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You can view your PowerPoint file in a variety of ways, depending on the task at hand. Some views are helpful when you're creating your presentation, and some are most helpful for delivering your presentation.

You can find the different PowerPoint view options on the View tab, as shown below.

Shows the View menu in PowerPoint

You can also find the most frequently used views on the task bar at the bottom right of the slide window, as shown below.

Shows the View buttons at the bottom of the screen in PowerPoint

Note: To change the default view in PowerPoint, see Change the default view.

Views for creating your presentation

Normal view

You can get to Normal view from the task bar at the bottom of the slide window, or from the View tab on the ribbon.

Normal view is the editing mode where you’ll work most frequently to create your slides. Below, Normal view displays slide thumbnails on the left, a large window showing the current slide, and a section below the current slide where you can type your speaker notes for that slide.

Shows the Normal View in PowerPoint

Slide Sorter view

You can get to Slide Sorter view from the task bar at the bottom of the slide window, or from the View tab on the ribbon.

Slide Sorter view (below) displays all the slides in your presentation in horizontally sequenced, thumbnails. Slide show view is helpful if you need to reorganize your slides—you can just click and drag your slides to a new location or add sections to organize your slides into meaningful groups.

Shows Slide Sorter View in PowerPoint

For more information about sections, see Organize your PowerPoint slides into sections.

Notes Page view

You can show or hide your speakers notes with the Notes button notes button in PowerPoint at the bottom of the slide window, or you can get to Notes Page view from the View tab on the ribbon.

The Notes pane is located beneath the slide window. You can print your notes or include the notes in a presentation that you send to the audience, or just use them as cues for yourself while you're presenting.

Shows the speaker Notes pane in PowerPoint

For more information about notes, see Add speaker notes to your slides.

Outline view

You can get to Outline view from the View tab on the ribbon. (In PowerPoint 2013 and later, you can no longer get to Outline view from Normal view. You have to get to it from the View tab.)

Use Outline view to create an outline or story board for your presentation. It displays only the text on your slides, not pictures or other graphical items.

Outline View in PowerPoint.

Master views

To get to a master view, on the View tab, in the Master Views group, choose the master view that you want.

Master views include Slide, Handout, and Notes. The key benefit to working in a master view is that you can make universal style changes to every slide, notes page, or handout associated with your presentation.

For more information about working with masters, see:

Views for delivering and viewing a presentation

Slide Show view

You can get to Slide Show view from the task bar at the bottom of the slide window.

Use Slide Show view to deliver your presentation to your audience. Slide Show view occupies the full computer screen, exactly the way your presentation will look on a big screen when your audience sees it.

Presenter view

To get to Presenter view, in Slide Show view, in the lower left corner of the screen, click The Show Presenter View button in PowerPoint., and then click Show Presenter View (as shown below).

Use Presenter view to view your notes while delivering your presentation. In Presenter view, your audience cannot see your notes.

ShowsPowerPoint presenter view menu

For more information about using Presenter view, see View your speaker notes as you deliver your slide show.

Reading view

You can get to Reading view from the task bar reading view button in PowerPoint at the bottom of the slide window.

Most people reviewing a PowerPoint presentation without a presenter will want to use Reading view. It displays the presentation in a full screen like Slide Show view, and it includes a few simple controls to make it easy to flip through the slides.

The views in PowerPoint that you can use to edit, print, and deliver your presentation are as follows:

  • Normal view

  • Slide Sorter view

  • Notes Page view

  • Outline view (Available in PowerPoint 2016 for Mac and newer versions)

  • Slide Show view

  • Presenter view

  • Master views: Slide, Handout, and Notes

You can switch between PowerPoint views in two places:

Use the View menu to switch between any of the views

The View menu in PowerPoint

Access the three main views (Normal, Slide Sorter, or Slide Show) on the bottom bar of the PowerPoint window

View buttons at the bottom of the PowerPoint window

Views for creating or editing your presentation

Several views in PowerPoint can help you create a professional presentation.

  • Normal view     Normal view is the main editing view, where you write and design your presentations. Normal view has three working areas:

    • Thumbnail pane

    • Slides pane

    • Notes pane

    The thumbnail pane, slide pane, and notes pane in PowerPoint for Mac
  • Slide Sorter view     Slide Sorter view gives you a view of your slides in thumbnail form. This view makes it easy for you to sort and organize the sequence of your slides as you create your presentation, and then also as you prepare your presentation for printing. You can add sections in Slide Sorter view as well, and sort slides into different categories or sections.

  • Notes Page view     The Notes pane is located under the Slide pane. You can type notes that apply to the current slide. Later, you can print your notes and refer to them when you give your presentation. You can also print notes to give to your audience or include the notes in a presentation that you send to the audience or post on a Web page.

  • Outline view    (Introduced in PowerPoint 2016 for Mac) Outline view displays your presentation as an outline made up of the titles and main text from each slide. Each title appears on the left side of the pane that contains the Outline view, along with a slide icon and slide number. Working in Outline view is particularly handy if you want to make global edits, get an overview of your presentation, change the sequence of bullets or slides, or apply formatting changes.

  • Master views     The master views include Slide, Handout, and Notes view. They are the main slides that store information about the presentation, including background, theme colors, theme fonts, theme effects, placeholder sizes, and positions. The key benefit to working in a master view is that on the slide master, notes master, or handout master, you can make universal style changes to every slide, notes page, or handout associated with your presentation. For more information about working with masters, see Modify a slide master.

Views for delivering your presentation

  • Slide Show view     Use Slide Show view to deliver your presentation to your audience. In this view, your slides occupy the full computer screen.

  • Presenter view     Presenter view helps you manage your slides while you present by tracking how much time has elapsed, which slide is next, and displaying notes that only you can see (while also allowing you to take meeting notes as you present).

Views for preparing and printing your presentation

To help you save paper and ink, you'll want to prepare your print job before you print. PowerPoint provides views and settings to help you specify what you want to print (slides, handouts, or notes pages) and how you want those jobs to print (in color, grayscale, black and white, with frames, and more).

  • Slide Sorter view     Slide Sorter view gives you a view of your slides in thumbnail form. This view makes it easy for you to sort and organize the sequence of your slides as you prepare to print your slides.

  • Print Preview     Print Preview lets you specify settings for what you want to print—handouts, notes pages, and outline, or slides.

See also

Organize your slides into sections

Print your slides and handouts

Start the presentation and see your notes in Presenter view

In PowerPoint for the web, when your file is stored on OneDrive, the default view is Reading view. When your file is stored on OneDrive for work or school or SharePoint in Microsoft 365, the default view is Editing view.

View for creating your presentation

Editing View

You can get to Editing View from the View tab or from the task bar at the bottom of the slide window.

Editing View is the editing mode where you’ll work most frequently to create your slides. Below, Editing View displays slide thumbnails on the left, a large window showing the current slide, and a Notes pane below the current slide where you can type speaker notes for that slide.

Editing view in PowerPoint Online

Slide Sorter view

The slide sorter lets you see your slides on the screen in a grid that makes it easy to reorganize them, or organize them into sections, just by dragging and dropping them where you want them.

Slide sorter view in PowerPoint for the web.

To add a section right click the first slide of your new section and select Add Section. See Organize your PowerPoint slides into sections for more information.

To access Slide Sorter view click the Slide Sorter button  The Slide Sorter View button on the status bar at the bottom of the window.

Views for delivering or viewing a presentation

Slide Show view

You can get to Slide Show view from the task bar at the bottom of the slide window.

Use Slide Show view to deliver your presentation to your audience. Slide Show view occupies the full computer screen, exactly the way your presentation looks on a big screen when your audience sees it.

Reading view

Note:  Reading View isn't available for PowerPoint for the web files stored in OneDrive for work or school/SharePoint in Microsoft 365.

You can get to Reading View from the View tab or from the task bar reading view button in PowerPoint at the bottom of the slide window.

Most people reviewing a PowerPoint presentation without a presenter will want to use Reading view. It displays the presentation in a full screen like Slide Show view, and it includes a few simple controls to make it easy to flip through the slides. You can also view speaker notes in Reading View.

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