How to create custom templates in PowerPoint

PowerPoint provides extremely useful templates that automatically build the foundation and frame for your presentation. If you can't find the template you want, you can create your own. And here is how.

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Create custom PowerPoint templates

To create a custom PowerPoint template, you first need to open a blank presentation by clicking on File and then selecting New in the left pane.

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The sample library will appear, but this is not what we are looking for, ignore and select the Blank Presentation option.

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Next, you need to choose the direction and size of the slide. In the Customize group of the Design tab, select the Slide Size button. A small drop-down menu appears, click on the Customize Slide Size option .

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The Slide Size dialog box appears, you can customize the height and width of the slide or simply select the preset option from the drop-down menu and choose the slide direction.

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The rest of the template creation will be done in PowerPoint's Slide Master. Slide Master allows to customize the font, title and color of the presentation, apply this custom to the entire slide. This also helps maintain consistency throughout the sample as well as eliminate changes for each slide.

To access the master slide, click the View tab and then select Slide Master in the Master Views group.

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The Slide Master will appear in the left pane. It is the top thumbnail that appears in the frame. Each thumbnail below represents each of the available slide layouts in the theme. The edits you make to Slide Master will affect each slide layout.

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First, you can choose a unique theme for your PowerPoint template by selecting Themes in the Edit Theme group of the Slide Master tab.

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A drop-down menu will appear, displaying a large library of themes to choose from. Each theme comes with its own font and effects, find the theme you like.

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You can also choose the background type for the selected theme. Select Background Styles in the Background group and then choose your preferred style from the drop-down menu.

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If you want to customize the text placeholder boxes in the slides, you can select one of the options from the Insert Placeholder menu in the Master Layout group.

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Once you've selected the slide you want to insert from the left pane and type placeholders from the menu, click and drag the cursor to draw. Repeat the above process until you are satisfied. When done, save the custom template.

Save custom template

To save a PowerPoint presentation (.pptx) as a template (.potx), click the File tab and then click the Save as button.

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In the Other Locations group, select the Browse option.

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The Save As dialog box will appear. Check the box next to Save as Type , then choose PowerPoint Template from the list of options.

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When choosing the PowerPoint Template file type, PowerPoint will redirect you to the Custom Office Templates folder to save the template, click Save .

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Your template will now be saved and ready to use. To find the template to use the next time you open PowerPoint, click the File tab and select the New button. Next, select the Custom tab and then select the Custom Office Templates option .

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Now you will see your custom template, select it to start using.

I wish you successful implementation!