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Split Screen to run Microsoft PPT in Presentation Mode While Displaying Web Page on other half

I have one large monitor that I want to split screen on, so that I have two applications utilizing the entire screen. On one side, I want powerpoint to be in presentation mode (so that I can run a slideshow), while on the other half of the screen, there is a fully opened web browser to display a webpage (Spreadsheet) for example.

To be clear, I am NOT trying to simply move one program to half of one side of the screen, with the other program on the other half, I can do that fine already by clicking, dragging to the edge, and allowing the auto-size/expand feature to automatically take up half the screen.

What I'm looking for is to be able to run presentation mode in Powerpoint, but I only want the presentation/slides to be displayed on the one half of the screen, and be able to utilize the other half with a web browser so I can present while a spreadsheet is also shown.

Is this possible? If not by built-it settings, is it possible with a third party program?

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Replies (1) .

I believe I have found somewhat of the answer, while it doesn't do exactly what I'm looking for..

Navigating to Slide Show ribbon, then selecting  Set Up Slide Show allows you to select Browsed by an individual (window) .

This will allow you to be in presentation mode, but there is still a window .  It would be nice to have a view of full screen without seeing the surrounding boarders of a window, while also being able to only have it take up half or 3/4 of the screen.

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Power Tip: Controlling Multiple Monitors in Presenter Mode

About this lesson.

Take control of 1 or 2 or 3 multiple monitors in PowerPoint. Learn pro tricks for presenter mode and even editing while “live.” The tutorial shows all three scenarios with live screen views. Plus a bonus on how to set up a conference presentation without a projector.

00:00 Intro 01:16 Controlling 1 Monitor 01:58 Running Presenter View on 1 Monitor 02:22 Controlling 2 Monitors 03:23 Force Presenter View to Chosen Monitor 03:56 Controlling 3 Monitors 05:20 How to Use 3 Monitors While Editing 06:10 Bonus Tip: Running Without a Projector 06:41 Wrap-Up

Subject Microsoft PowerPoint

Software Compatibility All Versions

Course Completed Complete

PDF Files There are not any files associated with this lesson.

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Mulitple Monitor Transcript

If you are fine with just plugging your projector into your external display port of your laptop and hitting F5 to run your slide show on a big project. And it works every time, then you are good to go.  But if you want to take full control of utilizing one or two or even three combinations of monitors or projector systems, then the next five minutes will put you in control.

Hi, this is Les McCarter of Power UP Training, where I take my decades of PowerPoint experience and share it with you for free.

Do subscribe to our YouTube channel to encourage me to make more free training videos for you.

In the next five minutes, I will show you how to take complete control of how PowerPoint interacts with multiple monitors, including tricks of how to get Presenter view to show up on one monitor plus how to control where the project screen show will show up every time! No fumbling on stage in front of your audience. Plus some bonus tips.

Let’s go power up to Taking Control of your multiple monitors.

Let’s start with a single connected monitor and get used to examining the DISPLAY SETTINGS to confirm our configuration.

Make sure you can see your desktop; for me it is one of my ocean photographs.

Right-click the empty desktop and select  DISPLAY SETTINGS.

In our 1 monitor scenario, we see NO MENTION display.  Take note, as when we return, we will see a screen like this.

So no changes here, lets go ahead and open up PowerPoint with an existing

presentation.

It should come as no surprise that if you launch a slide show, it show up full screen on your single monitor.

But here is a SLICK TRICK of on your keyboard do a ALT+F5 to show the presenter mode on a single monitor to do a practice run on presenting without a two-screen setup.  This is just for practice but it is useful.  Once again, just ALT-F5 and he PRESENTER MODE pops up instead of the full-screen presentation

Let’s move on to the TWO MONITOR Scenario.

Just like before, I will show my desktop and right click to select DISPLAY SETTINGS.

Here we see that we do have two displays and if we click IDENTIFY, we can match up which one is which in relative relations to each other

Do note that my background is duplicated on all my displays, so I will add some numbers for us to track which is which.

Back to the same PowerPoint Presentation  which pops up on monitor 1. and  when in SLIDE SHOW view, we can see that the display is set on the default AUTOMATIC.  Which to me is just a roll of the dice for which monitor will pop up the slide show and which for the presenter view.

If you don’t like the layout, then just go the PRESENTER VIEW, and click DISPLAY SETTINGS and chooses SWAP PRESENTER VIEW AND SLIDE SHOW to have them jump back and forth.

If you want to take full control, then in SLIDE SHOW view, click the drop down arrow for MONITOR and choose.  It may be confusing as you need to know either which is your primary monitor or use the earlier trick to find you DISPLAY number.  In our case, we will force the presentation to MONITOR #1

So you can either just swap when live, or elect to choose in advance in SLIDE SHOW and MONITOR.

Now to our last scenario: 3 monitors on one computer.  As before, let’s look at  our setup by going to  our desktop RIGHT CLICKing and choosing DISPLAY SETTINGS

In Windows 10, the monitor numbering is tied to your video card ports, not where they are physically located on your desk.  Like a card in the computer game solitaire, you can click and drag the monitor number to match the physical location of each monitor.  Also take note, the my monitor #2 is a much smaller resolution monitor as seen in the screen menu, but I am showing it as full screen in this tutorial.

Now let’s check out where the slide show and presenter windows will show up.  I will reset the DISPLAY in SLIDE SHOW VIEW back to Automatic and then launch the slide show.

So the actual presentation show is on monitor #2 to the farthest right and the presenter view is on Monitor #3 in the middle and our regular edit NORMAL view is shown on Monitor #1 on the far left.

Now watch what happens when in the presenter windows, I tell it to swap monitors and all it does is swap between monitors #2 and #3, leaving monitors #1 untouched.

So is there any advantage to working on three monitors?

Yes.  In my final workflow, while do a last minute quality review, I will have all three views up on my workstation to look at how everything flows both on the big screen slide show and the presenter view.  And if I have any corrections, I can do them LIVE on the normal edit view with the results immediately shows.

Watch how I add in a new slide in the normal edit view and insert a photo, with the resulting new slide automatically showing up in both the slide show and in my presenter view.

Wrap Up (New Slide)

Now you have all the need knowledge to take complete control of your PowerPoint presentation monitors.

Here is one extra bonus tip.  If you have a tabletop presentation, but no projector, just setup a second monitor to face away from you. Then put your display settings (Windows Key + P for Project) and select DUPLICATE.  Now the slide show will be facing you and your tabletop audience.

If this training tutorial was helpful, do subscribe to our channel as subscriptions help greatly to encourage me to share more of my expertise with you for free.

Also if it was helpful, do LIKE and SHARE with others.

If you have a specific PowerPoint tutorial, leave your suggestion in the comments below or any other questions that you might have for me to answer.

Lastly, if you want to see our whole catalog of PowerPoint video tutorials, visit us at our website of Power-UP. TRAINING.

Until next time, go Power Up!

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How to Split your Screen? A Step-by-Step Guide

Last updated on September 3rd, 2023

How to Split your Screen? A Step-by-Step Guide

Splitting your screen on a computer is a great way to multi-task and get more done. You can have one window open for work, and another for monitoring a corporate dashboard or checking your new emails. How to split screen on a computer? It’s actually quite simple. How to split screen on a computer? It’s actually quite simple. You just need to know the right steps. In this article, we will show you how to do it in a few easy steps. Let’s get started!

What are the reasons why you would like to split your computer screen?

There are multiple reasons why someone may be bothering in splitting the computer screen. Here are six reasons why:

Reason #1. To improve multi-tasking

Splitting your screen can help you do multiple things at once. For example, you can watch a movie on one half of the screen while working on a project on the other half.

Reason #2. To work more efficiently

Splitting your screen can help you focus on one task at a time. This is especially beneficial if you have to reference multiple documents or websites while working.

Reason 3. To compare data

If you have two different windows open, splitting your screen will allow you to see them both at the same time. This can be helpful when comparing information or trying to make a decision.

Reason #4. To avoid eye strain

Looking at the same thing for extended periods of time can cause eye strain. Splitting your screen can help reduce this issue by giving your eyes a break periodically.

Reason #5. To make multi-monitor setups more useful

Multi-monitor setups are becoming increasingly popular, and splitting your screen can make them even more useful. You can use one monitor for tasks that require lots of attention and another monitor for less important tasks, for example.

Reason #6. To Have more control while presenting a slideshow

When giving a presentation, it can be helpful to have more control over what the audience sees. By splitting your screen, you can show them a slideshow on one half of the screen and your notes or comments on the other. This will help keep them focused on the presentation.

How to Split your Screen in Windows 11?

One of the most common methods for splitting the screen is using the Windows key plus the left arrow: Keystroke is Windows Key + Right or Left Arrow. But this is not the unique way to split the screen in half. Here we will see different methods to split your screen in Windows 11.

Method #1 to split your screen in Windows 11 using pre-defined layouts.

Hover the mouse over the Maximize icon at the top-right of your window and then assign one of the pre-defined layouts.

Method #2 to split your screen using PowerToys and FancyZones

Another way to split your screen in Windows is using this great tool named PowerToys. PowerToys was introduced in Windows 10 and still in Windows 11 it is a great productivity tool that will allow you to split windows plus much more.

FancyZones is a free window manager utility for Windows that will let you arrange an snap windows into pre-defined layouts to improve the speed of your workflow. Using FancyZones , one of the features in PowerToys, you can configure the zones in which you want to assign windows.

Example of Fancy Zones in Windows 11 showing a Terminal cmd view

Method #3 to split your window using Windows Key + Left

As seen earlier, you can use the keystroke Windows Key + Left key to arrange the window to the left side of the screen. Here is an example showing how this flows when using the keystroke in a wide monitor.

How to Split your Screen in Chromebook?

Chromebook let you split the screen using touch. To split your screen in Chromebook, use the following procedure:

  • Long-press the maximize and minimize button that is next to the close window button. This is on the top-right of your window top bar.
  • Slide your finger to one of the sides you want to move the window to.
  • Then, repeat this process for the opposite side.

How to Split your PowerPoint Screen?

If you are a presenter, and because this site is about presentations, you may be tempted to split your screen while giving a presentation or holding a virtual meeting while sharing your computer screen. By splitting your windows when sharing your computer screen, you can have a better understanding on what’s the flow of the meeting, and better control on how to present the content to an audience. How to Use PowerPoint in Split Screen with another window side by side? Before running the slideshow, you can set up the show type ot browser by an individual window.

How to set up the slideshow in PowerPoint to open the presentation in a new window and split the screen

This way, when you run the slideshow for presenting (F5), the slideshow will be presented in a window instead of full screen. From here, you can organize the window and split your PowerPoint screen in half. In one of the windows you can run the slideshow and in the other side of the window you can have another window like a browser or any other program running.

Example of splitting the screen in PowerPoint so you have the presentation in half and then another window.

Splitting your screen on a computer is an easy way to multi-task and get more done. By following the steps in this article, you can learn how to split your screen between two or more programs. This can be helpful for working on multiple projects at once, comparing data, monitoring a dashboard or giving presentations.

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powerpoint presentation on half screen

powerpoint presentation on half screen

Control, move, and resize your display with Presenter modes

Note:  Presenter mode customization is available as part of the public preview program and might undergo further changes before being released publicly. To get access to this and other upcoming features, switch to Teams public preview . 

Presenter modes for screen and window sharing merge content and video on the meeting stage. Presenters can now customize how their content will be oriented on screen. In Standout, Reporter, and Side-by-side mode, they can choose to appear on the left or right and adjust their video feed size to better fit their presentation.  

Customize Presenter modes 

Presenters can control how their content is displayed on screen . Customize the presentation layout in Standout, Reporter, and Side-by-side modes. 

1. Before starting the presentation, select  Customize  and choose a background image. 

Image showing the customized options for presenter mode.

2. After customizing the look and layout, start the presentation and select a screen or window to share. 

3. The presenter toolbar will appear at the top of the screen. This toolbar is only visible to the presenter. Here, presenters can select and change presenter mode layouts, give control to another person, and enable sound.  

Image showing the toolbar with presenting controls.

Reporter presenter mode

Image showing the standout layout in presenter mode.

Standout presenter mode

Image showing the side-by-side layout in presenter mode.

Side-by-side presenter mode

Customize video display 

1. Use the top bar buttons in the preview window to direct where videos will appear in relation to the content.  

2. Shift videos to the left or right sides of the screen or window using the Position buttons. 

3. Enlarge or reduce video size using the Size slider. Slide the circle to the left to reduce the size of a video, or to the right to enlarge the size of a video. 

Image showing the size slider at the top of the page in presenter mode.

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PowerPoint Tips Blog

Helping you with presenting, PowerPoint, and speaking

Side-by-side speaker video and slide content for a live presentation feel

August 10, 2015 by Ellen Finkelstein 1 Comment

Start by watching this short video. What do you think?

You can place a video of you speaking on one side of your slide and use the other side for your slide content to come a little closer to a live presentation feel when you need to provide a pre-recorded presentation. Here are some ideas for using such a presentation:

  • For internal training, on your organization’s Intranet or LMS (Learning Module System)
  • On YouTube (or another video sharing site) for marketing or for clients
  • On your website to highlight you as a speaker or present your topic in a more engaging way

I call it a hybrid presentation because it puts speaker video next to typical slide content.

This is very easy to do, especially with a wide-screen slide size. The wide screen gives you more room to put both pieces side-by-side.

How do you play the video across all of the slides?

You can play a video without interruption across slides. (I explain how to play a sound file across slides in my post “ Play music or narration throughout a presentation .”)

First, insert the presentation on the first slide where you want it by choosing Insert tab, then clicking Movie or Video.

Choose the video file of you speaking to place it on the slide. Keep the video selected.

In PowerPoint 2007, click the Movie Tools Options tab. In the Movie Options group, click the Play Movie drop-down list (it will probably show the Automatically option) and choose Play Across Slides, as you see here.

  • Click the Video Tools Playback tab and set the Start option to Automatically.
  • Click the Animations tab and then click Animation Pane to open it.
  • You’ll see 2 items, one that plays the video and a trigger that pauses it, as you see here. Click the Play item, click the drop-down arrow, and choose Effect Options to open the Play Video dialog box.
  • In the Stop Playing section, click After and enter 999 (the max allowed, just to ensure that it plays throughout the presentation) or the number of slides during which you want the video to play.

How do you turn your presentation into a video?

Unfortunately, when I tried to export the presentation as a video, it didn’t work! I saw the video on Slide 1 but it was gone for the rest of the slides. Even on Slide 1, it didn’t play–it was frozen. But the audio worked fine throughout. In the end, I used Techsmith Camtasia’s recorder to record the presentation in Slide Show view and edited out some white space at the beginning and end.

Other techniques for side-by-side video and slide content

You could do this another way. You could put all of your content on 1 slide and animate it to appear when you want it to. Of course, this would work only for presentations that have just a few slides, like the one I showed at the beginning of this blog post. Then you can sync the animation to bookmarks that you create on the video timeline. I explain this technique in “ Sync animation with a video or audio .”

Or, you could divide up the video into segments and put a separate video on each slide. You would need to use video-editing software to do this. You wouldn’t need to animate or set transition timing and people could click through the slides as each video ended.

Is this a technique you can use? Leave a comment! And please share this unusual technique with others using the Share buttons below.

Did you like this post? If you aren’t a subscriber to the PowerPoint Tips newsletter, you’ll miss future posts like this one. Subscribe using the form on this page today!

Related posts:

  • Insert video in PowerPoint
  • Sync animation with a video or audio
  • Easily sync lyrics with a music video in PowerPoint
  • Put a YouTube video in PowerPoint

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I just added this weblog to my feed reader, excellent stuff. Cannot get enough!

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PowerPoint  - Presenting Your Slide Show

Powerpoint  -, presenting your slide show, powerpoint presenting your slide show.

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PowerPoint: Presenting Your Slide Show

Lesson 12: presenting your slide show.

/en/powerpoint/printing/content/

Introduction

Once your slide show is complete, you'll need to learn how to present it to an audience. PowerPoint offers several tools and features to help make your presentation smooth, engaging, and professional.

Optional: Download our practice presentation .

Watch the video below to learn more about presenting your slide show.

Presenting a slide show

Before presenting your slide show, you'll need to think about the type of equipment that will be available for your presentation. Many presenters use projectors during presentations, so you might want to consider using one as well. This allows you to control and preview slides on one monitor while presenting them to an audience on another screen.

To start a slide show:

There are several ways you can begin your presentation:

clicking the Start From Beginning command on the Quick Access Toolbar

To advance and reverse slides:

You can advance to the next slide by clicking your mouse or pressing the spacebar on your keyboard. You can also use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move forward or backward through the presentation.

You can also hover your mouse over the bottom-left and click the arrows to move forward or backward.

hovering the mouse to access navigation buttons in Slide Show view

To stop a slide show:

You can exit presentation mode by pressing the Esc key on your keyboard. You can also click the Slide Show Options button in the bottom-left and select End Show .

ending a slide show

The presentation will also end after the last slide . You can click the mouse or press the spacebar to return to Normal view.

returning to PowerPoint after the final slide

Presentation tools and features

PowerPoint provides convenient tools you can use while presenting your slide show. For example, you can change your mouse pointer to a pen or highlighter to draw attention to items in your slides. In addition, you can jump around to slides in your presentation or access other programs from your taskbar if needed.

To show the taskbar:

Sometimes you may need to access the Internet or other files and programs on your computer during your presentation. PowerPoint allows you to access your taskbar without ending the presentation.

  • Locate and select the Slide Options button in the bottom-left corner.

showing the Taskbar

Slide options

You can also access any of the menu items above by right-clicking anywhere on the screen during your slide show.

opening the Slide options menu

To skip to a nonadjacent slide:

You can jump to slides out of order if needed.

clicking the See All Slides button

  • The selected slide will appear.

To access drawing tools:

Your mouse pointer can act as pen or highlighter to draw attention to items in your slides.

  • Locate and select the Pen Tools button in the bottom-left corner.

selecting the Pen tool

You can also use the laser pointer feature to draw attention to certain parts of your slide. Unlike the pen and highlighter, the laser pointer will not leave markings on your slides. To use the laser pointer, select it from Pen Tools, or press and hold the Ctrl key and the left mouse button.

selecting the Laser Pointer

To erase ink markings:

erasing ink on slides

When you end a slide show, you'll also have the option to Keep or Discard any ink annotations made during your presentation. If you keep ink markings, they'll appear as objects on your slides in Normal view.

deciding to keep or discard annotations

Presenter view

If you're presenting your slide show with a second display—like a projector—you can use Presenter view . Presenter view gives you access to a special set of controls on your screen that the audience won't see, allowing you to easily reference slide notes , preview the upcoming slide , and much more.

To access Presenter view:

Start your slide show as you normally would, then click the Slide Options button and select Presenter View . You can also press Alt+F5 on your keyboard to start the slide show in Presenter view.

opening presenter view

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

Presenter View

End Slide Show

Click here to end the presentation.

Display Settings

From here, you can customize your d isplay settings , including the option to duplicate—or mirror—the slide show on two screens and swap the monitors if Presenter view is appearing on the wrong screen.

Show Taskbar

Click here to show the taskbar and access other programs without closing the presentation.

Here, you can see how long you've been giving the presentation. You can also pause and restart the timer if necessary.

Current Slide

This is the current slide being shown to the audience.

Slide Options

Here, you can access the same slide options you would find in normal presentation mode, including the Pen Tools and See All Slides buttons.

Advance and Reverse Slides

Use the arrows to move forward and backward through your presentation.

Here, you'll see any speaker notes for the current slide. You can use the Increase and Decrease buttons below to make the notes larger or smaller.

Here, you can preview the next slide that will appear in the presentation.

Slide show setup options

PowerPoint has various options for setting up and playing a slide show. For example, you can set up an unattended presentation that can be displayed at a kiosk and make your slide show repeat with continuous looping.

To access slide show setup options:

clicking Set Up Slide Show

  • The Set Up Show dialog box will appear. From here, you can select the desired options for your presentation.

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn about various options for setting up and playing a slide show.

setting custom options for slide show playback

Here, you can choose a show type .

Show Options

Here, you choose playback settings and disable certain features if desired.

Show Slides

Here, you can choose which slides you want to show during the presentation. All is selected by default, but you can choose to show only certain slides or use any custom shows you have created from your original presentation.

Advance Slides

If you have set timings in your slide show, they will play automatically. However, if you want to disable the timings and control the slides yourself, select Manually .

Multiple Monitors

If you have more than one monitor, you can choose which one to display the slide show on. It's usually best to leave this setting on Automatic .

To advance slides automatically, you'll need to customize the slide timing on the Transitions tab. Review our lesson on Applying Transitions to learn how.

setting automatic slide advancement

  • Open our practice presentation .
  • In the Set Up Slide Show options, change the pen color to purple.
  • Start your slideshow, then access Presenter view .
  • Advance to slide 8.
  • Use the pen tool to circle the fundraising amounts for the 2015-2016 school year. These are the amounts over the green bars.

Presenting Challenge

/en/powerpoint/lists/content/

How-To Geek

8 powerpoint mistakes and how to avoid them.

Some color combos are an eyesore.

Quick Links

  • Misaligning Content in PowerPoint
  • Having Too Many Bullet Points in PowerPoint
  • Using Too Many Animations and Transition Effects in PowerPoint
  • Using the Wrong Color Combinations in PowerPoint
  • Using Low-Quality or Distorted Images in PowerPoint
  • Inconsistency Between PowerPoint Slides
  • Using Hard-to-Read Text in PowerPoint
  • Using Pictures or Patterns as PPT Slide Backgrounds

It doesn't take much for a presentation to be untidy, look unprofessional, or confuse your viewers. Let's take a look at common PowerPoint (PPT) mistakes and what you can do to avoid them.

1. Misaligning Content in PowerPoint

Misaligned objects on a PPT slide jump out like a sore thumb. They look sloppy and tell your viewer that you've quickly thrown the slide together without care and attention.

The best solution is to use Smart Guides. This helps you to lock the shapes in position when you click and drag them around the slide. To activate Smart Guides, right-click in the gray area around the edge of your slide and hover over the "Grid And Guides" arrow. Then click "Smart Guides" if there is not a check mark already next to that option.

As you can see below, after activating Smart Guides, we clicked and dragged Box 1, and PPT not only showed us the shape's alignment relative to the other objects on the slide but also encouraged us to lock them together.

You can also use PPT's in-built Gridlines feature to line up your shapes manually.

2. Having Too Many Bullet Points in PowerPoint

This is a nightmare for audiences! It's uninspiring, daunting, and amateur. As a general rule, avoid having too much text on any PPT slide—however, if it's all vital information that you can't reduce, there are better ways to present your material.

The best way to overcome this is to use PPT's SmartArt feature.

If you have already typed your text and want to convert it to SmartArt, with the text box in question selected, open the "Home" tab on the ribbon, and in the Paragraph group, click "Convert To SmartArt".

You will then see a whole host of designs open, which you can hover over to see what they look like. Click the desired layout.

But remember—our aim is to make the slide more presentable and easier to read and digest. At the moment, this slide still looks uninspired and difficult to read. To adjust this, simply select the elements you want to amend and make the required changes, such as resizing the boxes, adjusting the font sizes, or opening the "SmartArt Design" tab on the ribbon.

To select more than one item at a time (for example, in the screenshot above, you might want to amend all the blue boxes at the same time), click one shape, hold Ctrl, and then click the remaining shapes, before then releasing Ctrl. Adjust one of the selected shapes and they will all change together.

If you haven't yet typed your text, but you know you want to use SmartArt, make sure you haven't clicked on any text or images within your PPT slide, then open the "Insert" tab, head to the "Illustrations" group, and click "SmartArt".

You can then choose from the array of options that appear.

3. Using Too Many Animations and Transition Effects in PowerPoint

Animations are a good way to emphasize details within your PPT slide or gradually introduce information step-by-step when you are presenting. Transitions between slides can look professional and slick. However, overusing these features can distract your audience and look tacky.

To access the Animations, click the item you wish to animate and choose the effect in the "Animations" tab. You can see more options by clicking the "Animation Styles" drop-down arrow on the right-hand side.

Transitions are how your PPT presentation moves from one slide to the next. They can be accessed in the "Transitions" tab.

We suggest keeping animations and transitions to a minimum, both in terms of quantity and type, by sticking to these rules:

  • Ask yourself, "Does this make my presentation better?" If the answer is no, don't put it in.
  • Use slick effects that last less than one second without you having to change the speed of the animation . Fade and Cut are our favorite transitions, as they look professional and are quick, and Appear and Fade are optimal entrance animations.
  • Use the same transition effect for each slide, and the same animation for each item.
  • Try to avoid adding more than one animation to each item.

To achieve consistency, use Excel's Slide Master . Instead of adding animations and transitions to each slide individually, the Slide Master lets you do this with one simple click.

4. Using the Wrong Color Combinations in PowerPoint

The latest versions of PPT offer us a wide range of colors. However, if you're not careful, you can cause your reader to suffer from eye strain by choosing the wrong combinations.

The best way around this is to use PPT's "Color Variants" mechanism. In the "Design" tab on the ribbon, go to the "Variants" group, and click the drop-down arrow.

In the resulting menu, hover over "Colors" and choose a variant you like.

Now, whenever you add text or change the color of an element within your presentation, you can choose from the selected color palette, which will help you to avoid poorly contrasted colors. Also, try to stick to these rules:

  • Don't use red text. This often washes out when projected, especially on a poor-quality projector or if the sunlight hits your projection screen. The worst color combinations are blue with red, and green with red. Avoid these at all costs!
  • Aim for dark fonts on a light background, or light fonts on a dark background.
  • Never use colored fonts for emphasis—this can cause issues for audience members who are colorblind.

5. Using Low-Quality or Distorted Images in PowerPoint

Images look great in PPT, but people often forget that their presentation will be displayed on a large screen, so they need to have an appropriate resolution. Use an image with a minimum of 150 pixels per inch (PPI) or upscale your image to avoid blurriness.

You can also force PPT to use the maximum possible image resolution. To do this, click "File" (in the top left of your PPT window), and open "Options" (at the bottom of the menu that opens). In the dialog box, click "Advanced" and change "Default Resolution" in the "Image Size And Quality" section to "High Fidelity".

Finally, when you resize an image, make sure you do so from the corner handles. This will maintain the correct proportions and avoid squashed or stretched images.

6. Inconsistency Between PowerPoint Slides

When you move from one slide to the next, your audience will immediately spot inconsistencies. One way to get around this is to copy (Ctrl+C) and paste (Ctrl+V) the whole slide, before then amending the contents.

However, the best option is to use PPT's Slide Master , which you can access through the "View" tab on the ribbon.

Edits you make in the Slide Master will affect the content in each slide layout, meaning you can guarantee consistency between your slides.

7. Using Hard-to-Read Text in PowerPoint

Follow these rules to make sure your text is easy to read:

  • You might think that using fancy fonts looks good in your presentation, but the best bet would be to use a sans serif font .
  • Avoid too much text and use a larger font. If your font is too small because you have a lot of text on a slide, either split what you've typed into two slides or reduce the content volume.
  • Avoid using red font. This doesn't work well on a projector, especially if the sunlight hits your projection.

8. Using Pictures or Patterns as PPT Slide Backgrounds

You might want to use a picture or a pattern for your slide's background , but this can make your text difficult to read.

To counteract this, simply use a plain background. However, if keeping the picture is a must, increase its transparency. Right-click the gray area surrounding your slide, and click "Format Background".

In the pane that opens, insert your picture and move the Transparency slider to the right, until you're happy that the text can easily be read.

You can now keep your picture and your audience will be able to see your text.

Now that your slides are properly formatted and ready for presentation, you might want to add a table of contents to your PPT presentation or print a condensed version of PPT slides for your audience.

Josh Bernoff

Using PowerPoint and 3 monitors to deliver a video workshop

For a workshop delivered by video with PowerPoint, using three monitors creates a powerful advantage. I’ll share what I’ve learned from delivering video-based writing workshops to people connecting from their homes.

(Note: if you’ve arrived here to solve a technical problem regarding PowerPoint Presenter View, skip to “ Resolving a technical issue with PowerPoint Presenter View and and multiple monitors ” below.)

My workshop includes the following:

  • A carefully designed set of PowerPoint slides, tested and refined over dozens of writing workshops.
  • Frequent moments for interactions, when I ask questions intended to get the audience to think and participate.
  • Exercises that take about five minutes, in which participants must analyze and make revisions to writing samples from their own organization
  • Content that can be completed even when allowing time for audience interruptions and questions.

My workshop takes about three and a half hours when delivered in person, including a couple of 15-minute breaks. When I deliver it by video , I divide it into two sessions of 90 minutes each, which is close to the maximum amount of time people in their homes can concentrate. The content is the same, but by eliminating the breaks and doing one of the exercises between the two sessions, my participants and I can get everything in without rushing. It’s actually more efficient to deliver this way than in person.

The 3-monitor solution

When I conduct the workshop in person, I shift my viewpoint among these three things:

  • The audience.
  • The PowerPoint slide that the audience is seeing.
  • The Presenter View screen on PowerPoint, which displays the slides that are coming up next and speaker notes.

I wanted to duplicate that experience in the video workshop with three monitors .

Ideally, the center monitor (my laptop screen) should show the audience. This also means that when I’m looking at the audience, I’m looking into the camera of my Mac laptop, so they see me looking at them. I’ve done this with Google Meet and Zoom; the setup is the same either way.

On the left, I have the Presenter View screen of PowerPoint.

On the right is the audience view of PowerPoint. That has to be there so I can share it on Zoom, Google Meet, or whatever system the client has requested, and the audience can see the slides.

Here’s a photo my son took while I was presenting to 20 people in several Asian countries last night:

powerpoint presentation on half screen

Resolving a technical issue with PowerPoint Presenter View and multiple monitors

I had to get past one technical hurdle to make this work. PowerPoint allows you to select the monitor for the audience display. You just go into the Slide Show group in the ribbon, click on “Set Up Slide Show,” and then click on the pulldown for “Slide Show Monitor:

powerpoint presentation on half screen

But despite extensive Web research, I could not find a setting that determined what monitor PowerPoint uses for the Presenter View. On my system, PowerPoint seemed determined to show the Presenter View on my laptop screen — where I wanted the participants to appear. If I move the videoconferencing view of the participants to another monitor, I have to look off to the side to see them, which makes it look like I’m not paying attention them.

Here’s how to make the Presenter View appear on a different monitor on a Mac. First, open the Display item in System Preferences and click on Arrangement. If you normally use the additional monitors as an extended desktop, you’ll see something like the screen shot below, where the arrangement of the blue boxes mimics the actual physical arrangement of the monitors. This setup is what allows you to drag items from monitor to monitor as you work normally.

powerpoint presentation on half screen

The skinny white rectangle at the top of the center (laptop) monitor represents the menu bar. (That’s a misnomer, since on a Mac, the menu appears on all three screens, but that’s what they call it.) Drag that white rectangle to a different monitor, and you’ve designated that monitor as the main or “default” monitor.

powerpoint presentation on half screen

Lots of applications take note of the default monitor (the one with the menu bar in this Preferences screen). For example, when you start your Mac, this is where the password screen will appear. And crucially for this discussion, it’s also the monitor where the Presenter View appears when you do a presentation with PowerPoint. That’s how I got the Presenter View to appear on the left monitor, allowing me to concentrate on the audience on the center, laptop screen.

A few more tips

Delivering a workshop to people locked down in their homes creates extra demands. In the workshops I’ve been doing for the group in Asia Pacific , it’s even more challenging, because Asian living spaces are small and often shared with other family members, and because the only way to present during their workday is to do it at night, past my normal bedtime.

Here are few tips that can help make video workshops like this effective:

  • Keep the workshop size to about 20 people. More than that are difficult to observe in the shared audience view.
  • Keep sessions to 90 minutes or less. It’s hard for people to stare at a screen for hours. And they’re staving off interruptions from spouses, children, and coworkers. Break things up on into multiple sessions — unlike a real workshop, you don’t have a desperate need to fit everything into one session “while everyone is together.”
  • Tell the participants to stay on mute unless they have a question. (Most remote workers have become accustomed to this now.)
  • Tolerate pop-ins. The occasional cat or child will appear. So long as there is no noise to distract others, that’s fine with me. These people are real humans with home lives, and they have invited me into their homes. I feel touched by that, and the appearance of a child who wants to give Mommy a hug makes me feel warmth, not resentment.
  • Check the audience view frequently and observe them intently. (Many public speakers do this by instinct; it’s an instinct you’ll need to shift over to the virtual audience view.) You’ll see heads nodding, or puzzled looks, depending on how you’re doing. If people seem confused, ask for questions and be patient, often people in this shared setting are shy.
  • Call on people. In my in-person workshops, I’ll often pick out a participant and ask a question like “Tell me about a project you’re working on.” It’s a question intended to involve people, and there is no wrong answer — everyone else learns from the participant’s answers and how I apply the techniques of the workshop to them. I do the same on video, trying to seek out people who seem interested or who’ve volunteered responses earlier in the session.
  • Share materials that participants need for exercises ahead of time. I share documents they’ll need to work on in Google Docs.
  • Put the exercises on the screen. My exercises are short and medium text samples from the client. I work on them myself, along with the audience. Putting them on screen reminds people what they’re working on.
  • Solicit responses in the chat window. I look to the chat window for questions. And when I am asking for questions or responses, I ask people to paste their responses into the chat. This allows me to see what everyone has come up with, and to call on people for further discussion. It works better than the cacophony of 20 people chattering at once.
  • Learn from sessions and adjust. I’m grateful that my Asia Pacific client has requested three sets of workshops, each over two successive mornings (their time). After the first set, they distributed a questionnaire and shared the responses with me. This allowed me to improve the workshop for the second and third sets of sessions. Sure, it would be more efficient for me to give the same content three times, but the opportunity to make improvements and make the client happier is precious and valuable.

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Brilliant! I’ve used two before, but I see the advantages of the third screen. (time to go to Best Buy)

I love this post, Josh.

I started messing around with different configurations based upon my new tech needs. Unfortunately, my Mac doesn’t support Sidecar but DuelDisplay came to the rescue. It took a bit of doing, but I finally can present slides with Presentation View enabled and a separate iPad for the Zoom call.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can’t tell you how many boards I read and attempted solutions from before finding yours. The Display settings control for the Primary Monitor was the missing piece.

This took me weeks to figure out. I felt a desire to save others the trouble.

Hi, I read your article on the above topic. I’m on windows, with a laptop and 2 external monitors. Normal setup is (left to right) laptop, mon1, mon2, with mon1 is main. I want speaker notes on mon1 (external camera hanging on mon1), and presentation (to be shared) on mon2. No matter what I do, one of the monitors in use always ends up being laptop, I can’t get it to just use mon1 and mon2. Using laptop isn’t good because it’s smaller and I’m looking either sideways or down. If I swap screen in PPT the laptop display is not proportional. Any ideas?

This is very good. But it stops too soon. It works well in setting it up, but once I do screen share so they can see the PowerPoint my windows get scrambled. Any tips for preventing that?

I do workshops al the time and have this exact same issue. i want my laptop view with participants. i want my presenter deck on one side and slide show on the other. I have a Mac Book Air with 16G and the max hard drive, but i cannot enable this and have been trying for 6 months. i have had the IT guys here and tried everything. can this be a mac/zoom/ppt issue? one of the techs felt i need 16 video rams and my mac book air has 1.5. the hard drive is way large enough but something about the video memory or something? i need a solution

Are you unable to change the default monitor as described here?

You are my hero. Been looking everywhere for this solution. Thank you.

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powerpoint presentation on half screen

Jake Miller

Jake Miller

#EduGIF Guy. Speaker. Tech Integration Specialist. Google Apps for Edu Trainer. Nerd. #EduDuctTape Podcast Host.

Present Google Slides in a Partial Screen

If you’re anything like me, you need  more when you’re teaching, especially if it’s remote, hybrid, or concurrent teaching. More coffee. More time. More money in your paycheck. More aspirin. More screen space.

Well, I can’t help with the first 4, but I can help you with the last one.

Did you know that you can present Google Slides without using your entire screen?

This is super helpful in a handful of scenarios.

One of those scenarios is when you want to share Slides in Zoom, Google Meet, or any other videoconferencing solution, but don’t want to “lose” an entire screen just to your presentation. If you share just that presentation window and not your entire screen, you’ll be able to use your screen for 2 purposes! This is especially helpful if you only have one screen. In that situation, if you run your slides fullscreen, then you can’t see your students or the chat!  Use this tip to let you do both on the same screen!

What if you want to present two things and one is a presentation? If your presentation is fullscreen, you’ll have to toggle back and forth. Use this tip to present them side-by-side!

Check out this EduGIF to see how it works. Underneath the EduGIF, you can find a link to a “pausable” version and the step-by-step instructions.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  • Open your Google Slides presentation.
  • Click the  Present button.
  • Click the button that shows 4 L-shapes that are facing inwards.
  • Now, resize your window as needed.

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Jake is the host of the Educational Duct Tape podcast, the #EduGIF Guy, a Tech Integration Coach, speaker, Former STEM, Math & Science Teacher, and a presenter. View all posts by Jake Miller

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

To change your slide size in PowerPoint, simply:

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

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

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

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

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

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

powerpoint presentation on half screen

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.

powerpoint presentation on half screen

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

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

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

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

Comparison of the portrait and landscape orientation for PowerPoint slides

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

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

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

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

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

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

powerpoint presentation on half screen

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

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

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

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

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

1. The Maximize option

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. The Ensure Fit option

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saving your custom slide size as a PowerPoint theme

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

This is a two-step process as discussed below.

1. Save your custom slide size as a theme

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

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

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

2. Set your custom theme as the default

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Advancing PPT is not supported. What is workaround with only one monitor?

  • Thread starter mayaglypher
  • Start date Jul 15, 2020

mayaglypher

  • Jul 15, 2020

I've spent hours trying to find what must be a common dilemma. How do I run OBS and advance PPT slides with only one PC and Monitor? I have set PPT to Browsed by individual. I have PPT running in author mode. My source is Window Capture. Are Hotkeys the solution? I have also tried using Windows Key to display OBS and PPT side by side which looks promising. If I use a second monitor or second laptop, is that a solution? Ideas please. I go live at 6 pm Eastern July 15.  

qhobbes

Active Member

Just have PP in the foreground and advance the slides using PP shortcut keys.  

Lawrence_SoCal

  • Jul 16, 2020

I run OBS from a laptop in House of Worship using single screen. I run PowerPoint in a slide show view in a window (not full screen, using about right 1/3 of screen). I've found that I DON'T need PPT to be in foreground, and that with a USB mouse I can put the mouse pointer over a slightly visible portion of the PPT slide, and use the scroll wheel to advance a page. I use about 1/2 my screen for OBS (I don't use Studio mode) and then I have Facebook in a browser window taking up about 1/3 to 1/4 of screen real estate (to monitor stream, and see comments in case anything technical I need to be aware of, or to post pre-planned questions. I use Advanced Scene Switcher to handle scene transitions of pre-recorded video (ie when video ends, auto switch to next scene). At some point, I'll figure out how to automate a scene change with a PPT page advance. There is a python script posted in Resources to use OBS hotkeys to control PPT. However, as my mouse method works fine, I've not installed/configured it. I'm looking into using PowerShell instead, but MS has changed method/classes between versions and Office 365 versions (locally installed) may be slightly different in method/class? not sure.. still researching/ on my to-do list (just not urgent). My thinking is to combine with the plug-in which enables a command line 'source' in a scene. So, when changing to a new/next scene, a command line would be executed, which I'd then configure to advance PPT  

BensTechLab

BensTechLab

I just did a presentation recently using PowerPoint. I just started powerpoint, Alt+Tab back to OBS to finalize setup, then Alt+Tab back to powerpoint and use the arrow keys on the board to advance slides. Worked great. OBS was also green screening my webcam at the same time. No problems. I may have been capturing the entire display though vs window capture. But you might be able to do both/either. Just play around with it on your system.  

  • Aug 25, 2020

For anyone interested, I got nowhere when I asked some programmer friends to look into a simple PowerShell script to page advance latest O365 PPT (locally installed). Also, with Win10 v2004 recently released, the Auto Windows Capture (required for hardware accelerated windows) now always displays the mouse. So on new PC, I've switched to the older BitBlt capture method and it works with hidden cursor With a single monitor, and 20+ scenes for our stream (in sequence order, constantly switching back and forth from live video feed to pre-recorded videos .. could I have fewer scenes... yes, tried that but then stress/complexity of keeping track of what is next [and making mistakes] that isn't worth it). I need to keep OBS in foreground. I also have a browser window open for the streaming platform's controller interface. So, on a single monitor setup, what I've been doing is - have PowerPoint open in slide show Windowed mode [portrait orientation, right side of screen, full height of monitor] and it is in the background, but a portion (bottom 1/3 or so) of it is visible. By moving mouse over visible portion of PPTx page, and using scroll wheel, I can quickly/easily advance PPTx a single page without having to select (bring to foreground) PPT. This is not ideal, by any stretch. But until I can come up with some automation from OBS to PPTx, this will have to do. There is a new script for PPT that can control OBS. The challenge I have is the PPTx we stream is put together by someone else, so I have to balance the effort of significant update/edit to PPT to control OBS once I get the file, or holding out for automation in the other direction, which MS is making difficult as part of security measures due to malware... ugh  

Alyss.Swanson

  • Sep 29, 2020

Lawrence, when you fond a solution to this I hope you might share it with me. The best I've been able to do so far is to write a PPT macro that calls an applescript editor script that sends a preselected selected hotkey to OBS that controls scene selection. The performance is sadly not very good.  

InteractiveDNA

InteractiveDNA

Simple! Try to use TouchPortal to control the application you want. On OBS, use Window Capture or Display to show the slide on a scene. With TouchPortal you control the other app that changes on OBS. I just did a video in how to do that on YO. I now know that you can show share links here. So, if want how to do that, you know where to find the video. Best, InteractiveDNA  

InteractiveDNA said: Simple! Try to use TouchPortal to control the application you want. Click to expand...
Lawrence_SoCal said: YO? you mean YouTube? I'm not sure how TouchPortal would help. Interacting with Touch Portal vs PPT accomplishes nothing for me. I can change slides in PPT just fine. The issue for me is that when a OBS scene change takes place (ie a pre-recorded video ends, automated with Advanced Scene Switcher), I want PowerPoint to also advance a single page (without my having to do anything). Can Touch Portal automate that PPT slide show view page change based on an OBS event, a scene change in this case? Click to expand...
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  • Tom Arbuthnot
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How to fix PowerPoint slide off center in editing view

This one annoyed me for a while before I worked it out.

I have a deck where most slides are correctly centred while editing with no horizontal scroll bar.

image

But some slides in the same deck are off-center and have a horizontal scroll bar:

image

This is because there is an object somewhere that has been dragged off the slide and into the “space” on the left.

You can find it by zooming out, selecting the white space (drag your mouse over it), or pressing the tab to go through all the objects on the slide.

image

You may find there is nothing there, like the slide above, in which case it may be on the slide master (view/slide master)

image

Once you delete that rogue object, the slide will correctly centre in the editor:

image

About the author

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A Microsoft MVP and Microsoft Certified Master, Tom Arbuthnot is Founder and Principal at Empowering.Cloud as well as a Solutions Director at Pure IP.

Tom stays up to date with industry developments and shares news and his opinions on his Tomtalks.blog, UC Today Microsoft Teams Podcast and email list. He is a regular speaker at events around the world.

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powerpoint presentation on half screen

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How To Make Powerpoint Full Screen? A Complete Guide With Pictures

  • October 4, 2023

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While presenting a PowerPoint presentation, the slides do not appear full screen and often leave blank spaces. Though the full screen does not add any extra value, it embellishes the overall appearance of your presentation. The presentation appears most defined and crisp in full screen. 

So, how to make PowerPoint Fullscreen? Users will get different slide size options by clicking the Slide Size tab. The Widescreen (16:9) option made my PowerPoint slide Fullscreen. Users must explore the options and see which makes their slide Fullscreen.

Follow the steps stated below to get a detailed idea of keeping the slides fullscreen in PowerPoint presentations.

How To Make Powerpoint Full Screen? Step-by-Step Guide

Well, there are two methods you can use to keep the slides full-screen while presenting them. You can follow any of the processes and get full-screen slides.

[Note: I have attached demo pictures. The tasks are done in PowerPoint 2013. You can follow the steps in any PowerPoint version. The interface is quite the same for all the versions. ]

Method 1: Setting the Aspect Ratio

There is a default aspect ratio setting for the PowerPoint slide. In this process, we will adjust the aspect ratio as per the device so that no blank space appears. 

  • Step 1: Open the PowerPoint

First, Launch the PowerPoint app and create your slides. To launch, press the “ Window ” key and search for PowerPoint. Click the PowerPoint Icon to open the software. 

powerpoint presentation on half screen

Picture: A normal PowerPoint Slide

  • Step 2: Open The Design Tab

Now, go to the design tab and click it. Once you click the design tab, you will see a toolbar named slide size . 

powerpoint presentation on half screen

Picture: Design and Slide Size tab

  • Step 3: Go for the Slide Size Option

Click the slide size option. Upon clicking, you will see three options: Standard (4:3), Widescreen (16:9), and Custom Slide Size . 

powerpoint presentation on half screen

Picture: Slide Size Options

  • Step 4: Click the Options to Determine which keep the Slides Full Screen 

Click any options (4:3 or 16:9) and then go to the toolbar below called Slide Show . Click the slide show button and see if the slide appears Full Screen. 

powerpoint presentation on half screen

Picture: The Slide Show Tab

  • Step 5: The Widescreen (16:9) Worked for me

On my device, when I click the Standard (4:3) size, there remain blank spaces, and the slide does not appear full-screen. But when I click the Widescreen (16:9) option, the slide does appear full-screen. 

powerpoint presentation on half screen

Picture: Upon clicking the Standard (4:3) size, there remain black spaces

powerpoint presentation on half screen

Picture: Upon Clicking the Widescreen (16:9), there remain no blank spaces

  • Step 6: If Nothing Makes Your Slide Full Screen, Go For Custom Slide Size 

You must determine which size creates a full-screen appearance on your device and determine the size accordingly. You can also customize the slide size through the Custom Slide Size . When I clicked the Widescreen option, the slide size was: width: 10.333 inches, height: 7.5 inches. 

  • Step 7: Now, Return Back 

Double-click or press ESC to return from the full screen. 

You can follow the YouTube link below for a better understanding: 

Method 2: Through the Slide Master Option

Apart from the aspect ratio setting, there is another way that we will discuss in the following steps.

  • Step 1: Find The View Option 

Click the View option from the toolbar. 

powerpoint presentation on half screen

Picture: View option

  • Step 2: Click View Option and Look for the Slide Master

When you click the View option, you will see an option named Slide Master . Click on the option. 

Picture: Slide Master option

  • Step 3: Find the Slide Size Option

Now, click the Slide Master, and another option will refer to Slide Size . 

powerpoint presentation on half screen

Picture: Slide Size 

  • Step 4: Explore The Slide Size Options

Again, when you click on the slide size , there will be three options: Standard (4:3), Widescreen (16:9), and Custom Slide Size. You will get the full-screen view if you choose the Widescreen (16:9) option. You have to select a suitable option for your device. 

powerpoint presentation on half screen

Picture: The slide appeared full screen upon choosing the Widescreen (16:9) option. 

  • Step 5: Return To Your Home Page

[Note: To see whether the slide appears full screen, click a taskbar placed below in the screen, named Slide Show.]

powerpoint presentation on half screen

Picture: Slide show option

The audience does not care whether you are in a windowed or full screen while presenting. Yet the full-screen mode has some perks of its own. First things first, the full-screen mode looks way more satisfying and presentable. 

You can open two windows side by side, where there will be a full-screen presentation in one window. And in another window, you can keep your notes. This way, your notes remain unshared.

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IMAGES

  1. How to Split Screen with a PowerPoint in Presenter View on a PC

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  2. How to Split your Screen? A Step-by-Step Guide

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  3. How to Use PowerPoint on Multiple Displays

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  6. Using two screens to show Powerpoint slides at MDCHS

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VIDEO

  1. how to full screen of PowerPoint presentation 2021 @Sheha-codox

  2. PowerPoint #Short: Align Objects Evenly Vertically and Horizontally with Just Two Clicks!

  3. പവർ പോയിന്റിൽ സ്ക്രീൻ റെക്കോർഡ് ചെയ്യുന്നതെങ്ങനെ

  4. How to present inclusively with PowerPoint

  5. Methods for Recording the Screen with PowerPoint

  6. Screen Problem Presentation in PowerPoint

COMMENTS

  1. Split Screen to run Microsoft PPT in Presentation Mode While

    Navigating to Slide Show ribbon, then selecting Set Up Slide Show allows you to select Browsed by an individual (window). This will allow you to be in presentation mode, but there is still a window . It would be nice to have a view of full screen without seeing the surrounding boarders of a window, while also being able to only have it take up ...

  2. PowerPoint Presenter View with a single monitor/screen: what's possible

    PowerPoint Presenter View was designed for use in a meeting room. Connect your laptop that sits on the table to the projector or TV. Use Presenter View to see your notes while the audience just sees the slides on the large screen. Works great. Until we don't do presentations in meeting rooms.

  3. Running PowerPoint on Multiple Displays: 1, 2 or 3 Monitors

    Take control of 1 or 2 or 3 multiple monitors in PowerPoint. Learn pro tricks for presenter mode and even editing while "live." The tutorial shows all three scenarios with live screen views. Plus a bonus on how to set up a conference presentation without a projector.

  4. How to Split your Screen? A Step-by-Step Guide

    To split your screen in Chromebook, use the following procedure: Long-press the maximize and minimize button that is next to the close window button. This is on the top-right of your window top bar. Slide your finger to one of the sides you want to move the window to. Then, repeat this process for the opposite side.

  5. View your slide show in a smaller window so you ...

    Go into Slide Show view. Instead of taking up the entire screen, your presentation is in a resizable window. You can easily switch among other applications; To switch back to full screen, choose the Presented by a Speaker (Full Screen) option in the same dialog box. Another method is to go into "Reading View."

  6. PowerPoint Presenter View in Teams or Zoom with 2 screens (Windows)

    With the two screens set up, you can now use Presenter View in PowerPoint. Move the Teams or Zoom window to the screen that will have Presenter View. Start Slide Show mode in PowerPoint. Click the icon in the top right of the Presenter View window to take it out of full screen mode. You may have to resize it if it flows across to the other screen.

  7. How to present half PPT and Half presenter videos on Zoom

    When you do side by side function in zoom. Every audience needs to be educated in how to choose side by side screen. Here, We can help you to do half ppt and...

  8. Control, move, and resize your display with Presenter modes

    Customize video display. 1. Use the top bar buttons in the preview window to direct where videos will appear in relation to the content. 2. Shift videos to the left or right sides of the screen or window using the Position buttons. 3. Enlarge or reduce video size using the Size slider. Slide the circle to the left to reduce the size of a video ...

  9. Side-by-side speaker video and slide content for a live presentation

    First, insert the presentation on the first slide where you want it by choosing Insert tab, then clicking Movie or Video. Choose the video file of you speaking to place it on the slide. Keep the video selected. In PowerPoint 2007, click the Movie Tools Options tab. In the Movie Options group, click the Play Movie drop-down list (it will ...

  10. PowerPoint: Presenting Your Slide Show

    Presentation tools and features. PowerPoint provides convenient tools you can use while presenting your slide show. For example, you can change your mouse pointer to a pen or highlighter to draw attention to items in your slides. In addition, you can jump around to slides in your presentation or access other programs from your taskbar if needed.. To show the taskbar:

  11. The Beginner's Guide to Microsoft PowerPoint

    Learn everything you need to know to get started using Microsoft PowerPoint! You'll learn all the basics plus more, including: how to choose a design theme...

  12. 8 PowerPoint Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

    Let's take a look at common PowerPoint (PPT) mistakes and what you can do to avoid them. 1. Misaligning Content in PowerPoint. Misaligned objects on a PPT slide jump out like a sore thumb. They look sloppy and tell your viewer that you've quickly thrown the slide together without care and attention. The best solution is to use Smart Guides.

  13. Using PowerPoint and 3 monitors to deliver a video workshop

    The 3-monitor solution. When I conduct the workshop in person, I shift my viewpoint among these three things: The audience. The PowerPoint slide that the audience is seeing. The Presenter View screen on PowerPoint, which displays the slides that are coming up next and speaker notes. I wanted to duplicate that experience in the video workshop ...

  14. Side-By-Side When Presenting/screen sharing

    Open PPT in normal view, not slide show view. Go to Slide Show, Set up Slide Show, and select Browsed by an individual (window) . Click OK. On your one monitor make PPT take up half your screen. Run your slide show (F5 function key) and it will only be on half your screen instead of full screen. Image attached.

  15. How do I change my PowerPoint presentation from standard to widescreen?

    Single-click on an item on slide 1. Hold down the Ctrl key and click the 'A' key. this will select everything on the slide. Now hold down the Ctrl key and click the 'C' key. this will copy everything that is selected. Go to slide 1 of your new 16:9 presentation and click in the middle of the slide. Hold down Ctrl and click 'V' to ...

  16. Present Google Slides in a Partial Screen

    View a "Pausable" version of this EduGIF here. Step-by-Step Instructions. Open your Google Slides presentation. Click the Present button. Click the button that shows 4 L-shapes that are facing inwards. Now, resize your window as needed.

  17. How to Change Slide Size in PowerPoint (Step-by-Step)

    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.

  18. Advancing PPT is not supported. What is workaround with only one ...

    I run PowerPoint in a slide show view in a window (not full screen, using about right 1/3 of screen). I've found that I DON'T need PPT to be in foreground, and that with a USB mouse I can put the mouse pointer over a slightly visible portion of the PPT slide, and use the scroll wheel to advance a page.

  19. How to fix PowerPoint slide off center in editing view

    You can find it by zooming out, selecting the white space (drag your mouse over it), or pressing the tab to go through all the objects on the slide. You may find there is nothing there, like the slide above, in which case it may be on the slide master (view/slide master) Once you delete that rogue object, the slide will correctly centre in the ...

  20. How To Make Powerpoint Full Screen? A Complete Guide With Pictures

    Click the PowerPoint Icon to open the software. Picture: A normal PowerPoint Slide. Step 2: Open The Design Tab. Now, go to the design tab and click it. Once you click the design tab, you will see a toolbar named slide size . Picture: Design and Slide Size tab. Step 3: Go for the Slide Size Option.

  21. How To Draw Half Circle In PowerPoint

    How To Draw Half Circle In PowerPoint presentation is shown in this video. Follow the steps to get a semicircle shape in PowerPoint (Microsoft). 🔴 FREE Prod...