Learn PowerPoint SLIDE MASTER - A Deep Dive Tutorial

PowerPoint Slide Master Tutorial: Learn how to create master slides in any version of PowerPoint. This is a deep dive into making master slides work for you.
This is not a step-by-step guide, but a deep dive into UNDERSTANDING master slides and make them work for you. You will master Slide Master!
This is the first of two training videos on Master Slides.
The advanced part two is here:
• Build a Unique PowerPo...
Chapter Content:
Intro: (0:00)
Assumptions and Training Goals (1:24)
Understanding the Elements of Master Slides (2:08)
Relationship of Parent and Child Master Slides (5:59)
Starting Off inside of Master Slide View (6:56)
Insert Logo for "All" Slides (7:11)
Where are Master Slide Logos Located? (9:11)
Why do some master slides not show logos and images? (9:57)
Sections and Master Slides (11:01)
Scenario 2 - Change fonts, placeholder locations, colors (12:26)
Scenario 3 - Mass updates of bullet animation and slide transitions (16:46)
Scenario 4 - Creating from Scratch - a preview (19:31)
Wrap Up (21:35)
#PowerPoint
#DeepDive
#MasterSlides
See full class and more content at:
www.power-up.tr...
Instructed by Les McCarter
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Part of our Power UP Training for Microsoft Office where we provide coaching, not just keystrokes videos. Let our expertise become your expertise for free.
Visit us at: www.power-up.t...

[@binnydouglas3439]

Probably one of the best training videos on KZbin for PowerPoint. Easy to understand, in-depth yet to the point. Hope this channel grows very very quickly and many more people get this wonderful free resource. Thank you, Mr. McCarter.

[@PowerUpTraining]

Binny, Thank you for the compliment . . .I am blushing! This encouragement helps motivate me to keep going. I too am learning along the way to optimize the learning experience via KZbin. I believe my last 20 videos put my first 20 to shame and Imay go back to redo the earlier ones. Once I'm have completed the PowerPoint cycle on all the key features, I will then move on to Microsoft Word.

[@binnydouglas3439]

@@PowerUpTraining I'm looking forward to all those Videos. I have subscribed and I will share it with others..thank you

[@robdesousa3098]

One of the clearest tutorials I could find. Thank you.

[@PowerUpTraining]

Rob, glad it was helpful!

[@sunildhar6455]

Very well explained. Solved a very long standing mystery of slide master for me. Thank You so much!

[@PowerUpTraining]

Glad it helped!

[@vishnusoman8532]

This is exactly what I am looking for!

[@PowerUpTraining]

Vishnu, I am pleased this met your needs. Best wishes on you continued PowerPoint journey!

[@manojfmm]

Awesome. Sir, your way of explaining the contents is amazing. This video is very helpful to me. You are Master blaster. 👍🏻

[@PowerUpTraining]

I am so glad that I could bring my years of PowerPoint to you. It is all about sharing knowledge and experience. If you have other PowerPoint topics you would like for me to explore, leave them here and I will see if I can create more targeted content for my user community! -Les

[@hninwin7689]

Very clear and short to the points. Thank for the free video uploading!!

[@PowerUpTraining]

@Hnin Win, glad it was helpful! Once you uncover Slide Master in PowerPoint, the possibilities open up.

[@ponchoelgran1]

this was a quality tutorial - thank you for your time and content

[@PowerUpTraining]

Welcome to Team Slide Master! Take your new knowledge to wow your audience. Good luck.

[@Amy-wu1gf]

That was a great video addressing my key concerns. Thank you very much indeed!

[@PowerUpTraining]

@Amy-wu1gf, glad you enjoyed it! And that it met your needs.

[@nungkionlee2168]

Excellent video, clear and objective-driven.

[@PowerUpTraining]

@nungkionlee2168, I love your "clear and objective-driven." That is how all PowerPoint presentations should be designed! Thanks for the comment.

[@ajaym6795]

This is probably the most advanced video I've come across for PowerPoint Slide Master. Thanks for helping. I have 2 questions: 1) If I started designing my slides without using any pre-existing slide layout, would the Slide Master still work? 2) Is there a way to insert one of the existing slides in my presentation as a layout to the Master Slide?

[@PowerUpTraining]

Ajay, I am glad this tutorial was useful. There are tons of KZbin Microsoft Office videos, so I am trying to stand out from the crowd by making the most sophisticated training available both in content and visuals explainers. Now to your questions. #1) ALL PowerPoint presentations have a SLIDE MASTER already applied! They exist even in "blank" slides. So you can alter an existing presentation's Slide Master to update and ripple the changes. (Note that if you change the underlying slide master, you may need to right click on the original slide thumbnail and choose RESET LAYOUT for it to reread the slide master). #2) If you take an "existing" slide from a presentation and go to the other presentation, when in Slide Master view mode, you can INSERT SLIDE MASTER it and it will add in "second" family of Slide master, giving you more choices. Just scroll thorough the parent/child slides in the SLide Master view after you insert and you should see both families listed.

[@ajaym6795]

@@PowerUpTraining Thanks for the immediate and detailed response. You're dedicated to what you do. Wishing your channel the very best

[@WONDERMUMMY1]

Very good video. Picked up very useful information to help me get started with a project. I am certainly moving on to Part 2 & the other PowerPoint videos.. Thank you Mr Carter.

[@PowerUpTraining]

Esther, hearing how I can help you become more successful with clear (free) tutorial makes me happy! Thank you for the comment. -Les M.

[@camilademelo5185]

That's amazing! Thanks a lot :)

[@PowerUpTraining]

@Camila de Melo, welcome to the "Slide Master Club." Where you can get serious about taking control of PowerPoint. Best wish on your continued PowerPoint journey!

[@andrewleventis8341]

great explanation especially the parent and child in master slide,

[@PowerUpTraining]

Andrew, there is no doubt that Microsoft's slide master can be maddening, but there really is a method to their madness and once "mastered" you can take full control of your slide creation process. I am glad this was of help!

[@youtuberyoutuber7470]

Excellent video! Appreciate the thoroughness with how the important concept of Master Slide and its impact was covered. I have subscribed to your channel. Good luck!

[@PowerUpTraining]

Hey KZbinr KZbinr, thanks for taking the time to leave the feedback. I have more in-depth Microsoft Office tutorials planned for 2022.

[@ProcreateMedia]

Thanks for this eye opener to powerpoint slide master

[@PowerUpTraining]

It does make you look at PowerPoint in a new light. Thanks for the view and taking your precious time to leave a comment. Good luck on your continued PowerPoint Journey!

[@DinaMartino]

I agree! Very clearly explained and helpful.

[@PowerUpTraining]

@Dina, this is a great tool to add to your PowerPoint tricks of the trade. Thank for the view and the comment!

[@Nallasivam]

Excellent. Thank you so much.

[@PowerUpTraining]

I am super pleased this helped.

[@mukalazijoseph8868]

thanks so so mach , the best tutorial ever.

[@PowerUpTraining]

@mukalazi joseph, I appreciate both your views and your ever so kind review. Good luck on your continued PowerPoint journey.

[@slkoay2969]

Excellent! Thank you!

[@PowerUpTraining]

SL, I am super glad this was helpful. Thanks for taking YOUR time to comment!!!

[@emilianopineda8009]

Yes, wonderful!

[@PowerUpTraining]

@Emiliano, Glad to be of service. Thanks for the feedback!

[@getfanmedia]

thank you

[@denisekobrin9338]

Excellent Video! You provided a great explanation of Slide Master. I couldn't figure out why my logo wasn't showing on all of my slides. Thanks for clarifying this. Do you happen to have a written instruction guide on what you went over in your video? Thanks so much.

[@PowerUpTraining]

Hang in there. I will have updated material before the day is done. (And thanks for the words of encouragement!)

[@PowerUpTraining]

Denise, I have updated the web page for this class with 1) improved closed captioning . . . the whole class in text, but four of the key foundation slides now available as a PDF download. For the free download and the transcript, visit: www.power-up.training/lesson/slide-master-powerpoint-tutorial/

[@brianwolf5699]

Great video, thanks! One issue I'm having though, I have multiple sections however I only have one Master Slide group/section and can't seem to get a separate Master Slide group for each of my sections. Any idea why this is the case?

[@PowerUpTraining]

@Brian Wolf, by default the SECTIONS are not directly tied to MASTER SLIDES. You can have many SECTIONS, all working from a single MASTER SLIDE collection. But you can add more MASTER SLIDE collections (go to VIEW, then SLIDE MASTER, then click the bottom child slide (optional but will help put the next collection on the bottom) and then click INSERT SLIDE MASTER icon). Once you add a second or third or more MASTER SLIDE collections, you can apply them to individual slides or whole collections. Basically the adding of more MASTER SLIDE collections is just expanding your collection of slide styles.

[@BalabinteSeyhEdebali]

Thankyou sir

[@PowerUpTraining]

You are quite welcome. Thanks for the feedback.

[@LaffyCobert]

Hi Thanks for this excellent video. When you do template and say for example 100 slides are there, and it needs to be aligned with respect to what may be the requirements. My doubt is, for example 100 slides have different template, not necessary big differences, is it okay to keep the layout slides and manually edit it...? It is pretty much time consuming to create 100 different setups.

[@PowerUpTraining]

Please explain a bit more. 100 slides in a single slide show? or 100s of different slide shows? I thinking you are looking many, many slides in the same presentation. As always the base Master Slide provides consistency for all the slides that follow; and you can edit slides based on the Master layouts all you want. If however, you want a bit more variety but still maintain consistency; you could work inside the Slide Master view and copy the top MASTER and paste it to get a second set and then edit those for the same show, with say a different color background.

[@LaffyCobert]

@@PowerUpTraining yes I understand this. My doubt is, it is only recommended to create formats using slidemaster for frequent slide type. For ex, in the 100s of slides in a single ppt, I have to use different formats. A format that may be only applicable to single slide, in that case it is required to set up in slidemaster right? I can take up any inbuilt format and edit as per my requirement right?

[@PowerUpTraining]

First off, the Slide Master is a "foundation" element to help maintain consistency. It cannot be modified once out of the SLIDE MASTER view . . . think of it as a backdrop. All individual slide elements (text, titles, charts . . ) will be created in the normal slide mode, layered on top. So you will NOT want to create too many customized SLIDE MASTER LAYOUTS. Instead, create a simple "backdrop" version and then in regular slide mode just add in the needed custom elements. (If you have many that are similar, consider creating several "empty" versions as plain slides in a separate file that you can copy and paste into your HUGE presentation)

[@CudaNick]

I have created sections, but in Master slide view there's still only one parent and no sections visible, what went wrong?

[@PowerUpTraining]

Cuda Nick, the section can access Slide Master designs, but they do NOT exist in the SLIDE MASTER view. They flow in only one direction. HOWEVER, if you go into the SLIDE MASTER view, you can create a *second set* of SLIDE MASTER layouts by clicking INSERT SLIDE MASTER and then you will have a second collection of Slide Master layouts to modify. When done, leave the SLIDE MASTER view and go back to normal. Now you can go to your section SLIDES and select a new LAYOUT based on either collection of SLIDE MASTER sets that you now have. Let me know how that works out!

[@CudaNick]

@@PowerUpTraining Yes, this is what I figured out in the meantime. Seems like I misunderstood that part in the video. Thanks for your help! I learned and applied a lot from this video today :)

[@PowerUpTraining]

Knowing that the tutorial helped brings a SMILE to my face. Thanks for taking the time to comment and good luck on your PowerPoint journey!

[@holczeristvan]

Thank you for your tutorial! One of the best! One question: you use the wording "Design Template" when you speak about the Design tab. But why? Clicking the Design tab, we can see themes and just themes. It is misleading because...because in another context there are themes and there are templates. Thank you for your answer.

[@PowerUpTraining]

@Istvan, a great observation! Design themes and templates are closely related and while similar, you are SPOT ON that "Themes" are displayed in the DESIGN TAB while the "Templates" show up in the NEW FILE menu location. After making this video, I cleaned up my act and created a follow up tutorial called "Themes vs Templates in PowerPoint | What's the Difference" kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZysinV6ZrmJgsU Thanks for highlighting this (and I wish KZbin would let me go in and edit, but I am forced to using comments like this to add clarifications).

[@holczeristvan]

@@PowerUpTraining Thank you Mr. McCarter for taking the time and answering my question. You are right....in a sense a theme is sort of a template. I really respect you for creating these explanatory videos...they are really the best! Thank you !

[@timmills6475]

Hi I tried using sections but it’s still just applying to all the power points even though I have 2 different sections on both normal and slide master. Thanks

[@PowerUpTraining]

@timmills6475, to test this out, work with a COPY of an existing slide show with multiple slides. 1) Open up the DESIGN ribbon menu (this is just be ready to apply a new design . . . not a critical step). 2) Go to the Slide Sorter view 3) Create three or four sections to test with 4) CRITICAL: Click *_ON_* the section name and then apply a new design Clicking on any random slide will impact the whole collection; but clicking on the Section NAME should limit it to just that section. Let me know how that works out.

[@timmills6475]

@@PowerUpTraining it worked! Thank you for your detailed explanation and fast response. This video goes so in depth on the slides like any of the past ones I’ve watched so far. Subscribed and will watch more.

[@PowerUpTraining]

Happy to hear. I've been tasked with other projects in the past three months, but back on the KZbin creation trail with many more scheduled for 2024!

[@miracleopara1055]

When the changes made or picture insertion updates made....... is there a way to make the pictures move to the front and it will affect all the rest of the slide?

[@PowerUpTraining]

@Miracle Opara, unfortunately the Slide Master pages are in the background and unchangable / untouchable.

[@andrewheartman9258]

I delete some of the footers from the parent master slide and these footer placeholders still show up on all the children layouts, and these footer elements still show up on all the slides. This happens whether I delete the footer placeholder from the parent master slide, or whether I click Insert -> Header & Footer and uncheck some of the footer items there and then click "Apply to All." How can I have the footer placeholders flow to the children layouts and to all the slides in the presentation?

[@PowerUpTraining]

@Andrew, first off, if you move the "original footer" placeholder on the PARENT, the others will move. But if you DELETE it from the PARENT, it unlinks it from the children leaving them stranded (which I think you have already learned). So one strategy would be to delete all the footer elements on the PARENT and all the CHILDREN slides. Then INSERT menu and PLACHEOLDER on the parent slide; and it will flow through the children. And if you need the automatic page numbering, then in this new TEXT BOX, go to the INSERT ribbon menu and click SLIDE NUMBER icon. Let me know if this works for you.

[@omarrashid282]

how can I create one master save it and apply to several other presentations?

[@PowerUpTraining]

@Omar, you will want to save it as a "THEME" . . . to understand themes and templates, look at this tutorial "Themes vs Templates in PowerPoint | What's the Difference" at kzbin.info/www/bejne/nZysinV6ZrmJgsU But the short answer is with the presentation that has your Slide Master design open, go to the DESIGN ribbon menu (in Normal view) and in the drop down menu that shows all the theme choices, look for "Save Current Theme." Then you can bring up your other presentation (do save a copy) and apply the recently saved Theme.

[@michaelbhoy3011]

I want to see the name of each slide layout in Master Slides and Googling suggests 'hovering' the mouse over the slide but that doesn't seem to work - I'm sure that when I used Powerpoint the last time, names appeared beneath each slide layout? Any help gratefully received.

[@PowerUpTraining]

By chance, are you using an Apple Mac? Across the board on many PowerPoint features, Mouse HOVERING in Windows will have popup info but the Mac does not. If you are on the Mac, I can look for an alternative, but I am travelling for work today and don't have access to my desktop Mac.

[@michaelbhoy3011]

@@PowerUpTraining Thanks Les and, yes, Mac running Sonoma 14.5. Hovering not working in Mac OS platform - not so much of a surprise. Of course it's available under the Insert>New Slide gallery but it'd be nice to see it in Master Slides. So the layout names have never appeared under the slides?

[@PowerUpTraining]

As far as I know, the hover feature has never been available on the Mac . . . I suspect that is a Apple interface "vocabulary" rule. The only cheat method, which is ugly, is when in the SLIDE MASTER view, right click the layout and select RENAME . . . don't rename it but you will see the name.

[@michaelbhoy3011]

@@PowerUpTraining you're right I do the rename thing as well 😕. It's not a big production issue so just have to live with it. Thanks though.

[@triptyquedesign]

Hi there, do you know if it's possible to lock the slide master? I creating a deck for a corporate client and I don't want them to be able to go in and change the slide masters. Thanks for your videos, they're awesome!

[@PowerUpTraining]

@Barbara, I am 95% sure that you cannot go to that granularity with the Microsoft tools. You can lock the whole presentation to READ ONLY but not just the Slide Master. Let me poke around; but I am not optimistic.

[@PowerUpTraining]

@Barbara, there is no simple answer; but you could make it harder . . . 1) put a CLEAR/Transparent rectangle on top of the PARENT slide master and 2) if you are using OFFICE 365, use the new LOCK feature. So now when they try to select an item, they will keep clicking the transparent cover and may have no clue why it is keeping them from selecting. It is not a fool proof solution, but might work 95 percent of the time for non-hardcore PowerPoint users. If you need help, speak up as I have tutorials of LAYERS and the LOCK feature.

[@triptyquedesign]

@@PowerUpTraining Hi thank you for thinking along! I tried the LOCK feature and something weird is happening there: the object is locked in the slide master but still editable in the presentation itself... Haven't been able to figure out why this happens just yet. I'll have a look at the tutorials on LAYERS because this definitely might helpful for another issue I'm running into!

[@karipoole8620]

8:21mins in - parent versus child slides; why some slides aren't showing the logo from the top slide

[@PowerUpTraining]

Kari, are you pointing out this section or asking a question? I do get into why some items don't appear at the 9:58 minute mark.

[@osocrafty1]

In outline view, is there a way to change order of the list? It seem that it follows order of which content holders were placed first when the child was created. I would very much like to not have to go back redo all slides that were created off of that child. This is important due to 508 compliance.

[@PowerUpTraining]

Eric, I may need you to elaborate more. In Outline mode, there are "two" components. The Slide "TITLE" and secondly the "CONTENT" object placeholders (which is normally the bullet points). The TITLE is mapped to the first line for each slide in the OUTLINE view. The Outline hierarchy structure (which is what I think you are asking) cannot be changed. but the underlying slide layout in SLIDE MASTER can be rearranged. Open up the SLIDE MASTER and "INSERT A LAYOUT" (the icon). By default, the TITLE is on the page. Click the checkmark next to TITLE (in the SLIDE MASTER ribbon menu, next to "Insert Placeholder"), and you will see it turn ON and OFF on the slide page. So while you can't change the setup in OUTLINE VIEW, you can change the location (and other features) of the TITLE placeholder on the slide master page. Let me know if I am misunderstanding your question.

[@osocrafty1]

@@PowerUpTraining Yes sir, you are understanding. I hoping that there would be a way to adjust the order (kinda like Reading Order) so I could put things in the order that they should be read without having to go into the master and swapping the locations of the place holders. I appriciate your quick response!

[@PowerUpTraining]

Eric, try this. Make a copy of your good presentation and then practice on the back-up version. Then go into the SLIDE MASTER view and INSERT LAYOUT. You can right click on it and RENAME the new Layout for easy tracking. Now rearrange the elements in the new LAYOUT. Move the TITLE where you want and the CONTENTS to another spot on the page. Once done (and you can come back to tweak it later), CLOSE MASTER VIEW. Next, switch to SLIDE SORTER view and select all the slides you want to reformat. Lastly in the HOME menu (with all the targeted slides selected) click the down arrow next to LAYOUT and click on your rename slide master you modified a moment ago. Everything should now match that layout (and if not, with the offending slide selected, click RESET icon in the HOME menu). Let me know if that helps. -Les

[@osocrafty1]

@@PowerUpTraining Sir, I will attempt every bit of that tomorrow. I appreciate your advice more than you can know. Thank you!

[@osocrafty1]

@@PowerUpTraining So the problem is that the placeholders keep their number attrbutes even after copying and pasting them from one master to another. It seems the brute force way is the only way. My team and I tried contacting a Microsoft devloper to let them know this is an issue(which seems imposible). We have hundreds of PPTs that require 508 remediation and Outline View is needed for folks with cognitive disabilities. So the devs might want to look into this issue. Thank you for your help sir but I think it's an issue without an easy fix.

[@ranadeepmahendra8507]

When I click on the slide show of master slide I can only find one slide. Can you tell me how can I see all the slides in the slide show.

[@PowerUpTraining]

Ranadeep, Most likely, you are still in the SLIDE MASTER view. After editing, you always need to return back to the normal view. Click on VIEW on the ribbon menu and select NORMAL VIEW. All should be good! Let me know if that works! -Les

[@xxx-ff5wn]

why do i have my slide masters set to no slide

[@PowerUpTraining]

Can you elaborate on what you mean "set to no slide?"

[@AbebeBirhanu]

why we all love KZbin and internet..

[@PowerUpTraining]

I totally agree. I am glad to give back after learning so much from others and the internet. Thanks for the comment.