some time before an effect begins.

To change the order your animations play:

• Select an animation marker on a slide (or toggle on the Animation Pane by selecting it in the Advanced Animation section of the Animation tab and select an animation in the list.)

• In the Timing section of the Animation tab, select either Move Earlier or Move Later .

To add an animation to a group of objects:

• Press Ctrl and select multiple objects.
• Select Format > Group > Group to create a group.
• Choose an animation from the Animations tab.

If you use them the right way, animations can make your presentation clearer and easier for viewers to understand.

13. K.I.S.S.

PowerPoint slides are most effective when they’re simple. When you include only the most important information on your slides, you make it easier for people to digest and remember your message. You can always say more about the topic, but don’t pack the slide with more content than you need. After all, your audience should be listening more than reading.

14. Seek Out High Quality Templates, Images, and Graphics

When you keep it simple, that means using images and graphics that look good. We’ve rounded up some great stock photo sites and places to get beautiful PowerPoint templates .

15. Export the Presentation as a Video

When you’re happy with your presentation, export it as a video:

• Select File > Export .

• Choose Create a video .

• Select the quality of the video and whether to use recorded timings and narrations.

• Set the duration of each slide.
• Select the Create Video button.
• Navigate to the folder where you want to save the video file.
• Select the Save button.

By implementing these tips and tricks, you’ll take your presentations to the next level!

However, perhaps despite all the tips and tricks you’ve learned, you’ve decided to swear off the software entirely. So many PowerPoint presentations have put audience members to sleep that we now have a term for it: “death by PowerPoint.” In that case, say goodbye to Powerpoint, and check out these seven alternatives to PowerPoint that you can use online. 

Maggie Marystone is a freelance technology writer, human rights worker, and storyteller based in Chicago. Read Maggie's Full Bio

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How to Loop a Slideshow on Powerpoint 2013

If you’ve ever seen a Powerpoint presentation at a trade show or a retail store you might have noticed that it seemed to be on an endless repeat. This isn’t happening because the presentation creator simply manually repeated the slideshow in their file. They have likely enabled a setting to let this happen.

You can make Powerpoint loop by clicking the Set Up Slide Show button on the Slideshow tab, then checking the box to the left of Loop continuously until Esc.

While it is popular to use a Powerpoint presentation as a visual tool for an audience to follow along with a presenter, it can also be used as a multimedia presentation method that runs on its own. This is common when you are creating a display in a store or as part of a marketing effort for a trade show or convention.

But manually restarting the presentation every time it ends would be inconvenient and impractical, so you might be looking for a way that the presentation can loop continuously on its own. Our guide below will show you what options to use to set up this continuous loop in Powerpoint 2013.

How to Loop a Presentation in Powerpoint 2013

• Open the file in Powerpoint 2013.
• Click the Transitions tab at the top of the window.
• Check the box to the left of After in the Timing section of the ribbon, then click inside the field to the right of After and select the amount of time for which you want each slide to remain on the screen .
• Click the Apply to All button in the Timing section to make this setting apply to every slide in your presentation. If you are setting a different duration for each slide, however, do not click this button. You will need to repeat step 3 for each slide instead.
• Click the Slideshow tab at the top of the ribbon .
• Click the Set Up Slide Show button in the Set Up section of the ribbon.
• Check the box to the left of Loop continuously until ‘Esc’ under Show options , then click the OK button at the bottom of the window.
• Click the From Beginning button in the Start Slide Show section of the ribbon to start the loop. You can press Esc on your keyboard at any time to stop it.

Our guide continues below with additional information on making a slideshow loop in Microsoft Powerpoint 2013, including pictures of these steps.

The timing option in Powerpoint can be really useful in implying the presentation process. Check out our how to time slides in Powerpoint guide for more information about it.

How to Loop a Powerpoint Slideshow (Guide with Pictures)

The steps in this guide will show you the settings to adjust so that your Powerpoint presentation will play continuously on a loop until it is stopped.

You will first set your slides so that they advance automatically after a specified amount of time, then you will set the option for the entire presentation so that it will not stop playing until you press the Esc key on your keyboard.

Step 1: Open your slideshow in Powerpoint 2013.

Step 2: click the transitions tab above the ribbon..

Step 3: Check the box to the left of After in the Timing section of the ribbon, then click inside the field to the right of After and choose the duration that you would like each slide to be shown on the screen.

In the image below, I have set that duration to 15 seconds.

Step 4: Click the Apply to All button in the Timing  section of the ribbon.

This will apply the duration that you just specified to every slide in the presentation. If you would like to specify the duration of each slide individually, then do not click this button, but instead, repeat step 3 for each slide in the presentation.

Step 5: Click the Slide Show tab above the ribbon in your Powerpoint presentation.

Step 6: Click the Set Up Slide Show button in the Set Up section of the ribbon.

Step 7: Check the box to the left of Loop continuously until ‘Esc’ in the Show options section of the window, then click the OK button.

Step 8: Click the From Beginning button in the Start Slide Show section of the ribbon to begin the slideshow loop.

Press the Esc button on your keyboard when you want to stop the loop.

Now that you know how to loop a slideshow on Powerpoint 2013, you can use these steps to keep your presentations playing if necessary.

Our tutorial continues below with additional discussion on looping in Powerpoint.

More Information on How to Make Powerpoint Loop

When you use the steps above and put your Powerpoint slideshow into kiosk mode, it will remain there unless you go back and adjust the setting for the presentation to restore it to the standard mode of just playing one time through.

Note that making the Powerpoint presentation loop is something that only applies to the current presentation. This is not a setting that you are changing for the Powerpoint application. It’s just for the current file. If you want to loop other slideshows, you will need to make this adjustment on those files as well.

In the steps above, I have manually specified the slide duration at 15 seconds. However, you can set this to whatever duration you would like. It can be tough to get the timing right, so you might need to sit through the presentation yourself a couple of times to make sure that you can read and take in all of the information on each slide with their current durations.

Traditionally your slideshow will advance to the next slide either when with a mouse click or a button press, but it will stop on the last slide. Since the goal of this guide is to set up a slideshow that can run unattended, it can be useful to do things like specify durations in the slide time box, record slide timings if needed, set slide transitions, and even put the presentation into full screen mode once you start it.

Do you need your Powerpoint presentation to be in video format? Learn how to convert a slideshow to a video directly within Powerpoint 2013 .

Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.

After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.

His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.

Read his full bio here.

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How-To Geek

How to get microsoft office for free.

Don't want to pay for a subscription or buy the standalone version?

Quick Links

Use office online in a browser; it's free, sign up for a free one-month trial, get office free as a student or teacher, try the mobile apps on phones and small ipads, join someone's microsoft 365 home plan, free microsoft office alternatives, key takeaways.

There are a few ways to get Microsoft Office for free: You can use Office for free in your browser, you can sign up for a one-month free trial, or you may get access through your educational institution if you’re a student or teacher.

Microsoft Office normally starts at $70 per year, but there are quite a few ways to get it for free. We'll show you all the ways you can get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office applications without paying a cent.

Whether you're using a Windows PC, Mac, or Chromebook, you can use Microsoft Office for free in a web browser. The web-based versions of Office are simplified and won't work offline, but they still offer a powerful editing experience. You can open and create Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents right in your browser.

To access these free web apps, just head to Office.com and sign in with a free Microsoft account. Click an application icon—like Word, Excel, or PowerPoint—to open the web version of that application.

You can also drag and drop a file from your computer onto the Office.com page. It will be uploaded to your Microsoft account's free OneDrive storage, and you can open it in the associated application.

Office's web applications have some limitations. These applications aren't quite as full featured as the classic Office desktop applications for Windows and Mac, and you can't access them offline. But they do offer surprisingly powerful Office applications, and they're completely free.

If you just need Microsoft Office for a short period of time, you can sign up for a one-month free trial. To find this offer, head to Microsoft's Try Microsoft 365 for free website, and sign up for the trial.

You will have to provide a credit card to sign up for the trial, and it will automatically renew after the month. However, you can cancel your subscription at any time—even right after signing up—to ensure you won't get billed. You can continue using Office for the rest of your free month after canceling.

After joining the trial, you can download full versions of these Microsoft Office applications for Windows PCs and Macs. You'll also get access to the full versions of the apps on other platforms, including larger iPads.

This trial will give you full access to a Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) Home plan. You'll get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, and 1TB of storage in OneDrive. You can share it with up to five other people. They'll each get access to the apps via their Microsoft account, and will have their own 1TB of storage for a combined 6TB of storage.

Microsoft also offers free 30-day evaluations of Microsoft 365 for Business , which is intended for businesses. You might be able to take advantage of both offers for two months of free Microsoft Office access.

Many educational institutions pay for Office 365 plans, allowing students and teachers to download the software for free.

To find out if your school participates, head to the Office 365 Education website, and enter your school email address. You'll be offered a free download if it's available to you through your school's plan.

Even if a university or college doesn't participate, it may offer Microsoft Office at a reduced cost to students and teachers through its bookstore. Check with your educational institution—or at least look on its website—for more details.

Microsoft's Office apps are free on smartphones, too. On an iPhone or Android phone, you can download the Office mobile apps to open, create, and edit documents for free.

On an iPad or Android tablet, these apps will only let you create and edit documents if you have a "device with a screen size smaller than 10.1 inches." On a larger tablet, you can install these apps to view documents, but you'll need a paid subscription to create and edit them.

In practice, this means Word, Excel, and PowerPoint offer a full experience for free on the iPad Mini and older 9.7-inch iPads. You'll need a paid subscription to get document-editing capabilities an iPad Pro or newer 10.2-inch iPads.

Microsoft 365 Home subscriptions are meant to be shared among multiple people. The $70 per year version offers Office for a single person, while the $100 per year subscription offers Office for up to six people. You'll get the full experience, with Office for Windows PCs, Macs, iPads, and other devices.

Anyone who pays for Microsoft 365 Home (formerly known as Office 365 Home) can share it with up to five other Microsoft accounts. It's very convenient: Sharing is managed through an Office "Sharing" page on Microsoft's account website. The main owner of the account can add five other Microsoft accounts, and each of those accounts will receive an invitation link.

After joining the group, each person can sign in with their own Microsoft account to download the Office apps—just as if they were paying for their own subscriptions. Each account will have a separate 1TB of OneDrive storage.

Microsoft says the subscription is meant for sharing among your "household." So, if you have a family member or even a roommate with this service, that person can add you to their subscription for free.

The Home plan is definitely the best deal if you're going to pay for Microsoft Office. If you can split a $100 per year subscription among six people, that's under $17 every year per person.

By the way, Microsoft partners with some employers to offer a discount on Office subscriptions for their employees. Check Microsoft's Home Use Program website to see if you qualify for a discount.

If you're looking for something else, consider choosing a different office application. There are completely free office suites that sport good compatibility with Microsoft Office documents, spreadsheets, and presentation files. Here are some of the best:

• LibreOffice is a free and open-source office application for Windows, Mac, Linux, and other operating systems. It's similar to the desktop versions of Microsoft Office , and it can even work with and create Office documents in common file types like DOCX documents, XLSX spreadsheets, and PPTX presentations. LibreOffice was based on OpenOffice. While OpenOffice is still around, LibreOffice has more developers and is now the more popular project. You can even make LibreOffice look like Microsoft Office .
• Apple iWork is a free collection of office applications for Mac, iPhone, and iPad users. This is Apple's competitor to Microsoft Office, and it used to be paid software before Apple made it free. Windows PC users can access a web-based version of iWork through the iCloud website, too.
• Google Docs is a capable collection of web-based office software. It stores your files in Google Drive , Google's online file storage service. Unlike Microsoft's Office web apps, you can even access Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides offline in Google Chrome.

There are many other alternatives, but these are some of the best.

If you just don't want to pay a monthly fee, you can still purchase a boxed copy of Microsoft Office. However, Office Home & Student 2021 costs $150, and you can only install it on one device.

Microsoft is slated to release a standalone version of Office 2024 , but it has not been released yet. Be sure to keep an eye out for it.

You won't get a free upgrade to the next major version of Office, either. If you're going to pay for Office, the subscription is probably the best deal —especially if you can split a paid plan with other people.