Sign in with Microsoft
Sign in or create an account.
Hello,
Select a different account.
You have multiple accounts
Choose the account you want to sign in with.

In Normal (editing) view, the slide thumbnail pane is on the left margin of the PowerPoint window. It allows you to easily move from one slide to another or to rearrange (by dragging) the order of your slides.

On the PC and on macOS, the size of the pane is adjustable: You can widen or narrow it, and you can hide it from view entirely. Simply point at the right edge of the pane, then click and drag to adjust the width. If you drag all the way to the left, the pane will collapse entirely.

In PowerPoint for the web, the thumbnails pane is fixed in width and always visible.

Show or increase the size of the slide thumbnail pane

When the slide thumbnails on the left are hidden or in a narrowed position, do the following to show or widen them:

  1. On the View tab, in the Presentation Views group, click Normal.

  2. Point to the right edge of the thumbnail pane's vertical scroll bar. The mouse pointer becomes a double-headed arrow:

    Picture of  a mouse pointer that has turned into a horizontal double-headed arrow.

  3. Click and drag the mouse rightward to widen the pane.

  4. If the thumbnails are hidden, you will see the collapsed Thumbnails bar; click it to show slide thumbnails again:

Hide or decrease the size of the slide thumbnail pane

To maximize your editing space in the Slide pane, you can hide or narrow the slide thumbnails on the left.

  1. On the View tab, in the Presentation Views group, click Normal.

  2. Point at the right edge of the thumbnail pane's vertical scroll bar. The mouse pointer becomes a double-headed arrow:

    Picture of  a mouse pointer that has turned into a horizontal double-headed arrow.

  3. Click and drag the mouse leftward to narrow the pane. If you drag all the way to the left margin of the window, the pane will collapse from view entirely.

Show or increase the size of slide thumbnails

When the slide thumbnails on the left are hidden or in a narrowed position, do the following to show or widen them:

  1. On the View menu, select Normal (⌘+1)

  2. Point at the right edge of the thumbnail pane. The mouse pointer becomes a double-headed splitter arrow:

    When you at the right edge of the slide thumbnail pane, the mouse pointer becomes a double-header splitter arrow.

  3. Click and drag the mouse rightward to widen the pane.

  4. Or, if the thumbnail pane is entirely hidden from view, point at the left edge of the app window. The mouse pointer becomes a single-headed splitter arrow: 

    When the slide thumbnail pane is fully collapsed, you can point at the left edge of the app window, and then the pointer will become a splitter arrow. Click and drag rightward to open the slide thumbnail pane.

  5. Click and drag the mouse rightward to open and widen the pane.

Hide or decrease the size of slide thumbnails

To maximize your editing space in the Slide pane, you can hide or narrow the slide thumbnails on the left.

  1. On the View menu, select Normal (⌘+1)

  2. Point at the right edge of the thumbnail pane. The mouse pointer becomes a double-headed splitter arrow:

    When you at the right edge of the slide thumbnail pane, the mouse pointer becomes a double-header splitter arrow.

  3. Click and drag the mouse leftward to narrow the pane. If you drag all the way to the left edge of the window, the pane will collapse from view entirely.

Need more help?

Want more options?

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Was this information helpful?

What affected your experience?
By pressing submit, your feedback will be used to improve Microsoft products and services. Your IT admin will be able to collect this data. Privacy Statement.

Thank you for your feedback!

×