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How to Change Your PowerPoint Slide Size (16:9 vs. 4:3)

PowerPoint Tutorials
March 10, 2019

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to change your slide size in PowerPoint.

That way you can create slides for any situation including on-screen presentations, printed documents, posters, postcards, handouts, etc.

First off, the two most used PowerPoint slide sizes are:

16:9 ratio for onscreen presentations and new overhead projectors. This is the default setting for the latest versions of PowerPoint.
4:3 ratio for printing slides on standard 8.5 x 11 pieces of paper as handouts.

When starting with a blank PowerPoint presentation, changing your slide size is super easy and straightforward. If not, there are a few issues you’ll need to deal with, each covered below.

That’s why it’s worth figuring out what slide size you need BEFORE you build your presentation. If you later convert your presentation to a different size, it can be painful!

It’s just like the old carpenter saying, “measure twice and cut once.” In PowerPoint, you’ll want to “ask twice (to double confirm the required size) and build once.”

Changing your PowerPoint slide size does not make your PowerPoint presentation larger or smaller. To reduce your PowerPoint file size, you need to learn how to compress a PowerPoint presentation .

How to change your powerpoint slide size.

By default, new PowerPoint presentations start in the 16:9 slide size format.

This is the NEW standard for most modern overhead projects and monitors and is recommended for most presentations. That said, you can easily change your slide size to something else.

To change your PowerPoint slide size, click the Design tab, open the Slide Size dropdown and choose the size for your slide

To change your slide size in PowerPoint, simply:

Navigate to the Design tab
Open the Slide Size drop down menu
Select 4:3 , 16:9 or Custom Slide Size (see options below)

When starting with a blank presentation, you are now good to go. You will not have to worry about any of the conversion issues discussed below.

Notice too, how much wider the 16:9 slide size is versus the 4:3 slide size in the picture below. The new size gives you more room for the content on your slides.

Comparison between the four by three and sixteen by nine slide sizes in PowerPoint

When you are converting an existing presentation to a new slide size, you will additionally be given the following prompt:

“You are scaling to a new slide size. Would you like to maximize the size of your content, or scale it down to ensure it will fit on the new slide?

Maximize leaves all your content as is on your slide, even if it no longer fits on the new slide size that you selected.

Ensure Fit scales down your content in proportion to the new slide size you have selected. You will only see this option when moving from a larger slide size to a smaller one.

Custom PowerPoint slide sizes

Choosing Custom for your slide size gives you additional options to work with. Inside the dialog box you can choose your size on the left and your orientation on the right.

On top of that, you can also input your own custom slide size. However, I recommend using one of the preset PowerPoint dimension options.

On-screen show (4:3)
Letter Paper (8.5×11 in)
A3 Paper (297×420 mm)
B4 (ISO) Paper (250×353 mm)
B5 (ISO) Paper (176×250 mm)
35mm Slides
On-screen Show (16:9)
On-screen show (16:10)

For your orientation options on the right-hand side of the dialog box, you can choose between Landscape and Portrait .

In most situations, you will want one of the default settings. Best practice is Landscape for your presentation slides and Portrait for your printed notes, handouts and outlines.

Comparison of the portrait and landscape orientation for PowerPoint slides

Issues when converting 4:3 to the 16:9 slide size in PowerPoint

When converting an existing 4:3 presentation with content into the 16:9 format, you are not given any conversion options. Instead, PowerPoint simply does the conversion for you, which can create several problems.

There are two issues you will face in the new 16:9 slide size.

When converting from four by three into the sixteen by nine slide size, your images will be stretched and distorted

The first issue is that all the images on your slide master (including company logos) will be stretched to fit the new, larger slide size.

To fix the stretched images, you will need to fix those images (or reinsert them) on your slide master, as if you were creating a PowerPoint template from scratch.

The second issue you will face in the larger 16:9 slide size is that you will have a lot of extra white space on your slides.

While you can leave the space blank, doing so will make your content look weird. Ideally you don’t want a lot of white empty space like that on your slides. Especially since all your font sizes will be so small.

That’s why if you have the time, I recommend resizing your content to fill in the white space. You can do this by either increasing the font size of your content, or adding additional visuals that support your message.

Issues when converting 16:9 to the 4:3 slide size in PowerPoint

When converting an existing 16:9 presentation to the 4:3 slide size, you are given the option to either Maximize or Ensure Fit (both covered below).

1. The Maximize option

This option means that the content on your slides will not be resized to fit the 4:3 slide size. The same is true if you move to any smaller slide size.

when converting from the sixteen by nine to the four by three slide size, none of your content will be properly resized to fit the smaller slide size

Maximize Issue #1: All the images on your slide master (including your company logo) will be distorted.

You might also have issues with other content placeholders, slide backgrounds or anything else that was built on your slide master. For these issues, you’ll first need to navigate to your Slide Master. Once you are there, you either adjust (or rebuild) your PowerPoint template so that everything fits properly.

Maximize Issue #2: Your content will not be scaled down to the smaller slide size. Instead, you’ll have overhanging content as pictured above.

For these kinds of spacing issues, you will need to work through your slides to adjust your content.

One recommendation as you move from the larger 16:9 slide size to 4:3, is to break up your slides. Take the contents from one larger slide and break it into two (or even three) separate slides.

Breaking up your content is preferable to just cramming more content on the smaller slide space. Doing so will make your content easier to read when presented on an overhead projector.

2. The Ensure Fit option

This option means that PowerPoint will scale down your content to fit the smaller slide size based on the size you selected.

when converting from the sixteen by nine to the four by three slide size, your images will be distored and you will have extra white space around the content of your slides

Ensure Fit Issue #1: Distorted images, slide backgrounds and anything else that PowerPoint had to automatically resize on your slide master.

To fix these issues, you’ll need to navigate to your slide master and adjust (or rebuild) your template to make everything fit.

Ensure Fit Issue #2: Your content will be scaled down to fit your new slide size, leaving you with a lot of white space. In addition, all your font sizes will be smaller, making them hard to read.

For small content like this, you’ll need to work through your slides and resize your content accordingly. Keep in mind the people at the back of the room too when choosing a new font style and size.

Saving your custom slide size as a PowerPoint theme

If want to use your own custom slide size for all your future PowerPoint presentations, you can save and set it as a PowerPoint theme.

This is a two-step process as discussed below.

1. Save your custom slide size as a theme

To save your custom slide size as a PowerPoint theme, from the Design tab, select save current theme, name the theme and click save

To save your custom slide size (and settings) as your own custom PowerPoint theme, simply:

Open the M ore options
Click Save Current Theme
Name your Theme (and don’t change the file location it saves to)
Click Save

2. Set your custom theme as the default

To set your custom theme as the default theme, from the design tab, find your custom theme, right-click the theme and select set as default theme

To set a custom PowerPoint theme as the default for all your future presentations, simply:

Open the More options
Right-click your custom theme
Select Set as Default Presentation
Close out of PowerPoint (and do not save any presentations if it prompts you)

Once you’ve set your own custom theme as the Default Presentation, it will open every time you start PowerPoint. This saves you from always having to switch your slide sizes.

So that’s how you can change your PowerPoint slide size, either before or after you create your presentation.

And although you are given a lot of flexibility in the slide sizes you can choose from, I recommend using the default slide sizes as used by most people.

It’s also important to remember that switching slide sizes after you have built your presentation can be a total pain. So, to the extent possible, figure out your PowerPoint slide size first before you build out your presentation.

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How to Change Slide Size or Dimensions in PowerPoint

Change slide size or dimenstions in PowerPoint represented by widescreen or standard aspect ratio displayed on screen

Change PowerPoint Slide Size (Widescreen, Standard or Custom)

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated September 7, 2023

Applies to: Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® 2016, 2019, 2021 and 365 (Windows)

You can change the slide size or aspect ratio of a PowerPoint presentation in all versions. The default slide size or dimensions in 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 or 365 is widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio). You can also enter a custom slide size if you prefer (including entering slide size in pixels). The best time to set slide size is when you first set up your PowerPoint presentation before you add any content. If you change the size later in the process, you may have to deal with distorted pictures and you may also need to adjust the position and size of various objects on slides in Normal View and in the slide master(s) and layouts in Slide Master View.

The most common slide sizes or aspect ratios are typically used as follows:

Widescreen or 16:9 aspect ratio is frequently used for onscreen presentations using a projector, monitor or a widescreen TV. Older projectors used the standard aspect ratio but most new projectors are designed for widescreen.
Standard or 4:3 aspect ratio is often used if slides are intended to be printed on letter size paper.

Slide size changes affect the entire presentation. You cannot change slide size for single slides.

You should never change slide size just before running a presentation as you may not be satisfied with the results. If you already have a presentation with images and other content, it's also a good idea to change slide size on a copy of the presentation so you can keep the original deck and slide size.

Note: Some Ribbon tabs may appear with slightly different names if you are working with PowerPoint 365 and have a smaller screen or different display settings. Buttons on the Ribbon may appear as icons only and are also affected by screen size and display settings.

Recommended article: How to Reduce the Size of PowerPoint Presentations (10 Ways to Compress Your PowerPoint Decks)

Do you want to learn more about PowerPoint? Check out our virtual classroom or live classroom PowerPoint courses >

Regardless of the version of PowerPoint you use, you should go through your slides after you change slide size to be sure you are satisfied with the results. Be sure to check the slide master(s) and layouts in Slide Master View as well.

Change slide size to widescreen or standard

To change slide size to widescreen or standard size:

In Normal View, click the Design tab in the Ribbon.
Click Slide Size in the Customize group. A drop-down menu appears.
Select Widescreen, Standard or another option from the drop-down menu. A dialog box appears with options to maximize content or scale to fit (this dialog appears only if you are moving from a larger to a smaller slide size).
Select the desired option.

Slide Size appears on the Design tab in the Ribbon:

The following dialog box appears in PowerPoint to maximize content or scale to fit only when you change slide size to a smaller size (such as widescreen to standard):

PowerPoint dialog box to maximize or ensure fit when changing slide size to a smaller size.

If you select Maximize, the slide content will not be resized when you change to the smaller slide size.

If you select Ensure Fit, PowerPoint will scale your content to fit the smaller slide size.

Change slide size to a custom size

You can use custom slide sizes. Simply choose options from the Slides sized for drop-down menu in the dialog box (such as A4 paper size) or enter custom dimensions.

To change slide size to a custom size:

Choose Custom Slide Size from the drop-down menu. A dialog box appears.
Select an option from the Slides sized for drop-down menu or enter the desired slide size in the Height and Width boxes.
A dialog box appears with options to maximize content or scale to fit (this dialog appears only if you are moving from a larger to a smaller slide size).

Note that the measurement system in PowerPoint dialog boxes is based on your system settings. If you would like to change the measurement system, check out our article on How to Change the Measurement System in PowerPoint.

The following dialog box appears when you select Slide Size and then Custom Slide Size:

PowerPoint Slide Size dialog box to change slide size in 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365.

You can create posters in PowerPoint by entering a custom slide size such as 36 inches wide by 56 inches high or 91.44 cm wide by 142.24 cm high. The maximum slide size in PowerPoint is 56 inches or 142.24 cm. As a best practice, set the slide size before adding content to the poster.

Many PowerPoint users are not aware that you can enter slide size in pixels (simply enter the measurement with px beside the number). This is useful in a number of situations such as using PowerPoint to create social media posts. If you enter slide size in pixels (such as 200px), when you tab to another box or close the dialog box, PowerPoint changes the pixels to the equivalent in the current measurement system.

Deal with issues when changing slide size

When changing slide size in existing presentations with content, 4 common issues occur:

Pictures may be distorted as PowerPoint tries to adjust images to fit slide size. Images on slides in Normal View will be affected as well as images on the slide master(s) and layouts. If pictures are distorted, you will need to either manually resize each image or delete them and insert them again.
Objects such as placeholders and shapes that have been created in PowerPoint are not in the position you'd like. You may need to move objects or reset one or more slides (on the Home tab in the Ribbon, click Reset in the Slides group).
Extra space is created if you change to a larger slide size. You may need to move or resize objects and adjust the slide master(s) or layouts in Slide Master View.
If you have changed to a smaller slide size, you may need to increase font size for placeholders and text boxes.

Dimension differences between different slide sizes

In PowerPoint 2013 and later versions, widescreen (16:9) format measurements are different and are set to 13.33 inches wide by 7.5 inches high or 33.867 cm wide by 19.05 cm high. This matches the height of the 4:3 format.

Avoid issues when changing slide size

To avoid issues in PowerPoint related to slide size, you should:

Try to set slide size as a first step after you create a presentation and before you have entered any content. In 2013 and later versions, the default is widescreen (16:9 aspect ratio).
If you have changed slide size in a presentation with content, review your slides to be sure you are satisfied with the results. You should also check the slide master(s) and layouts in Slide Master View.
Never change slide size just before running a presentation as you may not be pleased with the results and you won't have time to fix your slide deck.
If you have created a presentation with content, make a copy of the presentation first and change slide size on the copy.

Keep in mind that widescreen is normally used for on screen presentations and standard is often used for printed presentations.

This article was first published on October 6, 2019 and has been updated for clarity and content.

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How to Change Slide Size or Dimensions in PowerPoint

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How to change the size of slides in Microsoft PowerPoint

The actual size(s) of the slide is less important than the aspect ratio. By default, slides in presentations that you create from the Blank Presentation template are set to Widescreen size.

To change the size of your presentation slides, on the Design tab, in the Customize group, click the Slide Size button and then:

Notes : The Standard slide size:

1600 x 1200
2048 x 1536
2560 x 1920
Matches the aspect ratio of standard tablet screens
Exactly fills the screen in the Slide pane and when printed on a tablet.

Notes : The Widescreen slide size:

1920 x 1080
2048 x 1152
2560 x 1440
Does not match the aspect ratio of standard tablet screens
Has empty space above and below when printed on a 4:3 screen.
Click Custom Slide Size... :

In the Slide Size dialog box:

Slides sized for drop-down list in PowerPoint 365

Choose the slide orientation in the Orientation group.

After choosing the necessary options, click OK . The Microsoft PowerPoint dialog box will show two options on how to scale the existing slides to a new slide size:

Maximize the content size or scale it down to Ensure Fit it on the new slide.

Note : It is impossible to change the size or orientation just for some slides.

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How to Change the Slide Size in PowerPoint for Better Presentations

Makes them much easier to read

Powerpoint presentations are supposed to be engaging. But that’s another story if the audience can’t see what’s in front of them. So, in this article, we’ll discuss how to change the default slide size in Powerpoint.

This will come in handy so you can maximize your slides to the size of the projector or monitor you’ll be using and deliver a better presentation.

How to Change the Slide Size in PowerPoint for Better Presentations image 1

Choose One Slide Size First

PowerPoint allows you to change the slide size anytime you like, but it’s a good idea to pick the right size before you start creating your presentation.

If you decide to change the size later, PowerPoint will do its best to give you options on how to shift items around, but it will more than likely result in having to totally redesign your slides.

This is especially true if you move from a widescreen format slide to a smaller 4:3 standard sized slide.

How to Change the Slide Size in PowerPoint for Better Presentations image 2

If you choose to scale it down, PowerPoint will try to fit everything as best it can into the smaller slide. If you choose Don’t Scale , the items that are outside the standard size will simply be out of the window. You’ll then have to decide whether to delete those items or move them back into the slide.

Change Slide Size in PowerPoint

Once you know what size will be ideal for your output device, you can adjust the slide size in PowerPoint.

First, go ahead and open PowerPoint and select a slide.

How to Change the Slide Size in PowerPoint for Better Presentations image 3

This guide works will work for most modern versions of PowerPoint that have the ribbon interface, including the version in Office 365.

Next, go to the Design tab. It’s where you can find the options that let you tweak your presentation’s design.

How to Change the Slide Size in PowerPoint for Better Presentations image 4

There, head over to the far right end — to where you can find the Customize section. Next, choose Slide Size .

How to Change the Slide Size in PowerPoint for Better Presentations image 5

Clicking on this option will reveal a menu. It lets you pick the size of the slide that you want. Your choices are Standard , Widescreen , and Custom Slide Size .

How to Change the Slide Size in PowerPoint for Better Presentations image 6

Let’s walk through each of the choices. This way, you will have a better understanding of your options. This will also help you adjust your slide’s size as needed – a size that works best for your projector or TV.

If you go with the Standard size, you’ll be going with a 4:3 aspect ratio. This is a safe choice because it works for familiar devices such as older screens with low resolutions.

A Standard slide size is a suggested choice for old school presenters. This means those who will be working with old projectors and SlideShare or other old online presentation platforms .

How to Change the Slide Size in PowerPoint for Better Presentations image 7

If you choose Widescreen , you’ll be going with an aspect ratio of 16:9. This is the ideal choice for you if you’re dealing with newer devices and online presentation platforms.

Got a Microsoft Surface device or HD projector? Going with a Widescreen option is the better way to go. The same is true if you’ll be presenting on a HDTV or 4K TV/monitor.

How to Change the Slide Size in PowerPoint for Better Presentations image 8

If Standard and Widescreen slide sizes are not for you, you can also go with the Custom Slide Size…

How to Change the Slide Size in PowerPoint for Better Presentations image 9

If you select this option, a pop-up window will appear.

Here, you can select from plenty of choices regarding the slide size you want. If you’re about to deliver your Powerpoint presentation on an unfamiliar projector, it’s good to go with this option.

It’s flexible. It can also accommodate your preferred slide dimensions.

Plus this way, you can select the Orientation for your slides and notes. This lets you have control over the Width and Height of your slides, too.

How to Change the Slide Size in PowerPoint for Better Presentations image 10

You can also try expanding the Slides sized for menu option. Doing so reveals preset sizes that go beyond the Standard and Widescreen size options.

As you can see, this option allows you to adjust your slide to fit the size of a Letter Paper, 35mm slide, a banner, 16:10 aspect ratio and more.

How to Change the Slide Size in PowerPoint for Better Presentations image 11

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A better way to change your slide sizes in PowerPoint without breaking it.

October 6, 2021
Tips and Ticks

An easy way to change slide sizes in PowerPoint presentations to 4:3 (Standard) or 16:9 (Widescreen) formats without breaking your theme and template or stretching your logos and images.

As with most things related to technology, there is more than one way to skin the cat – or in our case to resize PowerPoint presentations. We are going to discuss both the standard way ( as well as why we don’t recommend it ) and the right way, using our FREE PowerPoint resizing tool.

If you ever changed a presentation to Standard or Widescreen sizes in PowerPoint and thought you would likely agree that the outcome was unpredictable and undesirable.

TLDR: If you want to skip the details and go straight to the instructions on how to use our FREE PowerPoint presentation resizing tool to change slide sizes without breaking your slide content then Click Here .

Why the standard solution does not work:

In short, the standard way to resize your PowerPoint changes and breaks your fonts . Using the PowerPoint resize tool also stretches images , graphics, and logos on your slide and Slide Master Layouts.

The best way to explain what is wrong with this method – is to show you. With your presentation open go to the Design Ribbon and click on the Slide Size drop-down menu and select either the Standard(4:3) or Widescreen(16:9) aspect ratios.

You can pick either ‘Maximize’ – which will cause your content to flow over the edges of the screen or ‘Ensure Fit’ which will create empty gaps on either side of your presentation.

Whichever of the two options you select the result is not going to be what you want. Your slide content probably looks broken, logos might be stretched, the theme’s font has changed to Calibri, your corporate colors might have disappeared and your Master Layout’s placeholders are resized disproportionally.

Visual representation of why the standard solution of PowerPoint resize does not work

METHOD 1: The standard way, how to change PowerPoint Slide Sizes in Windows 10 or Mac:

Part 1: before you change your powerpoint slide size.

Step 1: Make sure your presentation is in its original working format.

Step 2: Save your Theme color scheme.

1) Click on the View Ribbon, 2) then the Slide Master button

3) Click on the Colors drop-down menu and then on the 4) Customize Colors… button at the bottom of the list.

At the bottom of the Colors dialog box give your color scheme a name in the Name field – and call it whatever you want but remember the name because we are going to use that after we resize our template. Click on Save.

PowerPoint Slide Master - Save Theme Color

Step 3: Save your Theme fonts

1) While still on the Slide Master Ribbon click on the Fonts drop-down menu and then on the Customize Fonts… button at the bottom of the list.

PowerPoint Slide Master - Save Theme Fonts

2) In the Name field give your Theme Fonts a name that you will use and click on the Save button. 3) Close the Slide Master Ribbon by clicking on the “Close Master View” button.

Part 2: After you change your slide size

Step 4: Resize your PowerPoint presentation

After you close the Slide Master Ribbon the Design Ribbon should be visible again. Click on the Slide Size drop-down menu and select either the Standard(4:3) or Widescreen(16:9) aspect ratios and select the ‘Ensure Fit’ option ( it is easier to move items around than to also have to resize them especially when converting to a larger slide size ).

Screenshot of Design Ribbon in PowerPoint

Step 5: Reselect your Theme color and Theme font

With the Design Ribbon still active click the Variants drop-down menu, then color and select the Color Theme you saved earlier, and then do the same for your fonts.

Screenshot of Design Ribbon in PowerPoint with Color Variants Selected

Step 6a: Fix stretched images – Method 1

Here is a quick hack to fix stretched graphics and images.

1) Right-Click on the stretched image and select “Size and Position” to open the Size and Position Task Pane. You will notice the Scale Height and the Scale Width are different, for example; Scale Height might be 99% and Scale Width might be 74%.

2) All you need to do to fix your image is press the up or down arrow on either the Width or Height and voila, your image is no longer stretched. If that doesn’t work then make sure Lock Aspect Ratio is checked.

Screen capture of PowerPoint - Size and Position Task Pane

Step 6b: Fix stretched images – Method 2

Another way to resize your images is to reset your images. To do this you simply select your image and then from the Picture Format Ribbon select the Reset Picture drop-down menu and select Reset Picture & Size button.

Screen capture of PowerPoint - Reset Picture & Size

Step 7: Move placeholders, content, and images into their new position.

The last thing to do is move items such as placeholders and images around on your presentation to make them fit better.

METHOD 2: The better way, to change your slide dimensions:

Step 1: Go to our FREE resize tool Go to our FREE PowerPoint resize tool and Upload your PowerPoint file: www.knockoutprezo.com/resize-powerpoint

Step 2: Select a file location and select your PowerPoint document

Step3: Select whether you want to resize to Standard or Widescreen sizes. Once you make your selection the file will upload, convert the PPTX and then then the download will start automatically.

PowerPoint won’t stretch your images and graphics
No more missing colors
Your theme fonts stay as it was ( Header and Body fonts )
Your layouts stay in their original location which is a lot more predictable and easier to work with.

Screen Capture of the Fix My PowerPoint tool

Step 3: Move placeholders, content, and images into their new position.

More PowerPoint Fixes

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2 Responses

Unfortunately, the resizing tool did not work for my use case. It simply overlayed a different slide deck formatting, but didn’t change any configurations, which made the deck useless. I like the thought for this tool though, as reformatting slides is a huge pain and time drain.

Do you mind me asking about your feedback about our resize tool. I didn’t quite understand your feedback.

Essentially what the tool does is that it resizes the deck without breaking, stretching etc the presentation assets, HOWEVER the user still needs to adjust the elements of the presentation. Did you go from 16×9 to standard or the other way around? There isn’t a way for the software to tell if you want an element aligning to the left, middle or right of the slide for example.

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Laura M. Foley Design

Cheat Death by PowerPoint!

What size should my slides be, 16:9 or 4:3?

July 3, 2017 by Laura Foley 2 Comments

Deciding on a slide format used to be easy when there was only one choice. Nowadays, you can choose between 4:3 format or 16:9. What do these numbers mean and which size should you choose for your presentations?

What the numbers mean

The above notation is called the “aspect ratio,” or the ratio of the width to the height of the slide. In the 4:3 aspect ratio, the dimensions are 1024 x 768 pixels (10.67″ x 8″); the height is 3/4 of the width. Back in the Ye Olde Days of PowerPoint, it was your only choice. Why? Because that’s the aspect ratio of actual slides, pictured above, television screens, and early computer monitors.

When high-definition screens came on the scene in the early 2000s, they were built in a 16:10 aspect ratio. But as more and more high-definition screens were manufactured, it became clear that screens with a 16:9 aspect ratio were cheaper to manufacture. So the 16:9 aspect ratio (1920 x 1080 pixels or 13.3″ x 7.5″) became the new standard.

What size should you choose?

From boardrooms to computer monitors to smartphone screens, 16:9 is the default screen aspect ratio so that’s the slide size I always go with. The 16:9 format gives you a lot of slide real estate to play around with! The legacy 4:3 aspect ratio, while still used, creates smaller slides and doesn’t look that great on newer screens.

How do you change an old 4:3 deck to the new 16:9 format?

Oh, this is super-fun to do and you’re a lucky duck if it becomes your job.

To resize your slides go to the Design tab on the ribbon and select Slide Size/Widescreen on the right side of the screen.

After you select the new size, this window will appear:

Now you’re faced with either everything on the slides being stretched out or squished to fill the space. Oh boy! Either way, after you make your selection you’ll need to go through the presentation slide by slide to ensure that everything looks good. This can be fairly straightforward if the creator of the presentation stayed within the template or a real pain in the rear if he/she didn’t. But do go through the deck to ensure that everything looks right.

If you’re a production artist that charges by the hour, reformatting an organization’s slides from 4:3 to 16:9 could be a nice little gig for you!

Bottom line

Unless you’re told otherwise, use the 16:9 format. You get a lot more space on each slide for your visuals and it’s really the way things are going.

What is the Size of a PowerPoint Slide in Pixels?

By: Author Shrot Katewa

When creating a PowerPoint presentation, it is essential to determine the appropriate size for your slides. Understanding the size of a PowerPoint slide in pixels is crucial to ensure that your presentation looks great on all devices, from desktops to mobile devices.

The standard size of a PowerPoint slide is 1024×768 pixels and the widescreen PowerPoint slide is “1920×1080” pixels. It can also be adjusted based on your preferences or the requirements of the platform on which you plan to present your slides.

In this article, we will discuss the standard size of a PowerPoint slide in pixels or inches as well as how to adjust it to fit your needs. Let’s get started!

1. What is the Size of a PowerPoint Slide in Pixels?

In Microsoft PowerPoint, there are multiple preset slide sizes available. You can also customize the size of the slide using the “Custom Slide Size” feature available in the application. Depending on the slide size you select, the size of the slide in pixels will vary.

1.1 What is the Size of a PowerPoint Standard Slide in Pixels?

The “Standard (4:3)” option in Microsoft PowerPoint used to be the only size option in the beginning since most screens from 2010 and before were that size. The standard slide size in PowerPoint is “1024×768” pixels.

1.2 What is the Size of a PowerPoint Widescreen Slide in Pixels?

In Microsoft PowerPoint, the default size of the slides is the “Widescreen (16:9)” option. The widescreen PowerPoint slide is “1920×1080” pixels.

2. What is the Size of a PowerPoint On-Screen Show Slide in Inches?

In Microsoft PowerPoint, the size of the slides is mostly measured in inches. Using the “Slide Size” dialog box, you can check the dimension of a slide in inches. Depending on the type of the selected slide, the slide size varies. There are three different “On-Screen Show” slide sizes available in Microsoft PowerPoint.

2a On-Screen Show (4:3)

The “On-Screen Show (4:3)” slides are “10×7.5” inches in size. This is the “Standard” slide size.

2b On-Screen Show (16:9)

The “On-Screen Show (16:9)” slide size is “10 x 5.625” inches in dimension. This is the “Widescreen” option which is the default slide size in PowerPoint.

2c On-Screen Show (16:10)

The “On-Screen Show (16:10)” slides are “10 x 6.25” inches in width and height respectively.

3. How to Find the Size of the Slide in Inches?

Using the “Slide Size” dialog box in Microsoft PowerPoint, you can find the size of the slides in your presentation in inches. To do so, follow the 3 quick steps.

Step-1: Click on the “Design” tab

In the menu ribbon located at the top of the screen, click on the “Design” tab. This will open the “Design” menu.

Step-2: Click on the “Slide Size” option

In the “Customize” group of the “Design” menu, click on the “Slide Size” option. Then click on the “Custom Slide Size” option in the dropdown menu under the “Slide Size” option. This will open a dialog box.

Step-3: Click on the “OK” button

In the “Slide Size” dialog box, you can now see the size of the slide in inches in the “Width” and “Height” boxes. Then click on the “OK” button at the bottom of the dialog box to close it.

4. How to Change the Size of a PowerPoint Slide?

In Microsoft PowerPoint, you can change the side of the slides using the “Design” menu. However, you can only change the size of all the slides in a presentation at once. To change the size of the slide in PowerPoint, follow the 3 simple steps.

The first step is to open the “Design” menu. To do so, click on the “Design” tab in the menu ribbon located at the top of the screen.

In the “Customize” group of the “Design” menu, you have to now click on the “Slide Size” option. This will open a dropdown menu containing the preset slide size options available in PowerPoint.

Step-3: Click on your preferred slide size

Finally, all you have to do is click on your preferred slide size option from the preset options available in the dropdown menu under the “Slide Size” option. The available slide sizes are “Standard” and “Widescreen” .

4.1 How to Customize the Size of a PowerPoint Slide?

The “Custom Slide Size” feature in Microsoft PowerPoint allows you to customize the size of all the slides in a presentation. Using the feature, you can set any dimension to the slides in your presentation. To customize the size of the slides in a presentation, follow the 7 easy steps.

The first step is to open the PowerPoint presentation file where you want to customize the size of the presentation slides. Then click on the “Design” tab in the menu ribbon located at the top of the screen to open the “Design” menu.

The next step is to click on the “Slide Size” option in the “Customize” group of the “Design” menu. In the dropdown menu, the default slide size is the “Widescreen (16:9)” option.

Step-3: Click on the “Custom Slide Size” option

Now all you have to do is click on the “Custom Slide Size” option at the bottom of the dropdown menu under the “Slide Size” option in the “Design” menu. This will open a dialog box.

Step-4: Click on the “Slide sized for” option

In the “Slide Size” dialog box, click on the “Slides sized for” option. Then click on the “Custom” option at the bottom of the dropdown menu under the “Slides sized for” box.

Step-5: Click on the “Width” box

In the “Slide Size” dialog box, the next step is to click on the “Width” box. Now you can type in your preferred width of the slides in inches. You can also use the up and down arrows in the “Width” box to increase or decrease the width of the slide respectively.

Step-6: Click on the “Height” box

The next step is to customize the height of the slides. To do so, click on the “Height” box in the “Slide Size” dialog box and type in your preferred slide height in inches. You can also click on the up or down arrows in the “Height” box to adjust the height of the slides to your preference.

Step-7: Click on the “OK” button

Finally, all you have to do is click on the “OK” button at the bottom of the “Slide Size” dialog box to save the custom size for the slides in the presentation file.

3 Ways to Resize Your Slides in PowerPoint

Mar 23, 2018 | blog , tutorial

Perhaps one of the bigger pains in PowerPoint is changing your slide size from 4:3 to 16:9 or vice versa. Let’s go through the pros and cons of each method.

The Fast Way

The fastest way to change the slide ratio is to go to the design tab and clicking on slide size . Once you pick the ratio you want to change your presentation to, you’re presented with this option (one in which no one ever remembers on the first try which one they should choose):

Maximize Fit: Think of this as your “ FILL frame proportionally” option from InDesign. The frame is your slide area and the content that fills it is everything you have on the slide. All those things on the slide act as though they’re grouped together for this transformation. Because the slide is filled , some of your content will bleed over to the pasteboard.

Ensure Fit: Think of this as your “ FIT content proportionally” option from InDesign. This is the option that will reduce the size of all of your content so that it all fits on to the slide and doesn’t bleed over to the pasteboard.

Pros: It’s fast.

Cons: If you have logos or images on your master slides OR have filled the background with a picture, when you change sizes, those images will be stretched or squished no matter which option you choose. Also, you still have to reorganize your slides to make the content fit in a nicely designed manner.

The Long Way

This method is the most tedious and requires you to have both the original presentation and the destination files open at the same time. Simply put, you just copy all of the slide content from File A to File B.

With this method, the master slides won’t be stretched or smushed. You’ll still have to rearrange the slide content to look good and, in this case, you will have to redo image background fills.

Pros: You will have the fewest problems with fit and formatting.

Cons: You need two files open and it’s slower. You still have to rearrange your content.

The Third Way

Or the 2.5th (two-and-a-halved?) way. This is how I usually do it. It’s not only good for resizing slides – it’s also good for changing templates. It also only requires you to have only one file open. For this example, I’ll pretend that I’m taking a 4:3 presentation on the Outdated Template and am bringing it into the 16:9 Fresh New Template.

First, create a new presentation based on the 16:9 Fresh New Template. Then, on the Home tab where the New Slide button is, click on the text “New Slide” and you’ll be presented with this dropdown menu:

Way down at the bottom of this fly-out menu is the option “Reuse Slides…” Go ahead and click on that. You’ll then be presented with the Reuse Slides panel on the right:

Click on Browse and find the 4:3 presentation on the Outdated Template. You’ll see something like this:

All you have to do is click on the slides you want to pull into your new presentation. If you want to keep the source formatting for everything on the slide, be sure to check off “keep source formatting” or PowerPoint will apply the new templates styles to the slide contents. Of course, if you’re bringing things into an updated template, you should probably keep it unchecked.

“ But wait! When I look at my slides, they have a stretched out background!”

You’re right. The last step here is to right click on each slide and choose the master slide you want to use from the new template. After you’re all done, check your Master Page view to see if old slide masters came along for the ride and delete them.

Pros: Makes template switching easier. Can be fast.

Cons: You have to change slide layouts from old to new template, which can present it’s own problems. You still might have to move things around. Can be slow.

In the end, you’ll have to decide for yourself which is the best method for the projects you’re working on. And in 99% of all cases, you will have to rearrange your content. But I hope this makes you aware of all of your options and maybe save you a little time in the future.

Great overview of the solutions availble (but not intuitive) to people needing to change sizes!!!

Appreciate the Pros and Cons…!!!

Your third options was definitely the best solution for me! I had originally (intuitively) used the first method, but it defaulted everything to PPT standard fonts and etc. But your Reuse Slides method did the bulk of the work for me.

This has stripped out all the colours. Any reason why

All three ways stretch out my logos and figures going from 4:3 to 16:9. I dont know how to solve it.

thanks a lot you solve my problem

Very helpful information. Thank you! I dont understand why Microsoft doesn’t give an option to change slide size without doing any scaling of content.

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

PowerPoint change format (16:9 ↔ 4:3)

07.21.20 • #presentationtips.

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

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

Change the slide format

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

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

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

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

Differences between the formats

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

16:9 format (widescreen)

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

When should you use which type?

Smartphones and tablets.

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

Low room height

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

In case of doubt

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

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

Useful Keyboard Shortcuts

How can change the slide format in PowerPoint?

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

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

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

About the author.

Philipp Angerer

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

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Nonverbal communication.

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How-To Geek

How to change an entire presentation's formatting in powerpoint.

You don't need to change a PowerPoint presentation's formatting one slide at a time. You can do it all at once in the Master View. Here's how to use this time-saving feature.

If you’re wanting to reuse a PowerPoint presentation but would like to clear the slideshow's formatting, there’s no need to do it slide by slide---you can do it all at once. Here’s how.

First, open the PowerPoint presentation with the formatting you want to edit. To illustrate the before and after, here’s what we’ll be working with in this example.

Looking even closer, here are the formats our current slideshow is using:

Colors: Gallery
Headings: Gill Sans MT
Body: Gill Sans MT
Effects: Gallery
Background Style: Style 10
Background Graphics: Wooden Flooring

Once you’re ready to reformat, select the “ Slide Master ” option in the “Master Views” group of the “View” tab.

The first child slide is selected by default. Be sure to choose the parent slide above it, or the changes won’t take place for every slide.

If you want to assign a new theme to the presentation, you can do that here. Select “Themes” from the “Edit Theme” group and choose your desired theme from the drop-down menu.

Each theme comes with its own unique set of fonts, colors, effects, and so on---and there's certainly no shortage of items to choose from. If you want to stick with your current theme but change some of the individual formatting options, you can do so with the options available in the “Background” group.

Here are the different options available for reformatting:

Colors: Changes all the colors used in your presentation, as well as the color options available in the color picker.
Fonts: Changes all the headings and body fonts used in the presentation.
Effects: Changes the appearance (shading, border, etc.) of objects in your presentation.
Background Styles: Choose the background style for the selected theme.
Hide Background Graphics: Hide (or unhide) background graphics that come with a theme. This can only be used on each slide type in the Master view.

To make changes, select the option from the menu and choose your desired change from the menu that opens. For example, if we wanted to change our colors from “Gallery” to “Green Yellow,” we’d select “Colors” from the “Background Group” and then choose “Green Yellow” from the drop-down menu.

Related: How to Change the Default Font in PowerPoint

Repeat these steps for whichever options you’d like to change. We’ll make the following changes to our slideshow in this example:

Colors: Green Yellow
Headings: Calibri
Body: Calibri
Effects: Glossy
Background Styles: Style 10
Hide Background Graphics: Title Slide only

Once you’ve made the desired changes, select the “Close Master View” button in the “Close” group.

Related: How to Create a Custom Template in PowerPoint

You’ll now see the changes applied throughout the entire presentation.

And a closer look shows all the finer details.

That’s all there is to it!

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PowerPoint Slide Sizes: General Information + Instructions for Resizing a Slide

The customization of standard powerpoint slide sizes.

The customization PowerPoint slide dimensions

PowerPoint templates from TemplateMonster

Microsoft PowerPoint is a program that allows you to create unique and creative presentations. This product is perfect for beginners and professionals alike. Microsoft PowerPoint has all the editing tools you would expect from an Office product, as well as an impressive selection of options for presentation, such as transitions and animations. You can also add and edit many other non-text elements such as images, videos, audio, hypertext, and graphics. This guide is about powerpoint slide size.

Overall, PowerPoint is an amazing product. It is user-friendly and easy to use, but with advanced functions that are necessary to make truly professional presentations.

If you want to create a presentation as quickly as possible, without much effort and time spent, then pay attention to PowerPoint presentation templates from TemplateMonster. These are original and unique templates for different purposes and projects.

Now, let’s talk about PowerPoint slide dimensions.

The PowerPoint slides size depends on where and how you show this presentation. For example, it can be a PowerPoint presentation on:

laptop screens (most laptop screens have an aspect ratio of 16:9, MacBook 16:10)
projectors (many projectors have a 4:3 aspect ratio, while others imitate widescreen laptop monitors)
large-format monitors (here the aspect ratio is usually 16:9)

The same PowerPoint file will be displayed differently on each device, as the aspect ratio may vary. Therefore, again, TemplateMonster offers templates that adapt to the size of the screen.

PowerPoint gives the possibility to change the size of the slides for any purpose. Most often, users change the current format to portrait or landscape. This is very easy to do. First, we will tell you how to change the standard PowerPoint slide size. So:

Open the PowerPoint presentation, and among the various tabs ( Insert, Transitions, Animations, Slide Show, etc.) select the Design tab.
Here you will see the themes, their variants, and Format Background . You should click Slide Size . In PowerPoint 2016, this button is located in the last field that is called Customize . In other versions of PowerPoint, Slide Size can be found in Page Settings .
By clicking on Slide Size , you will see a menu with Standard (4:3) and Widescreen (16:9) options. The variant will be selected here depending on your presentation.

Here is the example:

Basically, this is all about changing the standard PowerPoint slide size.

The customization of PowerPoint slide dimensions

Next, we would like to share with you a quick guide on how to set up the exact dimensions for your slides. To do this, you need to take some similar actions that were specified above, namely:

Open the PowerPoint presentation, and select the Design tab .
Among the suggested options, click Slide Size .
Next, you need to select the Custom Slide Size . This will bring up a special window where you can select Slide Size for Width, Height, Number Slides From, Orientation, Notes, handouts & outline.
In the Slide Size for box, you can choose from a variety of predefined slide sizes. For example A3, A4, B5, Letter Paper, Overhead, Custom, Banner, etc.
Next, in the Height and Width , you can customize the desired size for your presentation, or project.
At the end, click OK , and the changes will be saved and applied to your slides.

After resizing PowerPoint slides, be sure to check everything, and make certain that the elements of the presentation are within its scope. Keep yourself out of trouble.

The PowerPoint slide is both a normal page (absolute values measured in centimeters) and a screen form (values measured in pixels). You can specify the height and width of the slide in inches, centimeters, and pixels. For PowerPoint slide size pixels, you need to specify the desired size and add “px” in the column with numbers. If you want to specify the size in inches you must add “in,” and if centimeters then “cm.” PowerPoint then converts the sizes (if it is necessary) into the type of units used by the operating system.

We would also like to clarify that the PowerPoint slide sizes in pixels can be 1366 x 768; 1280 x 720; 1024 x 600; 640 x 480. The larger the size - the better the quality.

Since we've already figured out the issue of PowerPoint slide sizes, we now offer you a list of the best PowerPoint templates from TemplateMonster.

2019 Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template

2019 Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template is truly one of the best templates that TemplateMonster offers. Among the most important features:

over 200 unique, fresh and stylish slides
12 additional color schemes (you can customize the colors, and choose the appropriate scale for you)
16:9 HD aspect ratio, ideal for wide screens
additional instructions that you can use to quickly and easily set up the template
fully customizable and editable PowerPoint template elements
24/7 technical support
bright and memorable slides with graphs, diagrams, tables, etc.

We advise you to consider this alternative!

Infographic PowerPoint Template

Infographic PowerPoint Template is a cool example of a powerful template for presenting any business project. Choosing this template you will get more than 600 unique, and professional templates, 2 aspect ratio (4:3 and 16:9), a huge number of vector icons, a wide variety of color schemes (you even have the opportunity to choose your favorite colors, and create schemes), additional and free fonts, calendars, maps, graphs, tables, various types of diagrams, schemes, and columns. There are also many available layouts. All elements are fully customizable. The quality of the slides is at the highest level, so you will not have any problems in working with this template.

Multipurpose Business Infographic Presentation - PowerPoint Template

Multipurpose Business Infographic Presentation is also one of the best PowerPoint templates available. It includes a huge number of unrealistically cool elements, such as:

30,000 slides, approximately 500 of which are unique and stylish
more than 20 color schemes that can be easily edited
the presence of a light and dark version of the template
easily customizable elements
unusual graphs, charts, tables
a huge number of fonts and maps that can be used for free access
different vector icons, and more

Albireo Powerpoint Template PowerPoint Template

Another variant of the best template is the Albireo PowerPoint Template . This is a huge collection of slides with different charts, maps, tables, schemes, and diagrams. This PowerPoint presentation template is perfect for presenting business projects or reports. This theme is available in light and dark formats. You will also receive more than 5 ready-made color schemes, free fonts, 24/7 technical support, additional instructions, and information about setting up and using the template.

Redline Creative PowerPoint Template

Redline Creative PowerPoint Template is also a great example of a template for any kind of presentation. Redline Creative has a fairly large number of bright, high-quality, and memorable templates. By choosing this template, you will get access to Google maps and fonts, additional bonus icons, unusual charts, schemes, and diagrams. In this template you can easily change the color, the position of the elements on the page, the size of these elements, etc. You can also use ready-made slide layouts. Redline Creative is an easy to use a theme to present any of your plans, ideas, and projects!

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Reduce the file size of your PowerPoint presentations

If the file size of your presentation is too large, try the following tips to make it more manageable.

Compress pictures in your presentation

Select a picture in your document. The Picture Format tab appears.

On the Picture Format tab, in the Adjust group, select Compress Pictures .

Under Compression options , do any of the following:

Make sure that Apply only to this picture is not selected so that the changes you make here will apply to all pictures in the document.

Select Delete cropped areas of pictures . This option removes the cropped picture data but note that if you delete the cropped picture data, you won't be able to restore it.

Under Resolution , select Use default resolution .

Under Compression options , do either of the following:

Select Delete cropped areas of pictures . This option removes the cropped picture data but note that if you delete the cropped picture data, you won't be able to restore it.

Delete image editing data and lower default resolution

By default, when you edit an image, the data from the original is retained (to ensure the image can be restored). Discarding it means that you can't restore the changes you make, but it will reduce your file size. Lowering the default resolution for images also reduces your overall file size.

Go to File > Options > Advanced .

Under Image Size and Quality , do the following:

Select Discard editing data . This option removes stored data that's used to restore the image to its original state after it's been edited. Note that if you discard editing data, you won't be able to restore the image after you edit it.

Make sure that Do not compress images in file is not selected.

Reduce the character set of embedded fonts

To make your presentation more sharable with others who don't have the same fonts in their system, it's typical to embed the fonts you use. However, embedded fonts will increase your file size. To minimize the file increase, embed only those characters used in the presentation.

Go to File > Options > Save .

Note: If you've used custom fonts and want others to edit the presentation, select Embed all characters .

Reduce the file size of your Excel spreadsheets

Reduce the file size of your Word documents

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Presentation font size: Dos and don’ts

Categories: PowerPoint design , Google Slides
Comments: 1

It’s no secret that at BrightCarbon we generally recommend keeping text on slides to a minimum . The main reason you need to avoid lots of text in presentations is because it’s virtually impossible to read and listen to someone speaking at the same time. In a presentation, you want to allow the audience to listen to the presenter while looking at an appropriate visual or diagram with minimal words, so that it all comes together seamlessly. Whereas, with documents like reports – while you can create them in PowerPoint – they aren’t presentations; there won’t be anyone talking over them. So you can (and possibly should) have a lot more text.

So, when you are using text in a presentation or document, how do you decide what size it should be? We’ve found there’s no hard-and-fast rule for how big or small text on slides should be. Each presentation has its own unique requirements – it all depends on what you’re using the slides for, what you’re hoping to achieve with them, and how your audience will be viewing them. Accessibility considerations also come into play, as well as readability across different typefaces and devices.

Determining appropriate text size

One way to decide on the right size for your text is to consider the height of each line of text in proportion to the total height of the slide . For example, in a sales or training presentation, the height of the title (per line) should take up approximately 4% of the slide’s total height; headers around 3%; and copy text around 2%.

Example slide showing a guide to the correct proportions for presentation font size

This principle can be applied to text appearing in other types of presentation, too. For example, in a keynote presentation, the height of the text should take up around 6.5% of the slide’s total height. And in a document or report, aim for the height of the title text to take up around 4% of the slide’s total height; headers around 3%; and copy text around 1.5%.

When deciding on the right font size for a face-to-face presentation, it’s also worth considering how close audience members should be seated to the screen in order to be able to read the text easily. Check out presentation expert Dave Paradi’s table on comfortable viewing distances for text in presentation visuals [1] for more on this.

Our text size recommendations

We called upon our team of designers to determine what size they would make the text in a set of example slides. To create the slides, we used PowerPoint’s default widescreen slide size (19.05cm x 33.86cm, or 7.5”13.33”), and Arial – one of the most commonly used fonts.

The examples covered three different use-cases where text is sometimes used:

A sales or training presentation. Small amounts of text can be used to point out key features and emphasise value and benefits.
A keynote presentation. You want the audience to focus on the presenter during a keynote presentation, so the amount of text on each slide should be kept to a minimum. This means any text you do use can be much larger.
A document or report. Text can generally be slightly smaller in stand-alone, static documents like reports, as readers will jump around the page to find the information they’re looking for.

Based on our team’s responses, we’d make the following recommendations:

Use-case 1: Presentation font size for a sales or training presentation

Top tip : As a general rule, aim to keep the number of different font sizes you use across your presentation to a minimum – ideally, no more than three different sizes per slide. And try to use font sizes consistently. For example, if you’ve used 20pt for headers on one slide, make sure headers on other slides are the same size.

Use-case 2: Presentation font size for a keynote presentation

Top tip : If you’re also using text labels or callouts in a keynote presentation, then make sure the font is slightly smaller than the rest of your text – ideally no smaller than 28pt.

Use-case 3: Font size for a document or report

Top tip : It’s also worth using visual hierarchies to help readers navigate documents like these – check out our blog post for tips on how to do this.

Hopefully, our recommendations help you to decide what size text on your slides should be. Remember, every presentation is different and will have its own individual requirements – for guidance on your particular use-case, get in touch and we’ll be happy to look over your slides. And if you want more help with upping your sales presentations’ font game, have a read of our article packed with typography tips and tricks!

[1] PARADI, D. 2008. Comfortable Viewing Distance for Text on Presentation Visuals [online]. Available from: https://thinkoutsidetheslide.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ViewingDistanceTable16x9.pdf [Accessed 14 November 2022].

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115 PowerPoint Christmas cards to download and share!

PowerPoint design
Comments: 45

It's Christmas! After a late night with too much eggnog and brandy snaps we set ourselves a challenge to see who could come up with the wildest PowerPoint Christmas card! So it's the day after the night before, and through blurry eyes we can reveal our efforts...

thank you so much that was helpful