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How to make a powerpoint presentation from an outline.

This is great if you like to start projects with an outline!

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Compose your outline, create the powerpoint presentation.

When you plan out your slideshow ahead of time, you might use an outline. This helps determine the content for each slide. In Microsoft PowerPoint, you can pull that outline right into the application and transform it into a presentation.

If you already have an outline, you're one step ahead. If not, you can use an application like Microsoft Word or Notepad for your outline.

Related: How to Create and Work with Multilevel Lists in Microsoft Word

Each line in the outline displays on a separate slide even if you have a multilevel outline .

Outline in Microsoft Word

If you use numbering or bullets in an application like Word , those normally won't carry over to the slides. But with software like Notepad, they may. So, depending on the application you use for the outline, this is something to keep in mind.

You can add the outline to an existing presentation, new blank slideshow, or one with a template . Open PowerPoint and choose the slideshow or make a new one.

Related: How to Create a Custom Template in PowerPoint

On either the Home or Insert tab, select the New Slide drop-down menu. Pick "Slides From Outline."

Slides From Outline in the New Slide menu

Browse for the outline file on your computer, select it, and click "Insert."

Browse and insert dialog box

After a moment, you'll see your outline load into PowerPoint. As mentioned, each line of the outline is its own slide.

Slides from an outline in PowerPoint

From there, you can add text, include images, insert animated charts , and use videos as you normally would.

Creating a PowerPoint slideshow from an outline gives you a good jump-start on your presentation.

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Erin Wright Writing

Writing-Related Software Tutorials

How to Convert a Microsoft Word Outline into PowerPoint Slides

By Erin Wright

This tutorial shows how to convert a Microsoft Word outline into PowerPoint Slides.

Before making the conversion, we first have to format the Word outline levels. For an in-depth look at outlining, please see last week’s tutorial “ How to Use Outline View in Microsoft Word (PC & Mac) .”

Watch all the steps shown here in real time!

Explore more than 250 writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel .

Table of Contents:

  • How to Format the Word Outline Levels for Conversion to Slides
  • How to Convert a Word Outline to PowerPoint Slides

The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365 and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365. These steps also apply to Word 2021, PowerPoint 2021, Word 2019, PowerPoint 2019, Word 2016, and PowerPoint 2016.

Are you on a Mac? Please see “ How to Convert a Microsoft Word Outline into PowerPoint Slides on Mac .”

How to Format the Outline Levels for Conversion to Slides

  • Select the File tab followed by Save As to save your Word file under a new name. This is an important step because we will be changing the heading structure of the document.
  • Select the View tab.
  • Select Outline in the Views group.

Outline option in the View tab in Word 365

  • Select the outline items that should appear as slide titles and then select Level 1 in the Outline Level menu.

Pro Tip: Press and Hold the Ctrl key to select multiple items.

Outline Level menu in Word 365

  • Select the outline items that should appear as first-level bullet points in the slides and then select Level 2 in the Outline Level menu (see figure 2).
  • Continue to select items that should appear as lower-level bullet points in the slides and then select the outline level one level lower in the Outline Level menu (see figure 2). For example, select Level 3 to create a second-level bullet point in the slide.
  • Save your new Word file and close Word.

How to Convert a Word Outline into PowerPoint Slides

  • Open PowerPoint and select Blank Presentation from the Home screen.

Blank Presentation option in the Home screen in PowerPoint 365

  • Select the New Slide menu arrow.
  • Select Slides from Outline from the drop-down menu.

Slides from Outline option in the New Slide menu in PowerPoint 365

  • Locate and select the Word document in the Insert Outline dialog box and then select the Insert button.

Insert Outline dialog box in PowerPoint 365

The Word outline should now be converted to PowerPoint slides. This process may take several moments depending upon the length of the outline.

  • The first slide will be blank to create a title slide or cover slide. If a title slide is not required, right-click the blank slide and then select Delete Slide from the shortcut menu.

Delete Slide option in the shortcut menu in PowerPoint 365

Do you want to convert an entire Word document to PowerPoint slides? If so, see “ How to Convert Microsoft Word Documents to PowerPoint Slides Using Word for the Web .”

Related Resources

How to Create Numbered Lists in PowerPoint (PC & Mac)

How to Insert a Linked PowerPoint Slide in Microsoft Word

How to Convert PDFs to PowerPoint Slides in Adobe Acrobat (PC & Mac)

Updated December 12, 2023

  • Microsoft Word Tutorials
  • Adobe Acrobat Tutorials
  • PowerPoint Tutorials
  • Writing Tips
  • Editing Tips
  • Writing-Related Resources

How to Create a PowerPoint presentation from a Word Outline

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Your executive sends you the outline for their next big presentation. But it's in Word! Learn how to turn it into a slide deck.

How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation from a Word Document

As a busy assistant whether you are a PA, EA or VA you will at some point be asked to turn a Word document that your executive or client has written into a beautiful slide deck.

What most people do

Have both Word and PowerPoint open, copy the main points to slide titles, paste the content into the slides or the notes section. Then spend hours adjusting everything.

What those who know the secret do

Make sure that the Word document is styled. This is important as when you import it into PowerPoint, PowerPoint will use the heading styles to determine what is a slide and what is body text – sneaky!

Go through the Word documents and apply Heading Styles.

Heading Style One will become a slide title

Heading Style Two will become body text

You can also use this opportunity to tweak the content, so it is suitable for the slides.

Close the Word document and obviously save it where you can get to it easily. Then in PowerPoint on the Home Ribbon click on the drop down under New Slide and select Slides from Outline.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Next you will need to pick the document you just added the Heading Styles to. PowerPoint will now go ahead and import the content into the presentation. See the image below – the document I have on the right is imported into PowerPoint.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

You may be thinking that in PowerPoint it does not look that great and you would be correct.

Switch to Slide Sorter View, select all the slides (Press Control +A on Windows or Command + A on Mac) and then click on Reset on the Home Ribbon. This will apply the slide master to the slides.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Now your slides are styled with the presentation design. When you import from Word it imports any underlying formatting and superimposes that on to your slides. By using Reset you are resetting the slides and applying the Slide Master to all selected slides.

You can now continue to work on the presentation, adding images, SmartArt, Icons and so on.

To learn more about how to get PowerPoint working for you head over to my course - Essential PowerPoint for The Savvy Assistant - it is part of the Microsoft Office for The Savvy Assistant program which you can find here . 

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

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How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation from a Word Outline

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation from a Word Outline

Getting Started

Quick way to create a powerpoint presentation.

Once you have entered everything you want into a Word outline, you will need to format the text before sending it to PowerPoint. Text that has the Normal style applied may not convert to PowerPoint properly. Select the first heading in your outline. In Word 2003, go to the Format menu and select Styles and Formatting . If you are using Word 2007, choose a style for your heading by selecting the Heading dropdown, or the Change Styles dropdown, both located in the Styles section of the Home tab of the ribbon. To modify a current style, right click the style and select Modify . You can then make changes to the font, alignment and more.

The next step varies slightly, depending on which versions of Word and PowerPoint you are using. If you are using Office 2003, it is pretty straightforward. In the Word outline, go to the File menu. Point to Send To and click on Microsoft Office PowerPoint . A new, very basic, PowerPoint slideshow will open. Each of your Level 1 outline headings will be on a slide, with any subordinate text as bullet points.

Article Image

If you are using Office 2007, the Send to PowerPoint option is not readily available in Word. This simply means you need to add it to the QAT (Quick Access Toolbar). To do this, click on the Customize Quick Access Toolbar dropdown button, which is on the right end of the QAT. Click on More Commands , and in the Choose Commands From box select All Commands . Scroll down to Send to Microsoft Office PowerPoint . Click on it to select it, click the Add button, and then click OK .

Article Image

Now that you have the command, simply go to the QAT and select it. Your Word outline will open as a new PowerPoint presentation. All that is left to do is apply a design template or theme, add animation , audio , or any other special effects you choose and show off your professional slideshow.

Article Image

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Create a PowerPoint Presentation from a Word Outline

Imagine you need to create a PowerPoint presentation but you are plagued with one or a combination of the below problems:

  • You have very little time to put a presentation together

Now suppose you have one or more of these things working to your advantage:

  • You can make or have an existing outline that will serve as a guide for building the PowerPoint presentation

PERFECT!!!  You’re 90% of the way to a finished PowerPoint presentation.

Step 1 – Create the outline in Microsoft Word

Note: If you already have an existing outline, you can skip to Step 2 – Applying Styles .

Write your outline in a form similar to the example below, where the title of the slides are listed at the parent-level , and the items that will serve as the slide content are listed below as child items (indentation is not necessary; it is only displayed here for clarity.)

image

Step 2 – Apply Styles

Select a parent-level item and click the Heading 1 style selection from the Styles group on the Home ribbon.  Repeat this step for each of the parent-level items.

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Select a group of child-level items and click the Heading 2 style from the Styles group on the Home ribbon.  Repeat this step for each of the child-level items.

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Perform this same operation, but with the Heading 3 style, for any 3rd level (grandchild items) that may exist in your outline.

Step 3 – Save the outline as a Word document

Save your Word outline and close the file .  PowerPoint cannot read the file if it remains open by the authoring application.

Step 4 – Import the Word outline into PowerPoint

Start PowerPoint and begin with a blank presentation.

From the Home ribbon select the lower part of the New Slide button in the Slides group and select Slides from Outline… located at the bottom of the menu.

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Navigate to and select the Word document containing the outline from the previous steps and select Insert .

image

All of your slides have been created using the Word outline as source material.

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BONUS STEP #1 – Dressing up your slides

To easily apply artistic treatments to your slides, from the Design ribbon select a design of your choosing from the Themes gallery.

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You now have an eye-catching presentation that took no time at all to make.

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BONUS STEP #2 – Resetting slide layout and style

One of the unfortunate behaviors of importing slide content from a Word outline is that the text fonts and colors are based on the Word document and do not respond to design theme changes.  To reset the slide to respond to theme changes, perform the following steps:

  • Switch to the Normal view by selecting View (ribbon) –> Presentation Views (group) –> Normal

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  • Select the first slide in the thumbnails list (left side of screen)
  • Scroll to the bottom of the thumbnails list
  • While depressing the SHIFT key, select the last slide in the thumbnails list
  • Right-click on any selected thumbnail and select Reset Slide

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The slides will now respond to font and color changes when selecting different design themes.

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how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Create a PowerPoint presentation from an outline

If you've already jotted down an outline of your presentation in Word and now need a quick way to add it to your slides, you can import a Word outline into PowerPoint.

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Create an outline in Word

Select View > Outline . This automatically generates an outline and opens the Outlining tools:

If your document has headings (any heading levels from H1-H9), you’ll see those headings organized by level.

If your document doesn’t have headings and subheadings yet, the outline will appear as a bulleted list with a separate bullet for each paragraph or body text. To assign or edit headings, heading levels, and set up your document structure:

Select a bulleted item. Or press the Ctrl key to select several lines. 

In the Outline Level box, select a heading Level 1 for slide titles, Level 2 for bullet points on that slide.

When finished or to edit your document, select Close Outline View .

If you need help creating an outline, see Create an outline in Word .

Save an outline in Word

To save your document, select Save , name your file, and then select Save once more. Select Close to close your document.

Note:  Your Word document must be closed to insert it into a PowerPoint presentation.

Import a Word outline into PowerPoint

Open PowerPoint and select New Slide >  Slides from Outline .

In the Insert Outline dialog box, find and select your Word outline and select Insert .

Note:  If your Word document contains no Heading 1 or Heading 2 styles, PowerPoint will create a slide for each paragraph in your content.

Guidelines for importing an outline

PowerPoint can import an outline in .docx, .rtf, or .txt format.

If your outline is a Word document     Apply a heading format to any text you want to include in a slide. For example, if you apply the Normal style to a block of text, Word won't send that text to PowerPoint.

If your outline is a .txt file     Use indentation to indicate heading levels. Any unindented lines of text will become titles of new slides.

For PowerPoint to successfully convert your outline to slides, you must follow these guidelines:

If your outline is a Word document:

Apply a heading format to any text you want to include in a slide. For example, if you apply the Normal style to a block of text, Word won't send that text to PowerPoint

Save the Word document as an .rtf file. In PowerPoint for macOS, you can only import Word documents that are saved in Rich Text Format. Click File > Save As , and in the File Format box, select Rich Text Format (.rft) ).

If your outline is a .txt file: Use indents to indicate heading levels. Remember that any un indented lines of text will become titles of new slides.

Insert outline text into a PowerPoint presentation

In a new PowerPoint presentation file, click the first slide. Or, in an existing presentation file, click the slide that you want the outline to appear after.

On the Home tab, click the arrow next to New Slide , and then click Outline .

Note:  In PowerPoint for Mac 2011, the Outline option is called Insert Slides from Outline .

Inserting an outline in PowerPoint

Locate the outline file (.rtf or .txt) that you want to insert, and then double-click it or click Insert .

New slides are inserted in the presentation based on the text in the outline file you selected. You are now ready to edit the slides and the presentation as you see fit.

Creating a presentation from an outline isn't support in PowerPoint for the web. It requires a desktop version of PowerPoint.

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How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation from an Outline in Word

There are many reasons for you to want to convert a Word outline into a PowerPoint presentation. For example, in the academic or even in the corporate setting, you may have taken notes about a meeting using Word and you want to present this as a slideshow after filling the slides up with relevant information. You may also be brainstorming with your team and now you want those major points in your session to be fleshed out and turned into an informative and relevant presentation. Let us show you how to create a PowerPoint presentation from an outline in Word.

Other reasons may be because you are more comfortable using Word than PowerPoint. You may also be in a rush and would want your notes to be converted into a slideshow, but you don’t have enough time. Well, worry not. You can actually create presentations out of your outlines without necessarily using a conversion app or downloading a program. All you need is Microsoft Office’s suite of applications and you’re good to go.

Find Your Outline Transformed into a Slideshow

Import a Word Outline into PowerPoint

Now, to start this process of creating a PowerPoint presentation from an Outline in Word, you first have to open your Word document. This tip works on all Word versions, as the outline feature has been around for quite a long while.

Create a PowerPoint Presentation from an Outline in Word

So, in Word, go to the View tab in the Ribbon. Click on Outline . Now, you will see that your long lines of text are organized into a neat list, which is actually your document outline. You will see headers and subheaders listed and in different, distinct bullet points or numbered lists, whichever you used in your document as you typed it up.

Outline View of Document

You can go ahead and select the main headers, or the first level of the outline. Just hold down CTRL as you select the particular lines you want as level 1. This ensures that you can select multiple separate lines. Once you’re done, just go to the Outline Tools under the Outlining Tab. Click on Level 1 .

Now, this is what will be your slide titles later on. Then, you can make the rest as Level 2 following the same procedures. These level 2 items will be your bulleted lists corresponding to each slide. Then, save your file.

Assign Levels to Your Text

Make the Outline Show Up in Your PowerPoint Slides

Now, to convert this Outline to PowerPoint, you have to open a blank PowerPoint. Then, select New Slide -> Slides from Outline . The Open dialog box will prompt you to select the Word document wherein you have created your outline for the presentation. Look for this file, select it, and click the  Insert button.

Insert New Slides from Outline

This Insert function will automatically insert your Outline in the same order. However, since it’s on PowerPoint, every Level 1 item you have assigned in Word will now be the title of each slide. The level 2 items will also be automatically included under its corresponding headers. You will see that slides and bullet points are instantly created, making your job so much easier. From here, you can just create minor tweaks. You can also add more information into each slide. The main thing is, your blueprint for your presentation is already done, so you have more time focusing on making your slides more attractive and informative. Just remember that if you apply the Normal style to any text in Word, it won’t be included in the Outline function in PowerPoint. Therefore, be sure to assign the right levels to the text you want to include in your slideshow.

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how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

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

  • PowerPoint Tutorials
  • Presentation Design
  • January 22, 2024

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

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

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

Table of Contents

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

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

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

Ready to start learning how to make a PowerPoint presentation?

Take your PPT skills to the next level

Start with a blank presentation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The PowerPoint interface

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

Here is how the program is laid out:

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

The Slide Area

The notes pane.

  • The Status Bar (including the View Buttons)

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

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

The PowerPoint Ribbon

The PowerPoint Ribbon in the Microsoft Office Suite

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

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

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

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

  • Online Pictures
  • Screenshots
  • Screen Recording

The Slides Pane

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adding Content to Your PowerPoint Presentation

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

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

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

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

Example of typing text into a content placeholder in PowerPoint

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

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

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

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

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

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

Insert More Slides into Your Presentation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adding Content to Your Slides

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

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

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

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

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

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

Example typing bulleted text in a content placeholder in PowerPoint

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

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

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

  • A picture from the web

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

To insert a picture into the picture placeholder, simply:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Example slides using PowerPoint icons and background pictures

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

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

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

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

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

Using Designer to generate more layouts ideas

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

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

To use Designer on your slides, click the

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

Change the Overall Design (optional)

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

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

A. Picking your PowerPoint slide size

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

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

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

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

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

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

 B. Selecting a PowerPoint theme

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

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

All PowerPoint presentations start with the default Microsoft Office theme

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. How to change a slide background in PowerPoint

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

D. How to change your color palette in PowerPoint

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

E. How to change your fonts in PowerPoint

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Adding Animations & Transitions (optional)

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

A. Adding PowerPoint animations

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

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

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

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

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

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

B. How to preview a PowerPoint animation

There are three ways to preview a PowerPoint animation

There are three ways to preview a PowerPoint animation:

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

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

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

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

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

C. How to manage your animations in PowerPoint

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

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

  • Navigate to the  Animations tab
  • Select the  Animation Pane

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

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

D. How to add transitions to your PowerPoint presentation

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

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

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

To add a transition to a PowerPoint slide, simply:

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

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

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

E. How to preview a transition in PowerPoint

There are three ways to preview a transition in PowerPoint

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

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

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

Save Your PowerPoint Presentation

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

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

To save a PowerPoint presentation using your Ribbon, simply:

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

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

The save shortcut is control plus s in PowerPoint

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

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

How to save your PowerPoint presentation as a template

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

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

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

Printing Your PowerPoint Presentation

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

The print shortcut is control plus P in PowerPoint

To open the Print dialog box, you can either:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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How To Turn Powerpoint Into Outline

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Do you want to turn your PowerPoint presentation into an outline? You can do it easily by utilizing a built-in feature in PowerPoint. Keep reading to find out the steps to creating an outline from your PowerPoint presentation.

Step 1: Click On The “File” Tab

First, you will need to open up the PowerPoint presentation from which you want to create an outline. Click on the “File” tab in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Step 2: Select “Export”

Upon clicking “File”, new options will appear. Click on “Export” from the options in the File tab.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Step 3: Create Handouts

Click “Create Handouts” under the Export tab then press the “Create Handouts” icon.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Step 4: Select “Outline Only”

A popup will appear after clicking on the “create handouts” button. Select the “Outline Only” option and press “Ok”.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

That’s it! Once you do so, PowerPoint will generate an outline, and it will open in the MS Word program. If you want to make edits to the outline, simply make them in Word and then save the document. We hope you found this helpful. Thanks for reading!

As you see, it’s quite easy to turn your presentation into an outline using PowerPoint’s built-in feature. All you need to do is follow the steps that are outlined in this article. Thanks for reading!

Related Posts:

How To Turn Off Suggestions On Google Docs

  • Want a Productivity Boost? How to Use Copilot Pro AI With Microsoft 365 Apps

Looking for an AI assistant to help you write, edit, and analyze content in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more? Microsoft’s Copilot Pro can help.

Lance Whitney

Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant built into Windows and available on the web, but there's also a premium version that kicks in a few extra benefits. If you pay $20 per month for Copilot Pro , you get built-in AI support for Word, Excel, Outlook, and other Microsoft 365 apps.

Using Copilot Pro, you can ask AI to help you write and edit text or summarize documents in Word, generate formulas and analyze data in Excel, create presentations in PowerPoint, create notes in OneNote, and draft replies and summarize emails in Outlook. Here's how it works.

How to Add Copilot Pro to Microsoft 365 Apps

First, you need a subscription to Microsoft 365 Personal or Family . For $69.99 per year, the Personal plan offers access to Microsoft's collection of apps and other features for one person on up to five devices. The $99.99 Family plan allows up to six people to access these benefits.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Next, you’ll need to sign up for Microsoft Copilot Pro, if you don’t already have it. While you can get Copilot Pro on its own, you need a Microsoft 365 subscription to use it with 365 apps.

To sign up, head to Microsoft’s Copilot Pro web page and click Get Copilot Pro . At the subscription page, confirm your payment method and click Subscribe . After the payment goes through, click Get started . You’re taken to the Copilot web page, where you’ll see Pro as part of the Copilot logo.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

How to Use Copilot in Word

Now when you launch a blank document in Word , you should see a small window on the screen called Draft with Copilot . If you don’t see the window, click the Draft with Copilot icon in the left margin or use the Alt-I shortcut. The message in the window prompts you to describe what you’d like to write. Think about the type of document you want to create, enter a description in the appropriate field, and then click the Generate button.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Copilot generates a draft of the document you requested. At the bottom is a small window where you can respond to the draft. Click Keep it to retain the draft as it currently appears. You can also select the Regenerate icon to request a new version of the draft from scratch or click the trash can icon to delete it.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

If you want Copilot to make a change to the existing outline, click the text field and type something like “Make it more formal” or “Make it shorter." After Copilot revises the draft and displays the new version, click the left and right arrow to switch between the initial draft and the new one. You can request as many drafts as you need. You can also click in any blank area of an existing document to get Copilot’s help in writing a new sentence or paragraph.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Copilot can also be used to revise existing text. Select the written portion that you want revised, then click the Draft with Copilot icon and select Rewrite with Copilot . The new version appears in the text window. Choose Regenerate to request another version or click Adjust Tone , select a different tone, and then hit Regenerate to try again. Click Replace to overwrite the existing text or Insert Below to add the new version below the existing one so you can compare the two.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Ever create text in a Word document that you think might look better in a table? Ask Copilot for help. Select the text you want in a table, click the Draft with Copilot icon, and select Visualize as a Table . After the table appears, you can opt to discard it, regenerate it, or keep it.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

You can also summarize and ask questions about an existing document. Open the document you want to use and click the Copilot icon on the Ribbon. Copilot suggests some requests you can make regarding the document, such as summarizing it or asking specific questions about it.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Submit the request to summarize the document, and Copilot generates and displays a summary in the sidebar. You can also use the text field at the bottom of the window to ask more specific questions about the content in the document. You can then copy any response from Copilot and paste it elsewhere.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

How to Use Copilot in Excel

Unlike Word, Copilot in Excel imposes certain restrictions before you’re able to use it. Your Excel files must be saved in the .xlsx or .xslm format and the data should already be formatted as an Excel table . You can also only work with files stored in OneDrive or Microsoft 365 SharePoint with AutoSave enabled.

To enable AutoSave, open your spreadsheet and go to File > Options > Save , then enable AutoSave files stored in the Cloud by default in Excel . You can also open a spreadsheet that is saved locally, save it to OneDrive or SharePoint, close it, and then reopen it from the cloud.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Ready to use Copilot to analyze your data? Select all the cells that you want to include and click the Copilot button on the Ribbon. You may see a message in the sidebar asking if you want to convert this data range to a table. Click the Convert button, if prompted, and the data is formatted into a table with a header row at the top and sample requests you may want to submit.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Select any of the requests that you find useful. For example, you could add a column that contains a formula, highlight certain cells, or sort and filter the data in a specific way. You can also analyze the data. Click the Analyze button and then select one of the suggested requests or type your own. In some cases, Copilot may create a chart that you can add to the spreadsheet.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

For different types of data analysis, close the Copilot sidebar and click the Analyze Data button on the Ribbon. At the sidebar, you can ask a question about the data, request a pivot table, or add a chart. Choose your preferred action to see the results.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

How to Use Copilot in PowerPoint

In PowerPoint , Copilot will help you create a brand new presentation or refine an existing one. To start with a new one, create a blank slideshow and click the Copilot icon on the Ribbon. Click the Create a presentation suggestion and then enter the topic of your slideshow. After you submit the request, Copilot generates the title slide and a few subsequent slides.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

You can add to the presentation by submitting another request. For example, you might tell Copilot to add more slides that cover a specific subtopic. You can also ask for a summary about a particular slideshow.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Copilot also allows you to ask specific questions about a presentation in order to dig up certain details. Write a request that asks for key information contained in one or more of the slides, and the AI will respond with the information it finds in the slideshow.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

How to Use Copilot in OneNote

With OneNote , Copilot will try to help you generate ideas and create notes for a notebook. Open OneNote and click the Copilot icon on the Ribbon. If you’re stuck coming up with ideas in the first place, click the Give me ideas suggestion, then add the topic that you want to capture. You can then copy Copilot’s response and add it as a note.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Ask follow-up questions to flesh out your topic and add more ideas. You can then organize these ideas into different notes to comprise your overall notebook. You could also try asking Copilot to summarize the information based on the notes you’ve created. Select a specific section in your notebook and ask Copilot for a summary of the key data.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

How to Use Copilot in Outlook

To try Copilot Pro in Outlook, you’ll need the correct version. The AI doesn’t work in the classic Outlook for Windows, which is part of the Microsoft 365 suite. Instead, you need what Microsoft calls the new Outlook. To get this new version, head to its Microsoft Store page and click Download .

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Open the new Outlook app and sign in with your Microsoft account. First, you may want to get Copilot’s help to draft a new email . Click the New Mail icon, enter an address, and add a subject. Once you’re in the body of the message, click the Copilot icon on the toolbar and select Draft with Copilot .

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

In the Draft with Copilot window, describe the type of email you want to write. For example, maybe you want to send an email to your manager thanking them for approving a recent raise. Click the Generate button, and Copilot creates a draft.

You can then regenerate the response to get a different version, discard the draft, or keep it. You can also ask Copilot to revise the draft by adding further guidance, such as telling it to make the message more formal, more casual, longer, or shorter. When you find a draft you want to keep, you’re able to revise and personalize it.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Copilot can also be used to summarize an email you’ve received. After you select the message in your inbox, a Summary by Copilot prompt should appear. Click that, and Copilot generates a summary with all the key points in the message.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

More Inside PCMag.com

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About Lance Whitney

My experience.

I've been working for PCMag since early 2016 writing tutorials, how-to pieces, and other articles on consumer technology. Beyond PCMag, I've written news stories and tutorials for a variety of other websites and publications, including CNET, ZDNet, TechRepublic, Macworld, PC World, Time, US News & World Report, and AARP Magazine. I spent seven years writing breaking news for CNET as one of the site’s East Coast reporters. I've also written two books for Wiley & Sons— Windows 8: Five Minutes at a Time and Teach Yourself Visually LinkedIn .

My Areas of Expertise

More from lance whitney.

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how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

  • The A.V. Club
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How to Use Microsoft Office on the Web for Free

Get access to word, excel, and powerpoint in your web browser..

Office works rather well on the web.

As someone with a tech-related job, I’m regularly bombarded with questions about the best smartphones , why emails might have suddenly stopped showing up, and how to back up photos and videos. There’s another common question I hear a lot as well: How do I use Microsoft Office for free?

Judging by the frequency with which people ask me this, I’m assuming there’s still a sizeable chunk of the population that doesn’t know that you can use Microsoft’s official online version of Office in your web browser, free of charge—or that Office is called Microsoft 365 these days. All you need is a Microsoft account and an internet connection.

You miss out on a few features, of course—Microsoft isn’t going to give away its flagship product in full for free—but if you need to quickly open or edit a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file, then the online tools can do the job rather well. Here’s how to get started and the features available to you.

Getting started

Head to the Microsoft Office online portal , and not only will you get a reminder that Office is now Microsoft 365 (despite the domain name), but you’ll also be able to sign in with your Microsoft account. We’re assuming you’ve set up a Microsoft account for some reason or another, but if you haven’t, you can do so here.

After you’ve signed in, you’ll be met with an elegant-looking dashboard where you can get at all of the files you’ve got stored in OneDrive, as well as a variety of Microsoft web apps—apps which include Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. You can click on a file to open it or create a new file from the row of icons at the top.

Welcome to Microsoft 365.

Select an app from the panel down the left, and you can see recent files for that app in particular and a few templates you can use to get started more quickly. They include retirement planners in Excel and resumes in Word. You can also upload a document, spreadsheet, or presentation from your computer via the Upload button.

Each new file opens up in its tab, so you can work in multiple Word, Excel, and PowerPoint tabs simultaneously if you need to. The interface doesn’t offer many options: You have to take what Microsoft gives you here regarding how everything is arranged and works.

Editing files

If you’ve used the desktop versions of Microsoft Office (or Microsoft 365), you’ll be right at home with the web interface. Your ribbon menu is at the top of the tab window, letting you format whatever’s already in place and drop in new elements as needed. Of course, the available features vary depending on which app you’re using.

Up in the top right corner of the screen, you’ve got controls for adding comments, sharing the file with other people (having it always online makes collaboration very straightforward), and switching between the various modes of operation: Editing , Reviewing , and Viewing . You also have the option from the same menu to open the file in the equivalent desktop program if you’ve got it installed.

The interface is similar to the desktop apps.

All the key features are easy to pick up, whether you’re a complete beginner or already used to desktop applications. If you get stuck, a large search box is at the top of the screen. You can use this to look for a particular option in the menus. Click on the Help entry on the ribbon menu for more assistance.

As web apps go, these are pretty comprehensive—you can select, drag, right-click, and more, just as you would in traditional Word, Excel, and PowerPoint versions. You won’t find a save button, as everything is automatically saved and synced to the cloud as you make changes, but you can use the File menu if you need to download a local copy as well.

What you can and can’t do

The Office online apps are cut-down versions of their desktop counterparts, though quite a few users might not notice the differences, depending on how demanding their requirements are. The basic opening and editing functions are here; as mentioned, everything gets synced automatically to your OneDrive account.

Regarding Microsoft Word on the web, you can’t access certain layout features, like the option to show gridlines or create columns in your document. You’re unable to add watermarks, themes, or page colors, and you can’t drop in charts, a bibliography, or citations. Some other advanced features, such as mail merge, are disabled, too.

You don’t get quite as many PowerPoint animations on the web.

As for Microsoft Excel on the web, the differences in the online app aren’t all that easy to spot right away: It’s only when you start to dig deeper and access the more sophisticated tools that the discrepancies show. The web app doesn’t offer as many chart types, for instance, or as many data import options, and you can’t name selected ranges—all features that only advanced users will need.

Like Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint on the web looks like a close match for the desktop version until you try to go beyond the basics. The online tool has fewer animations and transitions to pick from, can’t import audio or charts, and limits how slideshows can be played back. So again, a lot of the core functionality is there, but power users will always pick the full-fat desktop application.

Don't start your work presentations by simply saying 'hello.' Here's how to be more engaging in the conference room.

  • I'm a public-speaking expert, and I've trained many executives and senior teams.
  • I tell all of them to stop starting work presentations with a salutation or a "hello."
  • Instead, you should engage your audience by telling a story or asking a question.

Insider Today

I'm sure you've sat through plenty of presentations where the presenter starts with a polite salutation like, "Hello, thank you for having me here today," or, "I am so glad to be here" — often followed by their name and professional résumé . Sometimes, if it's an internal meeting, you get the same salutations followed by an agenda slide with bullet points and the presenter narrating it.

As a public-speaking coach who has worked with many executives and senior teams, I know how to make work presentations more engaging. Here's how you should change your approach.

If you stick to your old ways, you aren't leaving a memorable first impression

Your audience is thinking three things when you walk into that conference room or onto that stage: Who is this person, why should I care, and how are they going to solve my problem?

Let's face it: Most people are more interested in how you will solve their problem than in you and your professional résumé. So let's flip the script a bit. Start with the solution to their problem, briefly talk about yourself for credibility, and then give them a reason to care.

Instead, try to capture their attention

Begin your presentation with a hook or a story — something that grabs their attention right from the start. For instance, your hook might be, "Did you know this?" or "What if that?" It could also be a short story that humanizes your services or products.

Most presentations are predictable; wouldn't it be better for both your time and your audience if you could introduce an element of surprise?

Some might feel it rude not to thank the organizer or greet the audience, so I suggest finding another place in your presentation for this. Here's a good structure:

Intro: "What if you could be a more confident and credible presenter? What if you could engage with your audience so they remember your products or services?"

Credibility: "My name is Meridith, and I've been coaching entrepreneurs and executives on how to speak with spark for over a decade, and I am really excited to be here. I want to thank [insert name] for inviting me to share the afternoon with you."

Solution: "Today, I will give you three ways to make your audience remember your products and services, helping you stand out in a competitive market. Let's get this party started!"

You could also try to form a personal connection

Often, presentations lack a personal touch. Try sharing a relevant personal anecdote or experience that relates to your topic. This not only makes your work presentation more relatable but also helps to establish a deeper connection with your audience.

For example, you could say: "When I was younger, I often hid in the back of the classroom, hoping the teacher wouldn't call on me because I didn't want to sound stupid or have the wrong answer. Later in life, I discovered acting and improv comedy . It was through the practice of these two art forms that I developed my confidence and learned how to engage more courageously with others. Today, I will give you solutions for how you can also better engage your audience with spark."

Try to encourage interaction

At the very least, you should try to engage your audience from the beginning — whether in person or on virtual calls. You can ask a thought-provoking question or propose a challenge that involves them directly. This approach shifts the dynamic to more interactive and engaging sessions.

If you implement any of these suggestions, you can make your presentation memorable and impactful immediately. And you'll most likely get a larger return on your investment of time and energy.

In today's fast-paced world, where attention spans are increasingly shorter than ever, it's crucial to grab and hold your audience's attention from the very beginning. By doing so, you set the stage for a more engaging and productive interaction. So challenge yourself to break free from presentation norms and embrace a style that resonates deeply with your audience and leaves a lasting impression.

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

Watch: A public speaking champion reveals 3 keys to nailing your business presentation

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

  • Main content

how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

How to find and enable missing Copilot button in Microsoft 365 apps

Copilot is available in the Home ribbon tab of Word, Excel (Preview), PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote if you are a Copilot Pro subscriber who also has a subscription to Microsoft 365 Personal or Family.

If you have those subscriptions and are not seeing Copilot in these Microsoft 365 apps, follow these steps:

Important:  Copilot in Outlook only supports work or school accounts, and Microsoft accounts using outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com, and msn.com email addresses at this time. Any Microsoft account using an account from a third-party email provider, such as a Gmail, Yahoo, or iCloud, can still use Outlook, but won’t have access to the Copilot features in Outlook.

Step 1 - Ensure you're using the correct account

Make sure you're signed into your Microsoft 365 apps with an account that has a Copilot license.

For home users ...this means you should have a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription, and Copilot Pro.

For business users ...this means you should have a Microsoft 365 Business Standard, Business Premium, E3, or E5 subscription, and Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365.

Step 2 - Make sure that the current file is saved in that account

If you have multiple file locations available to you - such as your business OneDrive and your personal OneDrive - Copilot will only appear if the file you have open is saved to the location associated to your Copilot subscription.

For example, if you have Copilot through your work account, but not through your personal account, and you open a file from your personal OneDrive, Copilot won't work with that file.

For new, unsaved files, or files on your local hard drive, the current primary account shown at the top of the Microsoft 365 window must be licensed for Copilot.

A picture with a red arrow pointing to the current primary user name which is on the app title bar towards the top right of the window.

Important:  Copilot in Excel requires AutoSave to be turned on, which means the file has to be saved to OneDrive. It currently doesn't work with unsaved files.

Step 3 - Refresh your license

Force a refresh of the license.

Note:  These steps must be done by the account administrator.

 In any Microsoft 365 app, go to File > Account .

Locating the Update License button in Microsoft Word on Windows.

Close and restart all Microsoft 365 apps you might have open so that the license refresh can take effect.

  In any Microsoft 365 app, select the app name at the top of your screen.

Locating the Update License button in Microsoft Word on MacOS.

Close any open documents and restart all Microsoft 365 apps you may have open so the license refresh can take effect.

Ensure your apps are updated to their latest versions via your device's app store.

Close your app completely, and then re-launch it.

Refresh the page

Select the Refresh icon in your browser to see if the Copilot features appear.

The Refresh icon in Microsoft Edge.

You may have third-party cookies blocked in your browser, which currently causes Copilot to be unable to validate your license. If Copilot still isn't working for you try enabling third-party cookies. For more information see:  I am getting license validation errors with Copilot.

Microsoft Copilot help & learning

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IMAGES

  1. How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation from an Outline in Word

    how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

  2. Create a PowerPoint Presentation from a Word Outline

    how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

  3. Creating PowerPoint Outlines in Microsoft Word 2019 for Windows

    how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

  4. How to create a PowerPoint presentation from a Word Outline

    how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

  5. How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation from an Outline in Word

    how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

  6. Create a PowerPoint Presentation from a Word Outline

    how to create a powerpoint presentation from a word outline

VIDEO

  1. Convert Word to PowerPoint Presentation

  2. How to Create PowerPoint Presentation

  3. Create Text Outline In Powerpoint

  4. Tutorial MS PowerPoint 2007: how to create a semicircle quickly

  5. How to create PowerPoint Presentation

  6. How to create PowerPoint presentation#ppt#presentation#assignment#viral#microsoft

COMMENTS

  1. Create a PowerPoint presentation from an outline

    Open PowerPoint and select New Slide > Slides from Outline. In the Insert Outline dialog box, find and select your Word outline and select Insert. Note: If your Word document contains no Heading 1 or Heading 2 styles, PowerPoint will create a slide for each paragraph in your content. Guidelines for importing an outline

  2. How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation From an Outline

    Browse for the outline file on your computer, select it, and click "Insert." After a moment, you'll see your outline load into PowerPoint. As mentioned, each line of the outline is its own slide. From there, you can add text, include images, insert animated charts, and use videos as you normally would.

  3. How to Convert a Microsoft Word Outline into PowerPoint Slides

    Figure 1. Outline option Select the outline items that should appear as slide titles and then select Level 1 in the Outline Level menu. Pro Tip: Press and Hold the Ctrl key to select multiple items. Figure 2. Outline Level menu

  4. Import a Microsoft Word Outline into a PowerPoint

    If you've already jotted down an outline of your presentation in Microsoft Word and now need a quick way to add it to your slides, you can import a Word outl...

  5. How to Create PowerPoint Slides from a Microsoft Word Outline

    How to Create PowerPoint Slides from a Microsoft Word Outline - YouTube © 2023 Google LLC Tips in this lesson:- Creating Outlines in Microsoft Word- Using Microsoft 365 Styles-...

  6. Creating PowerPoint Slides from a Word Outline

    Using Word's Outline feature to create slides in PowerPoint

  7. How to Create a PowerPoint presentation from a Word Outline

    Then in PowerPoint on the Home Ribbon click on the drop down under New Slide and select Slides from Outline. Next you will need to pick the document you just added the Heading Styles to. PowerPoint will now go ahead and import the content into the presentation. See the image below - the document I have on the right is imported into PowerPoint.

  8. How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation from a Word Outline

    Click on More Commands, and in the Choose Commands From box select All Commands. Scroll down to Send to Microsoft Office PowerPoint. Click on it to select it, click the Add button, and then click OK. Now that you have the command, simply go to the QAT and select it. Your Word outline will open as a new PowerPoint presentation.

  9. How to Import Slides from a Word Outline into PowerPoint

    Choose Slides from Outline. Navigate to the folder where you have saved your Word Outline. Click on the file you wish to import. Click on the Insert button. (PowerPoint converts the outline into slides) To see if your slides copied over properly, click on the slide sorter button. You should see the slides you imported from Word.

  10. Create a PowerPoint Presentation from a Word Outline

    Step 3 - Save the outline as a Word document. Save your Word outline and close the file. PowerPoint cannot read the file if it remains open by the authoring application. Step 4 - Import the Word outline into PowerPoint. Start PowerPoint and begin with a blank presentation.

  11. How to Create PowerPoint Presentation Automatically from a MS Word Outline

    This point is important since WORD PARAGRAPH STYLES are directly mapped as PPT PARAGRAPH STYLES when the Word document is imported into PPT. (2) Save your MS Word file. (3) Open your PPT file. Go to HOME > NEW SLIDE > SLIDES FROM OUTLINE. (4) Browse and find your MS Word file. Click INSERT.

  12. Creating PowerPoint Outlines in Microsoft Word 365 for Windows

    Follow these steps to create an outline for your PowerPoint presentation using Microsoft Word 365 for Windows: Launch a new Word document, as shown in Figure 1, below. Figure 1: Word 2016 document Type in all the text content you want within your slide titles and text placeholders on separate lines, as shown in Figure 2, below.

  13. Create a PowerPoint presentation from an outline

    Create a PowerPoint presentation from an outline Article; Check spelling in your presentation Article; Create and format a table Article; Insert a linked Excel chart in PowerPoint Article; Add slide numbers, page numbers, or the date and time Article; Set text direction and position in a shape or text box Article

  14. How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation from an Outline in Word

    Look for this file, select it, and click the Insert button. This Insert function will automatically insert your Outline in the same order. However, since it's on PowerPoint, every Level 1 item you have assigned in Word will now be the title of each slide. The level 2 items will also be automatically included under its corresponding headers.

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

    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.

  16. Word to PowerPoint

    Need to put your Word document in PowerPoint? It is extremely simple if you use Heading styles in Word. All Heading 1 styles become slide titles, heading 2 s...

  17. How To Create an Effective Presentation Outline

    Follow these steps when creating an outline for your presentation: 1. Consider the purpose of your presentation When creating a presentation outline, determine your goal.

  18. How To Turn Powerpoint Into Outline

    Step 1: Click On The "File" Tab First, you will need to open up the PowerPoint presentation from which you want to create an outline. Click on the "File" tab in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Step 2: Select "Export" Upon clicking "File", new options will appear. Click on "Export" from the options in the File tab. Step 3: Create Handouts

  19. Import a Word outline into PowerPoint

    Open PowerPoint, and select Home > New Slide. Select Slides from Outline. In the Insert Outline dialog box, find and select your Word outline and select Insert. Note: If your Word document contains no Heading 1 or Heading 2 styles, PowerPoint will create a slide for each paragraph in your content. Want more? Import a Word document Need more help?

  20. How to use Microsoft Copilot in your day-to-day work

    Here are some ideas for how to use Copilot in PowerPoint: Create a new presentation from scratch. Create a presentation based on a file. Add a new slide to a presentation. Redesign slides to use a new theme or style. Let's give that first bullet point a try with this prompt: "Create a presentation about Q1 sales for AdventureWorks.

  21. Want a Productivity Boost? How to Use Copilot Pro AI With Microsoft 365

    In PowerPoint, Copilot will help you create a brand new presentation or refine an existing one. To start with a new one, create a blank slideshow and click the Copilot icon on the Ribbon.

  22. How to Use Microsoft Office on the Web for Free

    You miss out on a few features, of course—Microsoft isn't going to give away its flagship product in full for free—but if you need to quickly open or edit a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file ...

  23. Create a PowerPoint presentation from an outline

    Open PowerPoint and select New Slide > Slides from Outline. In the Insert Outline dialog box, find and select your Word outline and select Insert. Note: If your Word document contains no Heading 1 or Heading 2 styles, PowerPoint will create a slide for each paragraph in your content. Guidelines for importing an outline

  24. How to Start a Work Presentation, Be Engaging: Public Speaking Expert

    An image of a chain link. It symobilizes a website link url. Copy Link I'm sure you've sat through plenty of presentations where the presenter starts with a polite salutation like, "Hello, thank ...

  25. Create and print a presentation in Outline view

    On the View tab, in the Presentation Views group, click Outline. In the slide thumbnail pane, place the pointer, and then either paste your content or begin typing text. The first text you type will be a title, indicated by boldface type. Press ENTER when you've completed the title.

  26. Import a Word outline into PowerPoint

    Open PowerPoint, and select Home > New Slide. Select Slides from Outline. In the Insert Outline dialog box, find and select your Word outline and select Insert. Note: If your Word document contains no Heading 1 or Heading 2 styles, PowerPoint will create a slide for each paragraph in your content.

  27. How to find and enable missing Copilot button in Microsoft 365 apps

    Important: Copilot in Outlook only supports work or school accounts, and Microsoft accounts using outlook.com, hotmail.com, live.com, and msn.com email addresses at this time. Any Microsoft account using an account from a third-party email provider, such as a Gmail, Yahoo, or iCloud, can still use Outlook, but won't have access to the Copilot features in Outlook.