Dwight Watt - Newspaper Article #433 10/24/2018


Question: How do I change my layout in PowerPoint?

Answer:

As you create a presentation in PowerPoint the standard layout my not be how you want your slides to appear. The layout is the boxes that PowerPoint supplies that decide the basic appearance of your slides.

The default layout is one of title and body and will work for most items. There is a box on the top of the screen that is title and when you enter information in it the font for first row is very large and bold and the other rows in the box will be smaller.

The body box is the other box and it assumes you want to enter the text in an outline type form but with dots to mark each entry and there can be sub levels.

You need some type of box to be able to type in, a blank PowerPoint screen will not allow typing in it, but you can insert pictures and graphics.

Other layouts include title and a couple of body boxes, just a title box or just a body box and other combinations.

To change the layout, click on Home on menu list and you will get the Home ribbon. Then on the left side beside the button to create the next slide (which uses the same layout as the current slide), there is a button that says layout and when clicked will give you a number of choices of layouts and you can even choose more of them. Click the layout you want and the layout boxes change on screen and if information already enter, it is rearranged to new style,

I do the presentation software for my church and for announcement slides I normally use just the title layout as I want the extra larger and not wanting an outline format. For songs words I usually just go to body layout as I do not put song title on each screen, just the words for that verse, However I want to put them in outline format so I highlight the text and click the next button to right on Home ribbon that looks like an outline and they then appear as just plain rows. I then enlarge text to largest I can and bold to make easier to read.

Changing your layout on different slides can make your PowerPoint presentation much more user friendly and easier for you to create and maintain.