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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 .

Table of Contents

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 (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 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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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!

Other slide sizes for special events

Now, the 16:9 format is great for everyday use but what if you’re designing a presentation for an event? Last year, I was designing slides for a corporate conference where the setup included multiple, massive screens. For that event, the slides measured 52″ x 17″ and had a “leave this space blank” area on the bottom. Each event is different, so if you’re working on slides like these you need to become friends with the AV folks and find out what size slides they recommend for optimal viewing on that particular setup. The last thing you want to see on a gigantic stage are distorted graphics!

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.

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How to Change Slide Size or Dimensions in PowerPoint

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)

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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):

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:

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 the size of slides in Microsoft PowerPoint to match your customized presentation style or screen size

• You can change the size of a slide in your PowerPoint presentation through the "Design" menu. 
• Microsoft PowerPoint allows you to change slide sizes on the Windows PC, Apple MacOS, and web-based apps. 
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories .

When it comes to designing your visual presentation, one size does not fit all. 

That's doubly true for PowerPoint presentations, which may be viewed on several platforms and devices. Sometimes PowerPoint's default slide isn't the best option for your project, and the program has a built-in fix for that. 

When you create a presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint, you can customize your slides' size and dimension. This allows you to choose a perfect canvass for your content. 

Microsoft offers the ability to change the size of your slides on the Windows, Mac, and web-based apps. Here's how to do it. 

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Microsoft office (from $149.99 at best buy), apple macbook pro (from $1,299.00 at apple), acer chromebook 15 (from $179.99 at walmart), how to change slide size in powerpoint for pc.

1. Open an existing PowerPoint file, or start a new presentation.

2. Select "Design" from the top menu bar. 

3. Toward the right, click "Slide Size." 

4. In the drop-down menu, select Standard, Widescreen, or "Custom Slide Size…"

5. When you're done, click "OK." 

How to change slide size in PowerPoint for Mac

1. Create a new presentation, or launch an existing file. 

2. Click "Design" from the top-line row of options.

3. Toward the right, you'll see "Slide Size." Click it for a drop-down menu of options.

4. Select the included Standard or Widescreen options, or click "Page Setup…" for a custom size.

5. Choose "OK" when you're done. 

How to change slide size in PowerPoint for web

1. Navigate to powerpoint.office.com and sign in to your Microsoft account. 

2. Open a new or existing PowerPoint.

3. Select "Design" from the top row of options.

4. Click "Slide Size."

5. Select between Widescreen and Standard, or create custom dimensions with "Custom Slide Size…"

6. If selecting custom, enter the dimensions and then choose whether you want it in landscape or portrait mode. 

7. Choose between maximizing your slide size or scaling it to fit the new dimensions. 

8. Click "OK." 

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How to download and access microsoft powerpoint on your mac computer, how to add a border to slides in powerpoint, and give your slideshow a sleek design, how to change and format the background of your powerpoint slides to custom designs, how to change your language settings in microsoft powerpoint in 3 different ways, how to copy or duplicate a powerpoint slide and put it anywhere in your slideshow.

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• Main content

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 .

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 .

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.

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

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.

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.

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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:

• 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 Slide Size in PowerPoint? [A Helpful Guide!]

By: Author Shrot Katewa

Microsoft PowerPoint is a powerful software. You can not only create a standard presentation design, but you can also create documents of various sizes using PowerPoint! However, that requires you to have a good understanding of various slide sizes available in PowerPoint. You may be wondering, how to change the slide size in PowerPoint?

To change the slide size in PowerPoint, click on the “Design” tab. Then, click on “Slide Size”. From the dropdown, choose “Standard” or “Widescreen”. You can also click on “Custom Slide Size” to change the size of the slides in PowerPoint to A3, A4 or a completely custom size.

In this article, I will walk you through the nuances of changing a slide size in PowerPoint. We will go into the steps in detail with pictures so that you get the best understanding of the subject!

So, let’s get started!

A Quick Note Before We Begin – for this article, I will be using one of the presentation templates from Envato Elements . With Envato Elements, you get access to thousands of presentation designs with unlimited downloads so you never run out of options again. Plus, you get free previews so you know exactly what you’re getting before buying! It is also very affordable.

1. How to Change Slide Size in PowerPoint? 

Changing the size of your slides in Microsoft PowerPoint is actually a lot easier than you think! All you have to do is go to the ‘Design’ tab from the ribbon, click on the ‘Slide Size’ button at the top right corner of your screen and select the slide size you want.

Below, I’ll be discussing how to change the size of slides in different versions of Microsoft PowerPoint as well as in different device including Mac, iPad and Android:

1a. Change Slide Size in PowerPoint 2016 and 2019

Follow the steps below to change the slide size in Microsoft PowerPoint 2016, PowerPoint 2019 and Office 365:

Step 1: Click on the ‘Design’ tab

At first, click on the ‘Design’ tab, which is the fourth option on your ribbon to get access to the design section of your PowerPoint presentation.

Step 2: Click on ‘Slide Size’ option

Go to the top right of the ‘Design’ tab in the ‘Customize’ section and ‘Left click’ on the ‘Slide Size’ button and a drop-down menu will open.

Step 3: Select the desired slide size from the ‘Slides sized for’ option.

Now, another dialogue box will show up in the middle of your screen. Click on ‘Ensure Fit’ to adjust your slide contents. (we will talk about the difference between the “Maximise” and “Ensure Fit” options later in the article)

If you choose to click on the ‘Custom Slide Size’ option, you may see a different dialogue box first. We will get to that in a moment and I will share with you how to customize the slide sizes in addition to the default options provided by PowerPoint.

1b. How to Change Slide Size in PowerPoint 2010? 

The process of changing slide size in Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 is described below:

Step 1: Click on the ‘Design’ tab and go to ‘Page Setup’ option

Click on the ‘Page Setup’ option located in the ‘Page Setup’ section of the ‘Design’ tab. This will open up a new dialogue box.

Step 2: Choose the slide size you want from the drop-down menu after clicking on ‘Slides sized for’.

‘Left click’ on the ‘Slides sized for’ menu to get the options of slide size. Choose your preferred style and then click on the ‘Ok’ button.

1c. How to Change the Slide Size in PowerPoint 2007? 

The process of changing slides in Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 is identical to the process in PowerPoint 2010. For reference, here’s how to change the slide size in PowerPoint 2007:

1d. How to Change Slide Size in PowerPoint on Mac

The process of changing slide size in PowerPoint on Mac is described in simple steps below:

Step 1: Click on the ‘File Menu’ and then on ‘Page setup’

Click on the ‘File’ menu which is located in the ‘Quick Access’ toolbar above the ‘Home’ tab and a drop-down menu will appear. Click on the ‘Page Setup’ option from the drop-down menu which will open up another dialogue box.

Step 2: Choose your new slide size from the dialogue box

Click on your preferred slide size and then press the ‘Ok’ button. PowerPoint will prompt you to choose between “Scale” or “Don’t Scale”. This is similar to the Maximise or Ensure Fit options Windows users see.

Go with the “ Scale ” option as this will adjust the sizes of all shapes and text for each slide. You can also choose to go with “Don’t Scale” option and adjust everything manually as per your requirement.

Your slide size will change accordingly.

If you are using Office 365 or later versions of PowerPoint on Mac, you an also find the option to change the slide size from widescreen to standard by click on the Design tab, and then clicking on “Slide Size” as showcased earlier.

1e. How to Change Slide Size in PowerPoint on iPad? 

Follow the steps below to change slide size in PowerPoint on iPad:

Step 1: Go to the ‘Home’ menu after opening your PowerPoint Presentation file

At the bottom right corner of the screen, you will find the ‘three dots’ icon, which is the ‘Options’ menu. Tap on the ‘Options’ menu and then select the ‘Home’ option.

Step 2: Change your size after tapping the ‘Slide Size’ option

A ‘Design’ option will now appear on your screen. Tap on it and then tap on the ‘Slide Size’ option. After that, change your slide size to ‘Standard’ or ‘Widescreen.’

1f. How to Change Slide Size in PowerPoint on Android?

Unfortunately, you cannot change the size of your presentation slides using PowerPoint on Android. However, there is another application for Android called ‘ WPS Office ’, which you can use to change the size of your slides from ‘Standard (4:3)’ to ‘Widescreen (16:9).’

Simply open your PowerPoint Presentation using this app and go to the ‘Settings’ option at the bottom left corner. Then scroll rightwards to the ‘Design’ tab, where you will find the ‘ Slide Size’ option. From there, you will be able to select your desired slide size.

2. How to Change Slide Size to A4 in PowerPoint?

To change the slide size of your PowerPoint presentation to A4, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Click on ‘Custom Slide Size’ located in the ‘Design’ tab

Click on the ‘Design’ tab and then from the ‘Slide size’ menu, click on the ‘Custom Slide Size’ button.

Step 2: Choose the ‘A4 Paper (210x297mm)’ option to change the slide size

From the pop-up window, click on the ‘Slides sized for’ button and a drop-down menu will show you the different slide sizes available. Now all you have to do is select the ‘A4 Paper (210x297mm)’ size option and hit the ‘ Ok ’ button.

Here’s how the A4 slide size will look in the portrait orientation in PowerPoint.

3. How to Change Slide Size to A3 in PowerPoint?

You can modify the slide size to A3 in Microsoft PowerPoint by following the easy steps below:

Step 1: Selecting the ‘Custom Slide Size’   button to change slide size

At first, click on the ‘Slide Size’ option in the ‘Design’ tab. From the drop-down menu select the ‘Custom Slide Size’ option.

Step 2: Select the ‘A3 Paper’ and Click on OK

Expand the ‘Slides sized for’ drop-down menu by clicking on it. Then, ‘Left click’ on the ‘A3 Paper (297x420mm)’ paper option. Press the ‘Ok’ button at the bottom right of the pop-up window and then click on the ‘Ensure Fit’ button to resize the content accordingly to the slides.

4. How to Create Custom Slide Size in PowerPoint?

Follow the easy steps described below to create custom slide size in PowerPoint:

Step 1: Selecting ‘Custom Slide Size’ to create a custom size for your presentation

Click on the ‘Slide Size’ option in the ‘Design’ tab. From the drop-down menu select the ‘Custom Slide Size’ option.

Step 2: Input the Height and Width in the dialogue box and click ‘Ok’

After clicking on the ‘Custom Slide Size’ option, a pop-up window will appear. To input a custom slide size, click on the ‘Slides sized for’ button and from the drop-down menu, select ‘Custom .’

After adding the desired Height and Width for the slide, click on the ‘Ok’ button and then click on the ‘Ensure Fit’ button.

5. How to Change Slide Size from Widescreen to Standard?

To change the slide size from Widescreen to Standard, just follow the steps below:

Step 1: Click on the ‘Design’ tab which is on the top left of your presentation

The first step is to go to the ‘Design’ tab which is the fourth tab on the ribbon of your PowerPoint window.

Step 2: Click on ‘Slide Size.’

Click on the ‘Slide Size’ button located in the ‘Customize’ section of the ‘Design’ tab. A drop-down menu will appear once you click on it.

Step 3: Change your slide size from Widescreen to Standard and adjust slide content

The slide size is set to ‘Widescreen 16:9’ by default. To change it, ‘Left click’ on ‘Standard (4:3)’ . This will open up a dialogue box, where you will find the ‘Maximize’ and ‘Ensure Fit’ options.

If you click on the ‘Maximize’ option, your content will not be sized down to fit your slide and images may get distorted. On the other hand, clicking on the ‘Ensure Fit’ option will resize the contents of the down to your preferred size.

6. How to Increase Slide Size in PowerPoint When Printing? 

When printing, sometimes PowerPoint just doesn’t print to the edge of the page. Meaning, there is a white bleed (border or margin) when you try to print it or when you try to convert it into a PDF.

You can fix this problem by either increase or adjusting the slide size before printing.

Here’s a video that explains the process in detail –

Although the video is for Mac, you can easily adjust the settings for the slide size for Windows just the same way.

It is important to remember to make sure that you don’t increase the slide size of your entire presentation but only adjust the printing size of the slides.

7. Can You Change Orientation of Just One Slide in PowerPoint?

There is currently no direct way to change the orientation of just one slide in PowerPoint. However, you can circumvent this issue by either creating a hyperlink to an external file or adding a portrait PDF file directly in PowerPoint.

We wrote a detailed article on the exact steps and processes that you need to follow in order to do this. Make sure you read that article on How to Change Orientation of Just One Slide in PowerPoint !

More PowerPoint Related Topics

• How to Use a Presentation Clicker to Deliver Presentations Effectively!
• How to Crop a Picture in PowerPoint? [Complete Step-by-Step Tutorial!]
• How to Give a Presentation on Zoom? A Helpful Resource!
• How to Convert a PowerPoint to PDF? [A Simple Guide!]
• PowerPoint vs Google Slides: Which is Better? [ULTIMATE Test!]
• How to Change Bullet Style in PowerPoint? A Complete Guide

Credit to Diana.grytsku (on Freepik) for the Featured Image of this Article (edited further)

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.

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.

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.

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 ).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

More PowerPoint Fixes

If you are interested, we also have two other PowerPoint Fixing tools, they are:

• Replace and fix my PowerPoint fonts – ( Find Out More )
• Change and fix my PowerPoint authoring language across all slides and Master Layouts – ( Find out more )

The DinoFire Wireless Presentation Pointer is top of its class

• Built in Volume Control
• Hyperlink Button
• Switch Windows

Want to learn more about typography and why you should use which fonts?

A clear and focused guidance on how letters, words, and paragraphs should be aligned, spaced, ordered, and shaped. 

Full Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, Knockout Prezo earns from qualifying Amazon purchases.

Just My Type (Audiobook)

A delightfully inquisitive tour that explores the rich history and the subtle powers of fonts.

Full Disclosure:  As an Amazon Associate, Knockout Prezo earns from qualifying Amazon purchases.

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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How to Adjust Slide Size in PowerPoint

PowerPoint presentations are an essential tool for many professionals, students, and educators. Whether you’re creating a lecture slideshow, a business pitch, or a graphic design portfolio, the size of your PowerPoint slides is a crucial factor that can greatly affect the quality and effectiveness of your presentation. In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into understanding and adjusting the slide size in PowerPoint, including its benefits, default settings, customization options, tips for choosing the right size for your needs, and common issues and how to fix them.

Table of Contents

Understanding Slide Size in PowerPoint

Slide size refers to the dimensions of your PowerPoint slides, such as width and height. By default, PowerPoint sets your slide size to 10 inches by 7.5 inches, which is a 4:3 aspect ratio. However, there are other aspect ratios and sizes you can select, depending on your needs and preferences.

Aspect ratio is the relationship between the width and height of your slide. A 4:3 aspect ratio means that the width is 4 units for every 3 units of height. This was the standard aspect ratio for television screens and computer monitors for many years. However, with the rise of widescreen displays, 16:9 aspect ratio has become the new default for PowerPoint, as it fits better with modern screens.

It is important to consider the purpose and audience of your presentation when selecting slide size. If you are presenting on a large screen, such as in a conference room or auditorium, you may want to choose a larger slide size to ensure that your content is visible to everyone in the room. On the other hand, if you are presenting on a smaller screen, such as a laptop or tablet, a smaller slide size may be more appropriate to avoid overwhelming your audience with too much information at once.

Another factor to consider when selecting slide size is the amount of content you plan to include on each slide. If you have a lot of text, images, or other media to include, a larger slide size may be necessary to avoid overcrowding and ensure that your content is legible. However, if you have less content or prefer a minimalist approach, a smaller slide size may be more suitable to create a clean and uncluttered presentation.

Benefits of Adjusting Slide Size in PowerPoint

Adjusting your slide size can bring several benefits to your PowerPoint presentations. Firstly, it can help you ensure that your content is visible and readable, regardless of the device or screen your audience uses. The right slide size can also make your presentation more visually appealing, engaging, and professional-looking. Additionally, some content, such as images or videos, may require specific slide sizes to be displayed correctly.

Another benefit of adjusting slide size in PowerPoint is that it can help you save time and effort. By choosing the right slide size from the beginning, you can avoid having to resize and reposition your content later on, which can be a time-consuming and frustrating process. Moreover, if you plan to share your presentation online or via email, adjusting the slide size can help you reduce the file size and make it easier to send and download.

Finally, adjusting slide size can also help you customize your presentation to your audience and purpose. For example, if you are presenting to a large group in a conference room, you may want to use a larger slide size to ensure that everyone can see your content clearly. On the other hand, if you are presenting to a small group on a laptop or tablet, you may want to use a smaller slide size to avoid overwhelming your audience with too much information at once.

Using the Default Slide Size in PowerPoint

If you’re new to PowerPoint or don’t need to customize your slide size, you can use the default settings. To use the default slide size in PowerPoint, open a new presentation and go to the “Design” tab. Click on the “Slide Size” button, then select “Standard (4:3)” or “Widescreen (16:9)” from the options. PowerPoint will apply the default size to all your slides.

It’s important to note that while the default slide size may work for most presentations, there may be instances where you need to customize the size to fit your content. For example, if you’re creating a presentation to be displayed on a large screen, you may want to use a larger slide size to ensure that your content is easily visible. Similarly, if you’re creating a presentation to be viewed on a mobile device, you may want to use a smaller slide size to ensure that your content fits on the screen. In these cases, you can use the “Custom Slide Size” option in PowerPoint to create a slide size that works best for your needs.

Changing Slide Size in PowerPoint: Step-by-Step Guide

If you want to customize your slide size in PowerPoint, follow these steps:

• Open your presentation in PowerPoint.
• Go to the “Design” tab.
• Click on the “Slide Size” button.
• Select “Custom Slide Size” at the bottom of the menu.
• In the “Slide Size” dialog box, enter the width and height of your desired slide size in inches or centimeters. You can also choose from several predefined options, such as “Banner,” “Ledger,” or “A4” size.
• Click “OK” to apply the new slide size to your presentation.

It’s important to note that changing the slide size may affect the layout of your presentation. If you have images or text boxes that are close to the edge of the slide, they may be cut off or resized. Be sure to preview your presentation after changing the slide size to ensure that everything looks the way you want it to.

Additionally, if you plan on sharing your presentation with others, keep in mind that the slide size may not be compatible with their devices or projectors. It’s a good idea to check with your audience beforehand to see if there are any specific requirements or recommendations for slide size.

How to Increase or Decrease Slide Size in PowerPoint

If you’ve already created a presentation and want to change the slide size, you can do so by following these steps:

• In the “Slide Size” dialog box, enter the new width and height of your desired slide size.
• A warning message may appear, informing you that the new slide size may cause some content to be cropped or distorted. Choose the “Maximize” option if you want PowerPoint to adjust the content proportionally to fit the new size, or “Ensure fit” if you want to keep the content as it is and add borders if necessary.

It’s important to note that changing the slide size may affect the overall layout and design of your presentation. If you have images or graphics that are sized specifically for the original slide size, they may appear stretched or distorted when the slide size is changed. It’s a good idea to preview your presentation after changing the slide size to ensure that all content appears as intended.

How to Change the Orientation of Your Slides in PowerPoint

You can also change the orientation of your slides from landscape to portrait or vice versa in PowerPoint:

• In the “Slide Size” dialog box, choose the orientation you want: “Portrait” or “Landscape.”
• Click “OK” to apply the new orientation to your presentation.

Changing the orientation of your slides can be useful when you want to create a presentation that is optimized for a specific screen or device. For example, if you are creating a presentation to be viewed on a mobile device, you may want to use the portrait orientation to make the slides easier to read.

It’s important to note that changing the orientation of your slides may affect the layout of your content. You may need to adjust the size and position of your images, text boxes, and other elements to ensure that they fit properly on the new slide size.

Customizing Slide Size for Different Devices and Screens

If you’re presenting your PowerPoint on different devices or screens, you may need to adjust your slide size accordingly to ensure the best possible viewing experience. For example, if you’re presenting on a large projector screen, you may need a bigger slide size to avoid pixelation or distortion. On the other hand, if you’re presenting on a mobile device, you may need a smaller slide size to fit the screen.

You can customize your slide size for different devices and screens by following these steps:

• Determine the size and aspect ratio of the device or screen you’ll be presenting on.
• Create a new presentation or open your existing one in PowerPoint.
• Enter the width and height that match the device or screen size and aspect ratio you’ve determined.

Tips for Choosing the Right Slide Size for Your Presentation

Choosing the right slide size for your presentation can greatly enhance its impact and effectiveness. Here are some tips to help you choose the best slide size for your needs:

• Consider your audience and how they’ll be viewing your presentation.
• Match your slide size to the device or screen you’ll be presenting on.
• Allow enough space for text, images, and other content, but avoid overcrowding your slides.
• Use a consistent aspect ratio throughout your presentation for a cohesive look.
• Test your presentation on different devices and screens to ensure compatibility and readability.

Common Issues with Slide Size and How to Fix Them in PowerPoint

Despite your best efforts, you may encounter some issues related to slide size when creating or presenting your PowerPoint. Here are some common problems and how to fix them:

• Content is too small or large: Adjust your slide size to ensure that your content is appropriately sized and readable.
• Content is cropped or distorted: Use the “Maximize” or “Ensure fit” option when changing your slide size to avoid cropping or distortion.
• Text or images are pixelated: Ensure that your images and text are high resolution and adjust your slide size accordingly.
• Slides don’t fit the screen: Use the “Scale to Fit” option in the “Slide Show” tab to adjust the size of your presentation to the screen.

By following these tips and guidelines, you can effectively adjust your slide size in PowerPoint to create engaging, professional, and impactful presentations.

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How-To Geek

How to reduce the file size of a powerpoint presentation.

Need to chip off some KB from your presentation's file size? Try some of these handy tips.

Quick Links

Convert your presentation to the pptx format, insert your pictures—don’t copy and paste, do image edits in an image editor—not in powerpoint, compress all of the images in your presentation, don’t use embedded fonts, link to files instead of embedding them, don’t store a thumbnail for the presentation, remove personal and hidden information from your presentation, turn off autorecover, copy everything into a new presentation, a possibility: unzip the presentation and compress it.

Considering that Microsoft PowerPoint presentations are generally accompanied with tons of images, gifs , embedded videos , charts , graphs, and other content, it’s no surprise that you get some pretty big files. Here are a few steps you can take to reduce a presentation's file size.

Large files can be annoying. They take up loads of precious disk space, slow down playback performance, and can cause emails to bounce back due to exceeding the file size limit. You can prevent all of these things by reducing the file size of your presentation.

We’ve mentioned it before, but the first thing you’d think of when considering file size reduction is images—and for a good reason. Image files can be quite large. There are steps you can take to reduce the size, such as compressing the images in the presentation. If you suspect the reason your PowerPoint file is so large is due to images, then be sure to read the article we’ve written on how to reduce the size of Office documents that contain images .

Related: How to Reduce the Size of a Microsoft Word Document

We do have some additional tips to add if you followed these steps but still need to reduce your presentation’s file size.

Microsoft released the PPTX format in Office 2007. Still, it’s not uncommon to see PPT files floating around. So what’s the difference between a PPT and PPTX  file? The PPTX version compresses all of the content within the presentation. If you have a PPT file and convert it into a PPTX file, you’ll notice a decrease in the file size.

Converting the file is as simple as pressing a button and choosing the file type. Go ahead and open your PPT file, head over to the “File” tab, and then click “Convert.”

Windows File Explorer will appear. You’ll notice the Save As type is set as "PowerPoint Presentation." This is the PPTX file type. Click “Save.”

Your PPT file will now be converted to a PPTX file. As you can see, the size of the file has been reduced.

HTG Presentation 2 is our PPT file, and HTG Presentation 3 is our PPTX file. Merely converting the file type reduced the size by 335 KB.

While this isn’t a breathtaking drop in file size, we managed to reduce a Word document file size from 6,001 KB to 721 KB. It all depends on what’s inside the file. With any luck, this will be the only step you need to take. If not, keep reading.

It’s tempting to copy and paste an image in PowerPoint instead of using the insert function. This won’t be an issue if you’re not concerned about file size, but if you are, then beware of copy and paste—it may reformat your image to BMP or PNG. Why is this an issue? Both of those file formats are larger than JPG.

You can see in the above screenshot that the PNG file is 153KB compared to the 120KB JPG file of the same image. Each time you copy and paste a JPG file to PowerPoint, and it gets converted to PNG, you’re adding a bit of unnecessary file size to the presentation. Using the insert function will ensure your images are inserted as intended.

When you insert an image in PowerPoint, it’s best to make sure that it doesn’t need any edits. If it does require edits, you’re better off doing it in an image editor. Why? When you use PowerPoint to edit your image, it stores all of those edits as part of the presentation. For example, when you change an image to black and white, PowerPoint retains the full-color image as well. That’s a lot of extra bites being stored.

If you don’t have an image editor ( you do ) or you simply must use PowerPoint, be sure to tell PowerPoint to discard all of that excess data saved from the edits . It won't save you as much space as working in a dedicated editor, but it will help.

You can compress images in PowerPoint one at a time or all at once. If you’re looking to do the latter, here’s how.

Open your presentation, head over to the “File” tab, and then select “Save As” in the left-hand pane.

Next, select “More Options,” which you'll find under the area where you would name your file and choose the file type.

The “Save As” window will appear—this time with a few extra options available to you. Next to the “Save” button, click “Tools.”

In the drop-down menu that appears, select “Compress Pictures.”

The “Compress Pictures” window will appear. Here, you can choose the resolution type of the images (based on PPI) in the presentation. You’ll also notice that you’re not able to select the “Apply only to this picture” option in the “Compression Options” group. That’s because, due to the way we accessed this tool, this option isn’t available.

Note:  If you do want to compress a single picture, select it and then head to Picture Tools Format > Compress Pictures.

Once you’re happy with your selection, click “OK.”

Be sure to save your presentation afterward.

We get why you might want to embed fonts—you might be making a Star Wars themed presentation and, as a result, anyone you may be sharing the presentation with is not likely to have those special fonts available to them. Embedding the fonts in your presentation could prevent issues down the line, but it comes at the cost of increased file sizes.

In general, unless you are sure you need to display a particular font, we recommend turning off font embedding.

Head over to the “File” tab and select “Options” at the bottom of the left-hand pane.

On the “Save” tab, untick the “Embed fonts in the file” checkbox and then click “OK.”

We saved a copy of our presentation with all fonts embedded, without fonts embedded, and with only the fonts used in the presentation embedded. Look at the difference if file sizes:

Convinced yet?

Consider the difference in file size if you embed an entire YouTube video in your presentation instead of linking back to it. Embedding an entire video will significantly increase the size of your presentation. There are certainly some valuable benefits when embedding a file vs. linking to it (such as when the recipient might not have internet access to play the video), but if the file size is an issue, just don’t do it.

Way back when Office let you save thumbnail images of your presentation so that you could get a sneak preview of the file when searching for it in File Explorer. Windows has grown to be more sophisticated, so it no longer requires the help of Office applications to do this. But, the option is still available.

We ran a little test to see the difference in file size with and without this option enabled. Here are the results:

With the thumbnail option enabled, our file size was 2,660 KB. Without the option enabled, the file size was reduced to 2,662 KB, saving a total of 7 KB.

This is a pretty small save, but when we tested it with a Word document, the difference was significant, showing 721 KB without the option enabled, and 3,247 KB with the option enabled.

While this is a large gap between applications and it’s not exactly clear why the difference is so large, it’s still an option worth exploring. To disable the feature, open your presentation, head over to the “File” tab, and then select “Properties” found on the right-hand side, then “Advanced Properties.”

You’ll now be in the “Summary” tab of the “Properties” window. At the bottom of the window, uncheck the box next to “Save preview picture,” and then click “OK.”

Microsoft Office will store your personal information (such as author name) and hidden properties within your presentation. Getting rid of this information can save you a bit of space.

Open your presentation, head over to the “File” tab, select the “Check for Issues” option, then select “Inspect Document."

The “Document Inspector” window will appear. Make sure the “Document Properties and Personal Information” box is checked, and then click “Inspect."

In the next window, select “Remove All.” The information will now be removed, saving you a few KB of space.

We don’t necessarily recommend this, and it should only be used as a last resort effort. AutoRecover is an essential tool in Office, and if you’ve ever lost a document before saving, then you understand precisely what we mean.

Each time Office uses AutoRecover, it adds a little to the size of the file. To turn AutoRecover off, head over to the “File” tab and select “Options” found at the bottom of the left-hand pane.

In the “Save” tab of the “Options” window, uncheck the box next to “Save AutoRecover information ever xx minutes.”

If you save and exit out of the presentation immediately, you won’t notice a difference. Over time though, as you continue to progress through the presentation, the AutoRecover feature will add KB to your file.

While you’re creating your presentation, PowerPoint will save various things in the background to help you out. We’ve mentioned how to turn off a lot of these features, delete data PowerPoint saves, and so on, but there’s always a chance something slipped through the cracks, and PowerPoint stored some information you don’t need. Copying your content over to a new presentation may be a good solution to the problem.

This may be a bit of a hassle though as, with PowerPoint, you’ll need to copy and paste each slide (and master slides). Once you do though, the new presentation won’t have any of the previous background saves, AutoRecover information, or previous versions of the file. As a result, you should see a change in file size.

While we can’t tell you exactly how much this will reduce your file size since each presentation will be different, it’s worth a shot.

As we mentioned earlier, a PPTX file is a compressed file (which is why the size is much smaller than an old-school PPT file). This means you can open it with a tool such as 7-Zip or WinRar, extract all the files from your PPTX, add them to a compressed archive, and then rename the archive to a PPTX file extension.

We had some issues here, though.

In Rob’s testing with his Word document, it successfully reduced the size of the file from 721 KB to 72 KB. However, it corrupted the file in the process. In my testing with my 2,614 KB file, it didn’t corrupt it, but it only reduced it to 2,594KB—a total of only 20 KB. We’re unsure what’s at play here, so if you want to give this a go, be sure to have a backup copy of your file before doing so.

That’s all the tips we've got for reducing the size of your PowerPoint presentation. We’re always looking for new and interesting ways to reduce the size of our files, so if you have any tips, let us know in the comment section, and we’ll be happy to test them out!

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How to Change the Slide Size in PowerPoint

Are you tired of presentations that don’t adapt well to the screens used in the venue? That’s mostly due to them not being properly suited for conventional (4:3) or widescreen (16:9) formats.

Before giving your presentation, it’s important to know which type of screen it’s going to be shown on, so you can optimize it as much as possible. However, have in mind that after changing the original aspect ratio of your presentation , any elements and images already included will probably appear scrambled, so you’ll need to readjust them one by one in the slides or even the master slides.

To change the aspect ratio in PowerPoint, click Slide Size, which is in the Customize group on the Design tab, and choose the desired aspect ratio for your presentation.

As with Google Slides, you can set your own slide size by clicking Custom Slide Size…

When scaling the content, PowerPoint asks you to choose between two different options: 

• Maximize: With this option, PowerPoint will increase the size of the content when scaling to a greater size. As a result, the content might get redistributed in the slides.
• Ensure Fit : With this option, the size of the content will be reduced when scaling to a smaller size. As a result, the content will be smaller and you might need to scale it up again where needed.

Now your presentation is ready and adapted for the new aspect ratio. If you want to learn more about PowerPoint and/or Google Slides and how to get the most out of them, stay tuned for more Slidesgo School tutorials. For further information on how to change the aspect ratio of your slides in PowerPoint, please refer to this article of the Microsoft Office support page .

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How to Change Slide Size in PowerPoint?

Table of Contents

Sometimes, when you often create presentations, you might find yourself in a situation where you need to prepare your slides on one device but present them on another. This can cause your slides to look different depending on the device.

It’s a good idea to learn how to adjust the slide size or aspect ratio in PowerPoint to avoid any issues during your presentation. You’ve put in a lot of effort into your project, from researching to practicing your speech, so it’s frustrating to encounter problems like mismatched slide sizes that could have easily been avoided.

Understanding PowerPoint Slide Dimensions

When you’re putting together a presentation in PowerPoint, one of the main things to think about is picking the right slide dimensions. These dimensions matter because they affect how your content looks on different screens and devices. Let’s talk about the standard aspect ratios.

1. Modern Widescreen (16:9 & 16:10):  These are the most popular choices for presentations today. Selecting a 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio ensures your slides will fit perfectly on most modern projectors and screens, making them ideal for contemporary presentations.

2. Standard Format (4:3):  This traditional aspect ratio might still be relevant for presentations intended for older projectors or screens that are better suited to a square format. Choosing 4:3 can prevent your slides from appearing stretched or distorted on such devices, ensuring your content remains clear and well-organized.

3. Custom Orientation:  For situations where standard options don’t meet your specific needs, PowerPoint offers the flexibility of custom orientation. This feature allows you to tailor the slide size to create unique dimensions that perfectly match your unique scenario.

How to Change the Size of a PPT Slide?

Having the right size for your presentation can make all the difference. Luckily, PowerPoint makes it easy to adjust your slides to fit any screen perfectly. Here’s a straightforward guide to resizing your slides:

Step 1: Finding the Design Tab

First, open your presentation and locate the  Design  tab on the ribbon at the top of the window. This tab holds all the tools you need to customize the look of your slides, including their size.

Step 2: Choosing Your Slide Size

On the  Design  tab, find the button labeled  Slide Size . Clicking this button will open a menu with different size options for your slides:

• Standard (4:3):  This is a traditional layout that works well with older projectors and screens.
• Widescreen (16:9):  This is the default and most popular option, perfect for modern displays and projectors.
• Widescreen (16:10):  This is another widescreen option (used in MacBooks) with a slightly different aspect ratio, also suitable for modern screens.
• Custom Slide Size:  If you have specific size requirements, choose this option. It will open a separate window where you can enter your desired width and height for the slides. Click  OK  to confirm.

Step 3: Adjusting Your Content

Once you change the slide size, PowerPoint might ask you how you want to handle your existing content. This ensures everything fits well within the new dimensions. You’ll typically have two options:

• Maximize:  This option enlarges your content to fill the new size, which is useful if you’re switching to a larger slide format.
• Ensure Fit:  This option shrinks your content to make sure everything fits on the new slides, ideal for reducing slide size without losing information.

Important Note:  PowerPoint doesn’t allow resizing individual slides within a presentation. All slides will have the same dimensions.

Closing Thoughts

Taking a few minutes to adjust your PowerPoint slide size can prevent major headaches down the road. By understanding the common aspect ratios and following these simple steps, you can ensure your presentation looks its best on any screen, leaving a lasting impression on your audience.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can i change the orientation of individual slides.

No, PowerPoint currently doesn’t allow changing the orientation of individual slides within the same presentation.

What happens to my existing content when I change the slide size?

PowerPoint will attempt to scale your content to fit the new size. However, you might need to adjust the layout, text boxes, and images to ensure everything displays correctly.

How do I avoid pixelation when resizing images in PowerPoint?  

To avoid pixelation, use high-resolution images, hold Ctrl while resizing to maintain proportions, choose High fidelity image quality (be mindful of file size), or crop the image instead of resizing. For advanced editing, consider using dedicated photo editing software before inserting the image.

What are some things to consider before changing the slide size?

• Compatibility : Ensure your chosen size is compatible with your presentation equipment (projector, screen).
• Content scaling : Consider how well your existing content adapts to the new size without distortion.
• Audience viewing : Choose a size that allows for clear and comfortable viewing for your audience.

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• PowerPoint Slide Size

PowerPoint Slide Size report

The most common PowerPoint slide ratios are "4:3" and "16:9". In previous versions of PowerPoint, the slide size was 4:3, widescreen, and high-definition formats have been adapted for TV and video. The default slide size in new versions of PowerPoint is widescreen (16:9). And the PowerPoint slide size can be changed by the following method.

The PowerPoint slide size also needs to be adjusted to cover the entire screen for different monitors and devices. You can often see some special proportions of slides at the press conference. In this case, [Custom Slide Size] is used. The following post will explain different PowerPoint Slide sizes and change them.

PowerPoint Slide Size Guide

Whether you are preparing your presentation for a class or your work, you should adapt it to the device which will be used for projecting it. Some devices or even laptops can have different sizes, so you will need to change the dimensions of your presentation. To change the size of your presentation slides, on the Design tab, in the Customize group, click the Slide Size button and then choose one of the pre-defined sizes.

Common PowerPoint Slide Sizes

• Standard (4:3) was the default slide size in older versions of Microsoft PowerPoint, like 2003 or 2007. Standard (4:3) slides have a size of 10 x 7.5 inches or 25.4 x 19.05 cm.
• Widescreen (16:9) is the default slide size in Microsoft PowerPoint 2013, 2016, and 365. Widescreen (16:9) slides have a size of 13.33 x 7.5 inches or 33.867 x 19.05 cm.

4:3 is best viewed on a standard computer screen, while the 16:9 is best viewed on a widescreen computer screen or TV. Using the proper dimensions ensures the presentation is scaled suitably not to appear warped. Widescreen is the default in most versions of PowerPoint.

Custom PowerPoint Slide Size

Using a custom PowerPoint slide size is possible if the default 4:3 or 16:9 options are unsuitable. You might choose to use a custom slide size if you are printing full-size PowerPoint slides using a custom page layout, for instance. To do this, select Design > Slide Size > Custom Slide Size to display the "Slide Size" options menu.

• From the Slides sized for the drop-down list, you can choose pre-defined popular sizes, such as Letter Paper (8.5 x11 in), Ledger Paper (11 x 17 in), A3 Paper (297 x 420 mm), etc.
• Enter the custom sizes in the Width and Height fields.
• Choose the slide orientation in the Orientation group.

You can run your slideshow on a computer screen, a television screen, or a projector. It is best to know your display device upfront. It would be best to change your slide dimensions before designing your slides before adding shapes and images to slides. Changing the dimensions afterward is possible, but it can ruin your slide design. If pictures are distorted, you will need to manually resize each image or delete them and insert them again.

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Change the page layout

You might want to change the size, shape, or orientation of your slides for presentation or to simplify printing. You can choose landscape, portrait, or custom page setups as fits your needs.

(Currently it's not possible to mix landscape and portrait slides in the same presentation. For a suggested workaround, see Use portrait and landscape slide orientation in the same presentation .

If this is a feature you’d like to request, please send us your feedback to help us prioritize new features in future updates. See  How do I give feedback on Microsoft 365  for more information.

Change the slide size

On the Design tab, in the Customize group at the far right end, click Slide Size .

Click Custom Slide Size .

In the Slides sized for list , click the size you want to use, or use the Width and Height boxes to select custom sizes.

PowerPoint now asks you to choose between maximizing the size of your content on the new layout (to do this, click Maximize ) or scaling it down so that all of the content fits into the new layout (to do this, click Ensure Fit ).

Note:  If you choose to maximize, some content might fall outside the print margins.

Note:  Unlike Word document pages, PowerPoint slides don’t have margins that you can adjust to change the slide layout. Your slide stretches from edge to edge. When you print the slides, printer limitations can result in a white edge around the slides. However, you can change the margins inside Text Boxes and Shapes .

Change the slide orientation

Although wide format landscape presentations are most popular, you might find that your slides work better in vertical, portrait mode.

Note:  You can change the orientation of the entire presentation only, not individual slides.

On the Design tab, in the Customize group, click Slide Size .

Change the orientation for the slides to Portrait or Landscape .

Note:  You can also change the orientation of your notes, handouts, and outline.

Note:  If you choose to maximize, some content might fall outside the slide.

Change the size of your slides

Change the margins between text and the edge of a text box or shape

Workaround for printing slides without white edges

Change a slide layout

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How to change slide size in PowerPoint 16:9, 4:3 and custom?

• March 25, 2021

Trying to change slide size in PowerPoint presentations? PowerPoint lets you choose between a couple of standard slide sizes plus a custom option. In this hints and tips blog post we provide a guide to:

• The different slide sizes in PowerPoint 16:9, 4:3 and custom sizes
• How to change a PowerPoint slide size
• How to change the orientation of PowerPoint slides from landscape to portrait
• A workaround to change selected slides to portrait for printing

Where to change slide size in PowerPoint?

From the PowerPoint Design tab on the ribbon, select the Slide Size feature button. You can find the slide size feature button on the far right end of the ribbon - refer to the screenshot below.

The three slide size options of standard, widescreen and custom will display, as shown in the screenshot below.

What are the PowerPoint slide size options?

PowerPoint offers three different slide sizes. What's the difference 4:3 vs 16:9 PowerPoint slide sizes? The Standard 4:3 and Widescreen 16:9 both have the same slide width , but have different slide heights:

• PowerPoint Standard (4:3) Slide Size: This is the original PowerPoint slide size. The standard screen size is easy to print and works well on older style pull down projector screens (when the screen shape is closer to a square than the newer widescreen layout). Powerpoint 4:3 dimensions are 10 in x 7.5 in (which is 33.867 cm x 19.05 cm). Standard PowerPoint slide size pixels = 1024 px x 768px
• PowerPoint Widescreen (16:9) Slide Size: The PowerPoint 16:9 widescreen option was a later addition but is now the default value in PowerPoint for new presentations. Widescreen is more commonly used now because the size is well suited for presenting on digital screens (typically shaped like elongated rectangles similar to a current TV screen). Powerpoint 16:9 dimensions are 10 in x 5.625 in (33.867 cm x 14.288 cm). Widescreen size 16:9 size ppt dimensions pixels = 1920 px x 1080 px
• On-screen show (4:3)
• Letter Paper (8.5x11in)
• Ledger Paper (11x17in)
• A3 Paper (297x420mm)
• A4 Paper (210x297mm)
• B4 (ISO) Paper (250x353mm)
• B5 (ISO) Paper (176x250mm)
• 35mm slides
• On-screen Show (16:9)
• On-screen show (16:10)

You can either select from one of the many options in the drop down list, or you can directly key in your preferred Width and Height for your PowerPoint presentation. As soon as you key in width and/ or height values, the drop down menu will update to show the Custom option.

Note that when you are entering a custom slide size you have the option to specify your PowerPoint size in pixels (e.g. specify pixels for width and height). You can do this by typing in your preferred height and width in pixels using px at the end. The minimum width or height in pixels for PowerPoint slides is 120 px and the maximum width or height is 720 px. When you specify the pixel size of PowerPoint slide, PowerPoint will convert the pixels automatically to your default unit of measurement (e.g. either cm or in).

You can then select the Orientation of the PowerPoint slides. You have the option of Portrait or Landscape orientation and you can select separately for the slides and the Notes, Handouts & Outline.

Can I resize selected slides in a PowerPoint presentation?

No - the PowerPoint resize option is applied to all slides in your presentation. You cannot change size of selected slides in your PowerPoint presentation.

Does PowerPoint auto resize content if slide size changes?

If you select to change the slide size for an existing presentation, PowerPoint will display a slide scaling popup menu. The menu will give you the following options for scaling your slides:

• Maximise : The maximize size scaling option in PowerPoint will make the content larger, but it may spill over the edges of your slide.
• Ensure Fit: The ensure fit scaling option in PowerPoint ensures that all content remains visible on the slide, however the content may shrink to ensure that it fits.

Can I change orientation of PowerPoint slides from Portrait to Landscape?

Trying to work out how to change PowerPoint to portrait layout? You can change the orientation of your PowerPoint slides from Landscape to Portrait for the entire presentation, (you cannot change only selected slides in a presentation). To change orientation of PowerPoint slides:

As per the steps above, from the PowerPoint Design tab on the ribbon, select the Slide Size feature button (on the far right end of the ribbon).

The three slide size options will display, as shown in the screenshot below. Irrespective of what size layout you want this time, you need to select the Custom Slide Size option from the PowerPoint ribbon.

From the Slide Size popup menu on the PowerPoint ribbon, you have the option to select Portrait or Landscape mode. You can select the orientation display without modifying your slide size if you already have the correct slide size selected.

You can change the orientation for both your PowerPoint slides and handouts. Note that changing the orientation does not automatically adjust your template (for example your logos will likely appear distorted and the title page of your presentation will look squished). You need to adjust your PowerPoint template separately. If you are changing orientation only for a single PowerPoint presentation, you can do this via your presentation's Slide Master. Or if you plan on creating multiple presentations in the new orientation, its worth spending the extra time to create a new .potx template file suited to the new orientation.

Can you have different orientation slides in a PowerPoint? presentation?

Trying to add a vertical slide in PowerPoint, but keep the rest of the presentation horizontal? Unfortunately it's not possible to have a combination of Portrait and landscape slide orientations in a single PowerPoint presentation. But there is a workaround if you are printing rather than online presenting your PowerPoint presentation.

If you are preparing a PowerPoint presentation that will be printed, a workaround to include different orientation pages in PowerPoint is to create a slide master layout with the orientation on its side. This is a way to rotate PowerPoint slides to Portrait without changing all slides. Refer to the screenshot below for an example.

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How To Change Your Slide Size In PowerPoint

Changing the slide size in PowerPoint can help you to optimize your presentation for different display devices, including projectors and monitors, making your presentation multi-use.

Ensure that your presentation looks its best and is optimized for the display device you are using.

Adjusting the slide size can help improve the overall appearance and readability of your presentation.

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced PowerPoint user, this tutorial will help you master this important feature and ensure that your presentation looks polished and professional, no matter where or how it's being presented.

How To Change Slide Size In PowerPoint 🤷

Frequently asked questions 🤔.

Important disclosure: we're proud affiliates of some tools mentioned in this guide. If you click an affiliate link and subsequently make a purchase, we will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you (you pay nothing extra). For more information, read our affiliate disclosure .

To change the slide size in PowerPoint, follow these steps:

• Open the PowerPoint presentation you want to change the slide size for.
• Click on the "Design" tab in the top menu.
• Click on the "Slide Size" button in the "Customize" section of the "Design" tab or opt for the common dimensions available.

4. Select the "Custom Slide Size" option from the drop-down menu.

5. In the "Slide Size" dialog box, you can choose one of the preset sizes or create a custom size.

6. To create a custom size, enter the width and height values for the slide in the "Width" and "Height" fields.

7. Select the orientation for the slide, either "Portrait" or "Landscape."

8. Click on the "OK" button to save the changes.

9. A message will appear asking if you want to maximize the content to the new slide size. Choose the option that best fits your needs. All the slides in your presentation will now be resized to the new dimensions.

What are the common slide sizes available in PowerPoint? The common slide sizes available in PowerPoint are 4:3 (standard), 16:9 (widescreen), and 16:10 (widescreen).

Can I create a custom slide size in PowerPoint? Yes, you can create a custom slide size in PowerPoint by selecting the "Custom Slide Size" option in the "Slide Size" dialog box and entering the desired dimensions.

Will changing the slide size affect the content and layout of my presentation? Yes, keep this in mind especially if you are switching between standard and widescreen aspect ratios. You may need to adjust the size and placement of text and graphics to fit the new slide dimensions.

How do I know which slide size to choose for my presentation? The slide size you choose will depend on the display device you will be using to present your slides. If you are presenting on a widescreen display, choose the 16:9 or 16:10 aspect ratio. If you are presenting on a standard display, choose the 4:3 aspect ratio.

Can I change the slide size for only one slide in my presentation? Yes, you can change the slide size for only one slide in your presentation by selecting that slide and then choosing the "Custom Slide Size" option from the "Slide Size" button.

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Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Presentations > Five tips for choosing the right PowerPoint template

Five tips for choosing the right PowerPoint template

The design or template you choose can greatly influence the success of your presentation, either capturing your audience’s attention or leaving them disengaged. To make a lasting impression on your audience, utilize these five tips when selecting your PowerPoint presentation template.

How do you choose a template in PowerPoint?

The initial step in creating your PowerPoint presentation is choosing the appropriate design. To effectively select the best PowerPoint template for your presentation, there are several components you should consider. These components include the following:

1. Consider your audience

The first component you should consider is your audience. Is the presentation intended for a formal setting, such as in a business context, or will it be delivered in a more informal gathering? Are the viewers going to review the slides virtually , in-person, or will they be viewing the presentation independently? What are the demographics of your audience? It’s crucial to contemplate your audience before outlining your presentation, as they significantly influence your design choices. For example, if you are delivering a business-oriented presentation, you might choose a more conservative design, while a more informal presentation may call for a bolder and more captivating template.

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2. Select a template with appropriate layout options

The layout plays a crucial role in determining how your content is delivered, read, and ultimately comprehended by your audience. When you assess presentation templates, ensure that the layout options align with the nature of your content. Ask yourself, ‘Will this format enhance the readability and comprehension of my content for my audience? Is it the most efficient way to convey my information?

3. Choose a design that fits your style

You’ll feel most comfortable presenting when your presentation feels like yourself. Make you presentation an extension of your personal style and brand, that effectively complements your aesthetic preferences. Whether you prefer minimalism and clean lines or a striking, vibrant presentation filled with animation, select a design that aligns with your style and creates cohesive visuals.

4. Find a template that reflects your message

Outside of aesthetics, your template should reflect the core message of your presentation. If your content is data-heavy, opt for a template with clear charts and graphs. For a storytelling presentation, choose a template that incorporates visuals and storytelling elements. Ensuring your template and message aligns strengthens your presentation’s storytelling .

5. Consider the length of your presentation

The duration of your presentation should be incorporated in your template decision making. Longer presentations may benefit from a clean and organized template that aids in maintaining audience attention. Shorter presentations, on the other hand, provide room for more creative and visually striking templates. Consider the pacing and structure of your content in relation to the template to optimize your audience’s engagement.

The key to an effective PowerPoint presentation template is extensively considering the context of your presentation. Know who your audience is, what your message is, the length of your message, and how the content should be presented. When you consider these elements, you can ensure your presentation will resonate with your audience, with your intended impact. For more ways to improve your next presentation, learn more presentation tips .

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Determining the Size of a PowerPoint Slide in Pixels: A Guide

Have you ever wondered what the size of your PowerPoint slide is in pixels? It’s actually pretty simple to figure out, and you can do it with just a few clicks. In this article, I’ll walk you through the steps so you can determine the pixel dimensions of your presentation slides.

Step by Step Tutorial: Determining the Size of a PowerPoint Slide in Pixels

Before we dive into the steps, let’s understand why this is important. Knowing the pixel size of your slides can help you design better presentations that look great on any screen. Plus, if you’re creating content for the web or digital platforms, pixel dimensions are crucial for ensuring your work displays correctly.

Step 1: Open PowerPoint and go to the ‘Design’ tab

Click on the ‘Design’ tab located at the top of the PowerPoint window.

When you’re working on your PowerPoint presentation, the Design tab is where you’ll find all the options for customizing the look and feel of your slides. It’s the gateway to adjusting the size of your slides.

Step 2: Click on ‘Slide Size’

Look for the ‘Slide Size’ button on the right-hand side of the toolbar and click on it.

The ‘Slide Size’ button gives you access to various options for adjusting the size of your PowerPoint slides, including the ability to see and change the pixel dimensions.

Step 3: Select ‘Custom Slide Size’

In the drop-down menu that appears, select ‘Custom Slide Size’ to open the Slide Size dialog box.

The ‘Custom Slide Size’ option allows you to specify the exact dimensions for your slides, including width and height, in various units of measurement including pixels.

Step 4: Check the pixel dimensions

In the Slide Size dialog box, look for the width and height measurements in pixels.

The Slide Size dialog box will show the current size of your slides. If it’s set to a different unit of measurement, you can easily switch to pixels.

Step 5: Adjust the slide size if necessary

If you need to adjust the size of your slides, enter the desired dimensions in pixels and click ‘OK’.

You can customize the size of your PowerPoint slides to fit specific requirements or to ensure that your presentation looks its best on different devices or resolutions.

Once you’ve completed these steps, you’ll have successfully determined the pixel size of your PowerPoint slides. This information can be incredibly useful for graphic design purposes, ensuring that your presentation looks sharp and professional on any screen.

Tips for Determining the Size of a PowerPoint Slide in Pixels

• Always make sure you’re working with the latest version of PowerPoint for the most accurate size adjustments.
• If your presentation will be displayed on a large screen, aim for higher pixel dimensions to maintain image quality.
• Remember that changing the slide size can affect the layout of your content, so double-check your presentation after resizing.
• Consider the aspect ratio when customizing slide size; common ratios include 4:3 for standard screens and 16:9 for widescreens.
• Use pixel dimensions that match common screen resolutions to ensure your presentation looks great on most devices.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the default size of a powerpoint slide in pixels.

The default size of a PowerPoint slide is 960 pixels wide by 540 pixels high for a widescreen (16:9) aspect ratio.

Can I change the pixel dimensions for all slides in my presentation at once?

Yes, when you adjust the slide size, the changes will apply to all slides in your presentation.

Will changing the slide size affect the quality of my images?

If you increase the slide size, you may need to use higher resolution images to maintain quality.

What should I do if the content on my slides gets distorted after resizing?

You may need to manually adjust the content on your slides to fit the new dimensions.

How do I know what pixel dimensions to use for my presentation?

Consider the device or screen where your presentation will be displayed and use dimensions that match its resolution.

• Open PowerPoint and go to the ‘Design’ tab
• Click on ‘Slide Size’
• Select ‘Custom Slide Size’
• Check the pixel dimensions
• Adjust the slide size if necessary

Determining the size of a PowerPoint slide in pixels is a piece of cake once you know where to look. Whether you’re a seasoned presenter or new to the game, understanding the pixel dimensions of your slides can make a world of difference in how your presentation is perceived. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can ensure that your slides are perfectly tailored to any screen size, making your message resonate with clarity and impact. Plus, with a few extra tips up your sleeve, you can easily navigate through any presentation design challenges that come your way. Remember, the devil is in the details, and in this digital age, knowing your pixels from your points can truly set you apart. So, go ahead, give it a try and watch your presentations transform from good to great!

Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.

His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.

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