how to display presentation outline in powerpoint

Outline View in PowerPoint – Everything You Need to Know!

By: Author Shrot Katewa

Not a lot of people are aware that you can actually make a presentation by outlining your key points in a simple bulleted list format! This is where the Outline View in PowerPoint comes in handy!

In today’s article, we will take a look at the “Outline View” in PowerPoint, how to access it, and how to work with your presentation in the outline view!

So, let’s get started!

1. What is Outline View and Why is it Used?

The “Outline View” in Microsoft PowerPoint is a way of accessing the slides in a more simplistic manner. It removes the clutter of images and other infographics from your slides and helps you focus specifically on the text present on the slides.

In the outline view, you can see a list of the titles, subtitles as well as text on each slide. Using the outline view you can easily organize key information on your slides. You can also export or import the outline to and from other documents.

Furthermore, the outline view is also editable, which makes it easier to add or remove any text from the PowerPoint presentation.

2. How to Access the Outline View in PowerPoint?

In Microsoft PowerPoint, you can very easily access the outline view and navigate it.

To access the outline view in PowerPoint, first, click on the “View” tab in the menu bar located at the top of the screen. In the “View” menu, click on “Outline View” which is the second option in the “Presentation Views” section.

This will show the presentation outline in a sidebar on the left side of the screen.

3. How to Expand Slides in Outline View?

In the “Outline View” , you can expand any or all slides to view all the content within the slide. There are 3 different methods you can use to expand the slides in the outline view.

3a. Method 1 – Using Right-Click

You have to first open the “Outline View” from the “View” menu. In the outline sidebar located at the left side of the screen, “Right Click” on the box beside the slide number which you want to expand.

Then click on the “Expand” option from the right-click menu.

3b. Method 2 – Using Double-Click

You can use the double-click method to quickly expand the slide outline. All you have to do is “Double Click” on the box located between the slide number and the slide title.

3c. Expand All Slides Using Expand All Feature

In the “Outline View” , you can also expand all the slides at once. To do so, “Right Click” on the box next to any slide. In the right-click menu, click on the arrow beside the “Expand” option to open another dropdown menu.

Then click on the “Expand All” option to expand all the slides.

4. How to Collapse Slides in Outline View?

Microsoft PowerPoint offers various methods to collapse slides in the “Outline View” . Collapsing the slides can help you see the list of the slides in a presentation easily.

4a. Using Right-Click

In the “Outline View” , locate the expanded slide from the sidebar on the left side of the screen. Then “Right Click” on the box next to the slide number and click on the “Collapse” option from the pop-up menu.

4b. Using Double-Click

To collapse a slide using the double-click method, all you have to do is “Double Click” on the box at the left side of the expanded slide. The slide will immediately collapse hiding all the text except the heading.

4c. Collapse All Feature

You can also collapse all the slides at once. To do so, “Right Click” on any slide in the outline. Then click on the arrow beside the “Collapse” option.

Finally, you have to click on the “Collapse All” option from the secondary pop-up menu.

5. How to Rearrange Slides in Outline View?

When reviewing the outline of a PowerPoint presentation, you may need to rearrange some slides based on their contents.

In the “Outline View” , you can move a slide in between the contents of another slide. You can also simply move a slide up or down.

5a. How to Move Up Slides in Outline View?

In the “Outline View” , you can move a slide up by one or even more slides. There are different methods to move up slides in PowerPoint. The first step is to click on the “Outline View” option from the “View” menu.

Method 1 – Using Right-Click

In the “Outline View” sidebar at the left side of the screen, “Right Click” on the slide you want to move up. Then click on the “Move Up” option from the right-click menu.

To move up the slide further, repeat the process until the slide reaches the preferred position in the outline.

Method 2 – Using Drag & Drop

You can also move up a slide quickly by using the drag and drop method. All you have to do is click and hold on to the box next to the slide number and then drag the slide up as much as you need.

5b. How to Move Down Slides in Outline View in PowerPoint?

Similar to the process of moving up a slide, you can easily move down a slide. All you have to do is “Right Click” on the slide from the outlines on the left side of the screen.

Then click on the “Move Down” option from the pop-up menu. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the slide to the preferred position.

6. How to Add Content on Slides Using Outline View?

The presentation outline in the “Outline View” is editable. Thus, you can edit the content of a slide by editing the outline. To add content on slides using the “Outline View” , follow the 2 simple steps.

Step-1: Open the Outline View

In the menu ribbon located at the top of the screen, click on the “View” tab. You have to then click on the “Outline View” option which is the second option in the “Presentation Views” section of the “View” menu.

Step-2: Click on the slide and add content to the outline

In the outline sidebar at the left side of the screen, click on the slide and heading level where you want to add content. Then type in the content. You will see the text being added to the presentation slide.

If you want to add text in a new line, simply press “Enter” and start adding the content. It will be visible separately on the slide.

6a. How to Increase or Decrease Indent of Content in Outline View?

To increase or decrease the indent of content in the “Outline View” , click on the “Home” tab in PowerPoint . Next, you have to click on the content in the outline sidebar for which you want to change the indentation.

Increase Indentation

By increasing the indent level, you push the content to the right. The content is thus moved to a higher list level. To increase the indentation, click on the “Increase List Level” option in the “Paragraph” section of the “Home” tab in PowerPoint.

Decrease Indentation

By decreasing the indent level, you can push the content to the left, and decrease the list level. To do so, click on the “Decrease List Level” option in the “Paragraph” section of the “Home” menu.

7. How to Change Content Hierarchy Using Outline View in PowerPoint?

In the “Outline View” , you can change the content hierarchy of the contents within a slide.

Content hierarchy is the order of the content in a slide. The top of the hierarchy is the heading and then the “List level 1” , “List level 2” and so on.

7a. Promote Content in Outline View in PowerPoint

Promoting content pushes the content up the hierarchy.

To promote content in outline view in PowerPoint, you have to first “Right Click” on the content in the outline sidebar. Then click on the “Promote” option from the right-click menu.

You can repeat this process to promote the content up to a few hierarchy levels. However, you cannot promote a “Heading” since it is the highest level in the hierarchy.

7b. Demote Content in Outline View in PowerPoint

When you demote content, it is pushed down the hierarchy.

To demote content in outline view in PowerPoint, “Right Click” on the content in the outline that you want to demote. Then click on the “Demote” option.

You can repeat the process to move the content further down the hierarchy. For headings, you can only demote the heading of a text-only slide.

8. How to Go Back to Normal View from Outline View in PowerPoint?

If you want to exit the “Outline View” , you can easily return to the “Normal View” in PowerPoint.

To go back to “Normal View” from “Outline View” , all you have to do is click on the “View” tab in the menu ribbon. Then click on the “Normal” option which is the first option in the “View” menu.

9. How to Save Your PowerPoint Presentation as an Outline?

Besides viewing the presentation outline, you can also save your PowerPoint Presentation as an outline. All you have to do is follow the 4 easy steps.

Step-1: Click on the “Save As” option

In the menu ribbon at the top of the screen, click on the “File” tab to open the “File” menu. Then click on the “Save As” option in the “File” menu.

Step-2: Click on “More options”

In the “Save As” screen, click on the “More options” option which is above the “New Folder” button (as shown in the image in step 1). This will open a dialog box.

Step-3: Click on “Outline/RTF”

In the “Save As” dialog box, click on the “Save as type” box at the bottom. Then click on the “Outline/RTF” option from the pop-up menu.

Step-4: Click on the “Save” option

Now all you have to do is click on the “Save” button at the bottom of the “Save As” dialog box. This will save the PowerPoint presentation as an outline.

10. How to Print Outline View in PowerPoint?

Microsoft PowerPoint allows you to print the outline of the presentation only. All you have to do is follow the 3 simple steps.

Step-1: Click on the “File” tab

In the open PowerPoint presentation, click on the “File” tab from the menu ribbon located at the top of the screen. In the sidebar of the “File” menu, click on the “Print” option.

Step-2: Click on the “Print Layout” option

Under the “Settings” section, click on the box that says “Full Page Slides” . It will open a “Print Layout” pop-up menu. In the pop-up menu, click on the “Outline” option.

The presentation outline will appear on the preview screen.

Step-3: Click on the “Print” option

Finally, you have to make sure the device is connected to a printer. Then all you have to do is click on the “Print” button at the top of the screen.

11. How to Convert a Word Outline into a PowerPoint Presentation Using Outline View?

Microsoft PowerPoint allows you to import the outline from a Microsoft Word file. Importing an outline will automatically create slides for you. All you have to do is follow the 3 easy steps.

Step-1: Click on the “Slides from Outline” option

The first step is to click on the “Home” tab in the menu ribbon. In the “Slides” section of the “Home” menu, click on the “New Slide” option to open a dropdown menu.

Click on the “Slides from Outline” option from the bottom of the dropdown menu.

Step-2: Click on the “Insert” button

In the “Insert Outline” dialog box, click on the Microsoft Word document which you want to import. Then click on the “Insert” button at the bottom of the dialog box.

Step-3: Arrange the content

Since the process automatically transforms the Word outline into a PowerPoint outline, the content may need some adjustments. If the Word outline does not have any headings, each paragraph will be converted into a slide.

To arrange them, “Right Click” on the content, and then click on the preferred option from the “Move Up” , “Move Down” , “Promote” and “Demote” options in the right-click menu.

12. Outline View Not Showing Text? Here’s Why!

In Microsoft PowerPoint “Outline View” , the text in the content placeholder is automatically shown in the outline. So when a slide has no content placeholder, the outline will not show any text.

To solve the problem, you will first need to add a placeholder in PowerPoint . Follow the steps mentioned below –

Step-1: Click on the “Slide Master” option

The first step is to open the slide where the “Outline View” is not showing any text. Then click on the “View” tab from the menu ribbon. In the “Master Views” section of the “View” menu, click on the “Slide Master” option.

Step-2: Click on the “Insert Placeholder” button

The next step is to click on the “Insert Placeholder” option in the “Master Layout” section of the “Slide Master” view. Then click on the “Content” option from the dropdown menu.

Step-3: Draw the “Content Placeholder”

Now all you have to do is draw the “Content Placeholder” into the slide layout. You can also resize and reposition the placeholder.

Click on the “Shape Format” tab in the menu ribbon to access more options to edit the content placeholder.

Step-4: Click on the “Close Master View” option

To save the content placeholder, click on the “Close Master View” option under the “Slide Master” tab. The screen will return to “Normal View” .

Step-5: Paste the text to the “Content Placeholder”

The final step is to cut the text in the slide and paste it into the “Content Placeholder” . To do so, select the text and press the “Ctrl+X” keys on your keyboard. Then click on the “Content Placeholder” and press the “Ctrl+V” keys.

Step-6: Click on the “Outline View” option

In the menu ribbon, click on the “View” tab and then click on the “Outline View” option. You will see that the text is now showing in the outline view.

Credit to Katemangostar (on Freepik) for the featured image of this article (further edited)

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The Outline View in PowerPoint (Ultimate Guide)

• PowerPoint Tutorials
• Miscellaneous
• December 5, 2017

This ultimate guide to the Outline View will catch you up to speed on the best ways to use the Outline View in PowerPoint.

There are a variety of different ways you can use the Outline View in PowerPoint to create, review and rearrange your content, all detailed below.

Table of Contents

What is the outline view in powerpoint.

It’s simply a way to view your presentation based solely on the text found within the content placeholders of your slides.

For example, you can see the difference between the views in the  SAME deck below – the one on the left is the Normal View (thumbnail view), the one on the right in the Outline View.

And beyond simply showing the outline of your presentation, there are a number of tricks, shortcuts and PowerPoint hacks to BEND the Outline View to do your beck and calling.

You can slowly scroll down the page and soak up all of this PowerPoint goodness, or use the table of contents on the left to jump around to some of the advanced topics.

Switching to the Outline View in PowerPoint

There are three different ways to open (or switch to) the Outline View in PowerPoint, both described below.

Option #1. My favorite way to switch to the Outline View in PowerPoint is the CTRL + SHIFT + TAB   keyboard shortcut.

This shortcut opens and/or closes the outline view, displaying either the normal thumbnail view of your slides or the outline view of your content.

Notice how in the outline view (pictured above), instead of seeing the thumbnail preview of the slides (with the respective graphics) you only see the text that is in the  content placeholders .

And this makes a BIG difference!

The text you type into normal shapes and text boxes will NEVER show up in the Outline View, only the text that is the content placeholders that are set on the Slide Master.

Open the outline view #2

Another way you can open the outline view is by simply clicking the Normal icon at the bottom of your PowerPoint workspace.

• Clicking the icon once will open the outline view (assuming your notes pane is already open)
• Clicking the icon a second time will close the outline view, returning you to the thumbnail view.

If your notes pane is not open, you will need to click the icon an extra time before moving to the outline or thumbnail view.

Outline View NOT showing text?

Only text that is typed into content placeholders will show up in the outline view.

What’s a content placeholder?

Content placeholders are objects that you (or someone) set on the slide master of your presentation. These are objects like titles, subtitles and any other ‘type to add text here’ type of objects.

These types of placeholders can only be set on the Slide Master, and it’s only the text typed within these placeholders that shows up in the Outline View of your presentation.

So if you move to the Outline View (CTRL + SHIFT + TAB) and don’t see your slide’s text there, it means that your text is not in a content placeholder, it’s likely in a normal shape or text box that has been added to your presentation.

All of the other normal shapes and text boxes that you add to your presentation in the normal view, WILL NOT show up in the outline view of your presentation (no matter what you do).

Drafting an outline in PowerPoint

The MOST IMPORTANT keyboard shortcut to remember when drafting an outline in PowerPoint is:

New Slide Shortcut in PowerPoint, Ctrl plus Enter

Ctrl + Enter

This is your one stop shop for jumping between your content containers (regardless of how many you have) either in the Outline View or the Normal View of your presentation.

In the picture below you can see the different numbers in the Outline View on the left and follow the arrows to the right to see how they line up with the content containers on the right.

CTRL + ENTER allows you to jump between these containers without taking your hands off of the keyboard.

This shortcut works both in the Normal View in PowerPoint – jumping between content containers – and the Outline View in PowerPoint.

Once you run out of content placeholders to type text into, hitting CTRL + ENTER again gives you a new blank slide to work with.

Outline View Keyboard Shortcuts

Besides the CTRL + ENTER keyboard shortcut described above, there are a number of other Outline View shortcuts, most of which involve the ALT + SHIFT keys (making them easier to remember)

When using the Outline View shortcuts, remember that for most of them to work (like collapse groups ALT + SHIFT + 1 and expand groups ALT + SHIFT + 9) you need to rotate to the Outline View to activate it.

To rotate (or activate) the Outline View is to first open the outline view (CTRL + SHIFT + TAB) and then rotate active panes counterclockwise (SHIFT + F6).

If you are brand new to shortcuts, my advice is to just first start with the open/close Outline View shortcut (CTRL + SHIFT + TAB). If you are an intermediate to advanced user and will be frequently using this view, then it’s worthwhile learning how to activate and navigate this view entirely from your keyboard.

Resetting your text formatting

If for whatever reason you forget to paste your content as Text, you can always reset your slide (either in the Normal View or Outline View) to refresh your default formatting.

To do so simply select your text (or slides in the Normal View), navigate to the Home tab, and in the Slide group section select Reset .

Resetting your slides does two things simultaneously:

• It forces all of your content placeholders back into their original position, defined by their position on your Slide Master (this is useful if something accidentally gets moved out of place).
• It forces all of your text back to its original text formatting, as defined by the Slide Master and Theme.

How to print the outline view in PowerPoint

Another overlooked feature of the Outline View is that you can print it.

This is useful when you have a large presentation and you simply want to see what it looks like based on the Titles, sub-titles and other content placeholders….basically your slides minus all of your graphics, pictures, etc.

To print your outline view, simply follow these steps.

1. Navigate to the Print Options

On your keyboard, hit CTRL+P to open up the print options for your presentation.

2. Navigate to the Outline View

Within the print options, select the ‘Full Page Slides’ dropdown (the default setting) and within the menu in the upper right-hand corner, select the Outline View.

Once the outline view is selected, you’ll see a print preview of your slides on the far right.

As shown in the picture above, by default the Outline View is a default blank layout, but you can customize this as I will show you in the next section.

For additional help printing your PowerPoint slides as handouts, check out our guide here .

To learn how to convert your presentation outline into the PDF file format, see our guide here .

Customize the Outline View

If you frequently print the Outline View of your presentation, you can customize it with your own personalized branding (colors, logos, etc.).

This is particularly useful if you plan on sending the print out of the Outline View around. To customize your Outline View, follow these steps.

Step #1. Navigate to the Handout Master

There are two ways to do this:

• From the view tab, select the handout master icon.
• Holding the SHIFT key on your keyboard, click the slide sorter command at the bottom of your screen.

This Shift + Slide Sorter shortcut is a hidden shortcut.

2. Navigate to the Outline View framework

Within the Handout Master view, open up the slides per page drop-down.

So this is where you can select the different formats of your slides when printing them as handouts, depending on how many slides you plan to print per handout.

These options line up directly (plus some like the Notes Page ) with the handout print options available as showing in the picture below.

Within the drop down, simply select the Outline View at the bottom to open up the Outline View format.

3. Customize your Outline View

Just like working with any normal slide, in this Handout Master Outline view, you can add your own personal customizations like your logo, design elements, extra text, etc.

In the example below I’ve added the Nuts & Bolt log in the upper right-hand corner and a simply gradient colored rectangle down the left-side of the page. You don’t have to do anything too fancy…a little effort will go a long way and shock most people.

Using the Outline View in Word and PowerPoint

There are two ways to get an outline from Word into PowerPoint.:

• Import the Outline from PowerPoint which allows you to add the slides to an existing presentation
• Open the Outline directly in PowerPoint creating a brand new presentation

If you are using a Mac, you need to use the Rich Text file Format (.rtf). See instructions for how to do this on  Microsoft’s website here .

Import a Word Outline into PowerPOint

Importing your slides like this will add any new slides to the current presentation you are working in. Don’t worry, none of your other slides will be affected.

To learn about the common mistakes that happen when converting Word to PowerPoint, see our post here .

1. Navigate to the ‘Slides from Outline’ command

From within your presentation, navigate to the Home tab, open the New Slide drop down and at the bottom of the dialog select Slides from outline… to open the File Navigation dialog box.

2. Find your Word document

Within the dialog box, find your Word document and select ‘Insert’.

To fix this, you need to use the Title style and Heading 1 styles in Word.

Don’t forget to format your presentation

Importing an outline like this is a great way to jump start your presentation building process, but don’t stop here.

Your outline will always import in the most DEFAULT blank presentation style with only the Title and Content container slide layout.

This default look DOES NOT make for an effective presentation, so you will want to make sure to apply a theme and work on incorporating visuals like charts, tables, pictures, etc. to make your presentation more effective.

Opening an outline in PowerPoint

Instead of importing your outline, you can open your outline directly in PowerPoint to start a brand-new presentation.

To do so, follow these simple steps.

1. Go to the Open File dialog box

Within PowerPoint, either navigate to the File tab, Open and select Computer or on your keyboard simply hit CTRL + F12.

Using either method, the navigation dialog box opens up.

2. Change the file type you are searching for

Within the Open File dialog box, in the lower right-hand corner change the file type you are searching for from PowerPoint files to All Outlines .

3. Find your outline document

Find your outline document (I usually just save mine in Word) and click okay.

Note, if you are using a Mac, you need to save your Word document in the Rich Text File (.rtf) format.

If your outline is formatted correctly, your text will import correctly in the title and content container placeholders. If not formatted correctly, each line of text from your outline will import as its own individual slide.

Final Thoughts

So those are all the different ways you can use the Outline View in PowerPoint to quickly build and edit your PowerPoint presentations.

If you end up using the Outline View a lot, I highly recommend learning the keyboard shortcuts for it. Shortcuts are the fastest way to double your productivity in PowerPoint (no joke).  For a full list of our favorite keyboard shortcuts in PowerPoint, read our guide here .

If you enjoyed the depth and detail of this blog post, you can learn more about boosting your PowerPoint skills with us here .

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About the author.

This Post Has 4 Comments

I apologize if this is obvious and I’m missing it.

But I don’t see anything about the browser-based version of Powerpoint.

Is that because the Outline feature simply does not exist there?

Hi Edward. Yes, unfortunately the Outline View does not exist in the online version of PowerPoint. It’s a very watered down version and I mostly use it to edit existing documents or present, rather that build out a presentation.

Wish I had a better answer for you, but thanks for the question.

I think you meant Ctrl+Shift+Tab rather than Alt+Shift+Tab, in your first mention of that shorcut. Thanks for the helpful article!

Yes, thank you for that (that was a typo on my end)! You are correct, Ctrl+Shift+Tab is the shortcut for the Outline View :). Cheers!

Comments are closed.

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Home Blog PowerPoint Tutorials How to Use Outline View in PowerPoint

How to Use Outline View in PowerPoint

PowerPoint provides different views to help presenters manage their presentations and PowerPoint templates . The Normal view is often used when creating presentations, the Slide Sorter view helps sort slides easily, the Reading view gives ease of reading the slides for review purposes, whereas the Slideshow mode is used for presenting presentations. Similarly, if you need to review and manage your outlines, the Outline View in PowerPoint is the right option.

How to Switch to Outline View in PowerPoint

By going to View -> Outline View , you can see the outline for your presentation. This view displays the presentation as titles and text within slides to give you an overview of the slide content.

The PowerPoint Outline View can also help to define the structure of your presentation beforehand, or review your slides after you have created a basic outline and need to start working on your slides. This can help you review if the outline makes sense. You can also use it during or after the completion of your presentation for the same purpose.

There are numerous handy options in the PowerPoint Outline view accessible via the right-click context menu. This includes options to expand or collapse the list and delete, move, or add new slides.

How to Print an Outline of the Presentation

To print an outline for your slides, go to File -> Print and select Outline via Settings . Select the printer and click Print .

Final Words

When designing your presentation outline in PowerPoint, a few considerations should include the title, introduction to your topic, subheadings, the number of slides you intend to use, a summary of your slides to make your content memorable with key action points, and a conclusion. The Outline View in PowerPoint can be a good option to review the basic outline for your presentation to remain on track when working on your slides.

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• Communication

How to Write Powerful PowerPoint Presentations Fast With Outlines

In this tutorial, you'll learn how to write a PowerPoint outline for a presentation . You'll see a presentation outline example that shows how beneficial the process can be. It might seem like an extra step while building a presentation. But creating a presentation outline saves you time in the long run.

Presentation outlines are a great way to save time. So are advanced PowerPoint templates. You'll see examples of professional PowerPoint templates from Envato Elements (unlimited downloads)  in this tutorial while you learn how to write a presentation outline.

Why Should You Write a PowerPoint Presentation Outline?

You might think that learning how to write a presentation outline is an  extra  step. Writing a presentation outline takes time. But you might be surprised by how much time it ultimately saves in later steps.

It's important to see writing a presentation outline as a helpful step instead of extra work. Investing time in creating a PowerPoint outline helps you avoid rewriting and reworking your presentation.

When I was a rookie presenter, I made a lot of mistakes while writing a presentation. I'd open PowerPoint, spend too much time picking a theme, and then start writing my content. I jumped back and forth between slides adding points.

In short: this created an unfocused presentation. You could tell that there was a scatterbrained approach to writing content. When I started using outlines, the presentation felt more cohesive, and every point fell naturally into place.

But don't think that a PowerPoint presentation outline will be tossed in the trash when your presentation is finished. With a bit of creativity, PowerPoint presentation outlines can serve multiple purposes:

• Use an outline as a slide of its own  to give your audience a sneak peek of the presentation's path.
• Send your outline as a pre-read  with critical details to build anticipation for your presentation.
• Print your outline  and keep it nearby to help you stay on topic while presenting.

Think of writing a presentation as a series of steps. Writing a presentation outline is the first step that saves time on all future steps. Learn how to do a presentation outline and more in our tutorial below:

Now, let's dive into our tutorial on PowerPoint presentation outlines.

How to Write a PowerPoint Presentation Outline

Once you've committed to writing a PowerPoint presentation outline, you might be wondering what the process looks like. Let's learn the keys to writing a presentation outline. Then, you'll learn how to incorporate that presentation outline into your PowerPoint.

The PowerPoint screenshots that you'll see in this section use a template called Brusher from Envato Elements . 

Now let's look at how to create PowerPoint outlines:

1. Close PowerPoint (If It's Already Open)

If PowerPoint is open, close the application! If it's not open, don't even think about heading for the Start menu to launch it.

That's right. The most important part of writing a PowerPoint presentation outline is to leave out the app for the time being. If you don't do this, you risk spinning your wheels and redoing parts of your presentation over and over. 

You might be surprised at how much focus a presentation outline brings to the process of learning how to write a presentation outline.

How many tutorials tell you to close the app while learning how to make a presentation outline? Well, this one just did, and it's crucial to the process of writing a presentation outline.

2. Set a Presentation Goal

It's vital that every presentation has a single, unifying goal. A PowerPoint presentation is a series of slides with supporting points that all tie back to that goal.

This goal is the guiding principle for everything you write. Setting the presentation's goal is the  first  step for writing your PowerPoint outline. 

As you set your presentation's goal, it's also crucial to think about the  type of presentation that you're giving. I divide presentation purposes into three key types, each with their nuances when it comes to writing. Here are the three types of presentation goals:

• To  educate  the audience on ideas and topics.
• To  update  colleagues on the latest status of a critical project or event (think of a meeting at work where you share a project update, for example).
• To  persuade  the audience to agree with and embrace your idea or position on an idea.

Before you start filling in the presentation outline, make sure that you've set this singular goal. Otherwise, you risk your presentation diverging into many ideas that don't support a common cause.

In summary, your first outline step is to  write your presentation's goal . It's that singular measuring stick that you use as you add more content. Every time you add a new slide or supporting point, ask yourself, " does this content support my presentation's goal? "

Supporting points help reiterate the presentation's goal. But you can't support the key goal if you don't define the goal! Learning how to do a presentation outline comes back to setting a goal.

3. Add Headers for the Key Sections

Now that you've set your presentation's " north star ," you can begin to block in the critical sections that support the goal. Each section should give a new angle but play a part in reinforcing the central goal.

I tend to aim for three or four key sections per presentation. Each of those sections might include multiple PowerPoint slides.

This is commonly called the " body " of the presentation. It's the meat and bones of the presentation with the content that helps you drive your key point home. Fill in a goal as you see in the presentation outline example below:

Let's walk through an example. Let's say that I'm attempting to inspire my audience to learn Power Query, a popular Excel data tool. The goal is to encourage them to action. I'll use three key sections that support the goal:

• What's Power Query?  It's best not to assume that your audience already knows. 
• Why should you use Power Query?  In a section like this, show the  benefit  of taking action. In this case, I'd show the audience how much faster data imports and transformations are when you use Power Query. This potential will inspire action.
• How to learn Power Query.  Once I've given the audience a taste of the power of the tool at hand, it's essential to provide them with a " next step " as well. A few primary resources of tutorials can serve as a launching pad.

No two presentations are the same. The way that you support your points will vary based on the presentation's goal. Remember: Y ou're the presenter. It's your story to tell.

Now, start filling in the details for each supporting section. Just as we expanded on the goal with crucial sections, each  section  should have supporting points.

In your medium of choice, write several supporting sentences for each of your key sections. This gives you several points that support your idea. Use these support points to create individual slides.

See the screenshot below for a sample presentation outline in progress:

Learn more about the writing process in this tutorial:

4. Write the Supporting Points

"You can't boil the entire ocean... The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time... Divide and conquer the task at hand..." 

All these phrases mean the same thing: the best way to tackle a project is to divide it into parts. When you're creating a PowerPoint, writing a  presentation outline first is the best way to break the project into easy-to-conquer tasks.

5. Open PowerPoint and Add Your Outline

Once you've finished writing your PowerPoint presentation outline, it's time to jump back to the app finally. You've laid the groundwork for writing a presentation rapidly. Now, it's time to drop it into PowerPoint.

There are many ways to approach this task. For me, I paste the entire outline on the first slide. Then, I'll start carving that outline up, pasting the sections, and supporting points out to their slides. I use this PowerPoint outline slide to plan my presentation.

Now, start pasting those sections to their own sections. Using Outline view in PowerPoint or another tool, gradually pull your outline apart into unique sections. Instead of typing them one-by-one, just paste the sections onto new slides.

You don't have to stick with the exact text you wrote. Instead, paste the sections out and use them as the inspiration for content. By doing this, your presentation stays true to the original outline and on topic!

PowerPoint even has a helpful feature to focus on outlines in the app. Learn more about Outline view in PowerPoint in the tutorial below:

It might seem odd that we saved this step for last, but this approach helps you stay focused. Instead of jumping around inside PowerPoint while writing a presentation outline, consider using a separate tool.

5 More Powerful Presentation Writing Tips

Before writing your presentation outline think consider the following:

1. Have One Idea Per Slide

Your slides should just have your main points. If there's too much on your slide, it can be overwhelming for your audience. It can also be distracting. Instead of listening to you, your audience might be reading the text on the slide.

2. Simplify Your Sentences

Instead of having complete sentences on your slide, you can reduce text by having simple sentences.

For example, instead of saying, " When you study before a test, you will remember the material, raise your grade and be knowledgeable about the subject. " You can simplify the statement to look like this:

Benefits of Studying

• Remember Material
• Raise Your Grade

Simplifying your sentences, as shown above, makes it easier to follow the rules on minimizing text on your slides.

3. Have Powerful Visuals

Visuals engage your audience, especially when they're eye-catching. They can also show what you’re discussing in the presentation.

If you want to add an emotional element to your presentation, a high-quality image is a great way to do that. If the image is low-quality or irrelevant, it can distract the audience. It’s best to think carefully about your visuals and what you want to add to the presentation.

4. Remember Your Audience

While writing your outline, remember who you’re writing for. One of the things you need to know about your audience is their knowledge of the subject you’re discussing. Are you speaking to a group of professionals who understand the terminology and the subject well? Or are you talking to a group of students who don’t know much about the subject?

You must also keep your audience in mind if you’re adding humor to your presentation. If you offend your audience, even accidentally, they'll stop listening to you.

5. Don’t Use Your Slides as Notes

Don’t read off your slides. This is a common mistake that people can make. The audience can read your slides, so it can be boring to hear you repeat what’s written on the slide.

It’s more effective when you give the audience new information. If you want to have notes, you can use the speaker notes tool in PowerPoint. This tool lets you add notes that the audience won’t see.

The Best Source for PowerPoint Presentation Templates (With Unlimited Downloads)

Before we dive into how to write presentations quickly, let's take a look at another timesaver: presentation templates . PowerPoint templates already have most of the design work done for you.

On Envato Elements, you can source unlimited  PowerPoint templates  for a flat rate. The singular subscription gives you everything you need to create a presentation—fast! Many of these options include PowerPoint outline templates already built.

Explore PowerPoint Templates

Not only will you unlock unlimited PowerPoint templates, but you'll also gain access to many other creative assets. That includes stock photos, graphics, illustrations, and more!

Top Envato Elements Presentation Templates

As you finish up your PowerPoint outline, why not pair it with a presentation outline template to rapidly craft your presentation? Here are three of our favorites in the Envato Elements library, all included as a part of the subscription!

1.  Outline - PowerPoint Template

The name might be a coincidence, but this PowerPoint presentation titled Outline is a perfect choice for many purposes. You've got 30 slides across five color schemes that are ready for practically any topic.

Flexible PowerPoint templates like this make it easy to adapt your presentation outline easily thanks to their well-designed structure.

2.  Business Strategy Two PowerPoint Template

The strategy is the unifying direction for a business or project plan. They work well with PowerPoint outlines thanks to the focused approach. This template captures many of the most popular strategy deliverables like:

• triple bottom line analyses
• and so much more

3.  Creativeplus - Agency PowerPoint Template

Are you running a creative agency? This PowerPoint template is sure to be a hit. It's useful for pitching projects or showing off your design chops. It's easy to update and has a fresh design that's certainly on-trend.

If you're still looking for presentation outline templates that save you time, Envato Elements might be right for you. Grab a template and design it rapidly!

More PowerPoint Presentation Templates

We've just scratched the surface of what's possible with templates for PowerPoint. Templates are the best way to save many hours of design work. Here are several articles with the best selection of PowerPoint templates:

More Powerful PowerPoint Resources

Learning how to write a presentation outline is just one of the many skills you need to become a confident presenter. Think of your learning journey in PowerPoint as a series of building blocks. Each skill gives you a steadier foundation.

Also, check our top-rated learning resource, How to Use PowerPoint (Ultimate Tutorial Guide.) It's a comprehensive source of the best learning materials to master PowerPoint.

You've already learned how to write an outline for a presentation. Keep learning with these three excellent tutorials:

Start Writing Your PowerPoint Presentation Outline Today

You learned how to make a PowerPoint outline for a presentation. Writing a PowerPoint outline is a surefire way to save time and improve your presentation. It brings a focus and consistency to the content.

Every presentation is different. That means that every PowerPoint outline will differ. This guide offers general guidelines to help you. But remember to be confident in your subject knowledge.

Before you start writing a presentation, remember that writing an outline first is the best way to do it. Set a goal, write a few key sections, and fill in your supporting details. Then, rapidly build the slides with your content.

Don't forget! PowerPoint presentation templates from Envato Elements are major time-savers too! Use them alongside your outline to write presentations quickly. 

Editorial Note : This post was originally published in February of 2020. It's been updated for accuracy with help from Sarah Joy .

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Comprehensive Guide To Outline View In PowerPoint

• Date: 15th October 2021
• Read Time 5 mins

What is this unknown and brilliant Microsoft PowerPoint view I hear you cry?

It’s the PowerPoint Outline view, found in the View Ribbon in the Presentation Views group.

I’ve circled the View tab and the Outline view command below so you can see it clearly.

Do you know this view and how to use it? If not, stay right where you are! It’s quite different to Normal View in Microsoft PowerPoint. It shows you the presentation outline.

Why show you this view? The answer is, we’ve been teaching Microsoft PowerPoint for over 20 years (yes it did exist back then!) and noticed that this isn’t a well-known view despite it containing so many ways to speed up your work.

For those of you keen to learn more about PowerPoint Outline is covered in our PowerPoint Training Courses .

Let’s take a look at Outline View.

What Does Outline View Show You?

As you can see in the screenshot below, the Outline view is all about the presentation text and nothing else.

It’s where you can focus on the words in your presentation, so there are no distractions from the formatting, colour, or design.

It’s a really clean and productive view to start creating a presentation from.

The Outline view shown above has been customised slightly. I’ll show you how to recreate this exact view next.

To recreate the customised Outline view shown above, we need to make the text panel on the left sidelarger (the Outline pane) and the slide area on the right smaller.

The divider (which has been highlighted with an arrow and is shown below) is dragged to the right with the white double-headed cursor. You will see this cursor when pointing to the divider.

This creates a bigger left text panel and what’s called a slide miniature on the right.

If you are looking to learn more about how you can insert slides from other presentations easily , view our guide here!

How Do I Use PowerPoint Outline View?

Here’s how, you use the left text panel as if you were typing in Word. It’s remarkably simple to use!

The numbers and text circled above are the slide numbers and the slide titles.

Let’s create a presentation in Outline view. A new presentation has been created below and Outline view has been selected and customised as shown earlier.

The text PowerPoint Course has been typed onto slide 1. We then press enter and move onto slide 2. This is an amazingly quick way of creating and then typing into a new slide!

We can either use this new slide 2 or press the tab key to create and type subheadings onto slide one like this shown below.

By pressing enter after the subheading Tutor: Lucinda Thomas followed by shift+tab. This changes a subheading into the main slide heading like this below and Course Aims and Objectives can be typed in.

So, to summarise, we use enter after typing text and then alternate between tab (moves text right) to produce a subheading and shift+tab (moves text left) to produce a slide heading. Its that simple to use!

Looking for something a little different? Check out our AutoCAD for architects guide here!

What other features are there in Outline view?

We can Collapse and Expand all or individual slides in a presentation. This is incredibly useful for managing large presentations and organising ideas too. To collapse or expand slides we need to be in Outline View and right-click on a slide selector which is the box on the right of a slide number.

As you can see below, slide 2 has been right-clicked on. The speed menu shows the Collapse and Expand options. Collapse will just affect slide 2 whereas Collapse All will affect all slides in the presentation.

When Collapse All is selected, we only see the slide headings in the entire presentation as shown below. This helps when checking the flow and logic of a presentation. To show all headings again right-click on a slide selector and select Expand or Expand All .

Reorganising slides can also be carried out in Outline view so there’s no need to change to a different view for this.

By pointing to a slide selector, a white 4 headed arrow appears. By keeping the left mouse button pressed the 4 headed arrow turns black and the slide and all its text can be dragged up or down.

The grey positioning line shows the slides new position. The picture below demonstrates slide 3 being positioned between slide 1 and 2.

Lines of text can also be rearranged in Outline view. This is done by right clicking on the line of text and using the Move Up and Move Down options on the speed menu shown below.

The first point on slide 3 has been right-clicked on and this text has now been moved down and relocated as the first subheading on slide 4.

If you want to read information in your presentation or Outline, you can read our guide on zooming in using your mouse here.

Can I print PowerPoint Outline View?

Great news! Yes, you can print the Outline of a PowerPoint presentation. Many people use outline view to create speaker notes when making a presentation .

To print the Outline the Print options will be needed. Use the keyboard shortcut Control+P which takes you to Backstage View and the Print options which are shown below. The Full Page Slides option is selected, and Outline is clicked on from the menu (highlighted by the arrow) as shown below.

You are now able to print the Outline text only as shown below. This technique is covered in our comprehensive guide to all printing options in PowerPoint .

Want to see how people are using PowerPoint today? Check out our PowerPoint statistics here!

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How to Print an Outline of the Presentation in Powerpoint

When you are creating a slideshow in Powerpoint for school or work, someone might ask you to also make an outline.

At first, this might seem like a lot of extra work, but there is actually a way to generate this document in Microsoft Powerpoint without needing to create an entirely separate document.

Our tutorial below will show you how to print an outline of the presentation in Powerpoint by adjusting an option on the Print menu.

Summary – How to Print an Outline View in Powerpoint 2010

• Click the File tab at the top-left corner of the window.
• Click Print in the left column.
• Click the second dropdown menu (it says Full Page Slides by default), then click the Outline option.
• Confirm that the outline is correct, then click the Print button.

Our guide continues below with additional information on how to print an outline of the presentation in Powerpoint , including pictures of these steps.

Learning how to print the outline view in Powerpoint 2010 is a valuable skill for someone that spends a lot of time working with Powerpoint presentations.

Many presentations can be incredibly large, and printing out every slide can be both unwieldy and unproductive.

But the outline view in Powerpoint 2010 provides a summarized version of your spreadsheet’s information, and printing an outline from Powerpoint 2010 can give you a condensed list of the slides and the information contained on them.

While we have previously discussed ways to print out handouts and speaker notes in Powerpoint 2010, one of those options might not be ideal for every situation.

Sometimes you want to print out a short summary of the information contained in your slideshow, whether it is for you or your audience.

Luckily Powerpoint 2010 also generates an outline from your slideshow information, so you will want to learn how to print an outline from Powerpoint 2010.

Generally speaking, an outline will usually be much smaller than if you printed handouts for everyone in your audience, as the outline will only include the text from your slides.

This will reduce the amount of paper that you use and will present the bulk of your slideshow information in a format that is easy to manage.

Printing Outlines in Powerpoint 2010 (Guide with Pictures)

The outline of your slideshow in Powerpoint is something that Powerpoint generates automatically. You do not need to do anything special for the outline to be created

It will take all of the text on each of your slides, then it will organize that information, by slide, into one complete outline document.

You can follow the steps below to learn how to print your outline in Powerpoint 2010.

Step 1: Double-click your Powerpoint presentation to open the slideshow in Powerpoint 2010.

Step 2: check each slide to ensure that you have included all of your text information and that everything is spelled correctly..

Note that there is a spell check utility available in the Proofing section of the ribbon on the Review tab.

Step 3: Click the File tab at the top-left corner of the window.

Step 4: click print in the column at the left side of the window., step 5: click the full page slides drop-down menu at the center of the window, then click the outline option in the top section..

Step 6: Check the outline document in the preview section at the right side of the window to see what information will be included on the printout.

If something is incorrect or does not make sense without also including a video or image to which it refers, then consider revising the text so that it is more helpful in the outline format.

Step 7: Click the Print button at the top of the window to print out the outline document.

Now that you know how to print an outline of the presentation in Powerpoint , you will be able to generate one of these documents whenever you need a summary or a shorter version of the complete presentation that you created.

Would a slide in your presentation, or even the entire presentation itself, look better in portrait orientation? Learn how to switch to portrait orientation in Powerpoint 2010 and look at your slide shows from a different perspective.

More Information on How to Print an Outline From Powerpoint 2010

When you follow the steps above to create a presentation outline of your PowerPoint slides, you will not only be able to see how many slides are in the presentation, but you will also get a helpful overview of the entire presentation.

This outline can be a good way to convert the presentation to a Word document if you also need to make a document from the slideshow. Since it contains only the text and none of the images, you won’t need to go through a lot of work to adjust the layout by removing all of those images or objects.

While the outline view is the main focus of this article, you can also use a similar option to create a notes page for each of the slides that you have created.

A notes page is going to include a single page for each slide, but any of the content in the Notes pane at the bottom of the slide editor.

If you need to create handouts for your audience, then you might want to select one of the Notes options rather than select Outline.

One other option that you have for viewing the presentation outline instead of going to the Print Preview is to select the View tab at the top of the window, then click Outline View in the Presentation Views group at the left side of the window.

This will open a column at the left side of the window that shows the outline. There is also a slide number next to each section of information so that you know which slide to attribute that content to.

You can click the Normal view button when you are finished working with the Outline view.

Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.

After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.

His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.

Read his full bio here.

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How to Work in PowerPoint 2019's Outline View

Powerpoint 2019 for dummies.

Sign up for the Dummies Beta Program to try Dummies' newest way to learn.

Such presentations lend themselves especially well to outlining. PowerPoint’s Outline View lets you focus on your presentation’s main points and subpoints. In other words, it enables you to focus on content without worrying about appearance.

How to switch your PowerPoint presentation to Outline view

In Normal View, the left side of the PowerPoint window is devoted to showing thumbnail images of your slides. But you can easily switch your presentation into Outline View by clicking the Outline View button in the Ribbon’s View tab (shown in the margin). Then, your presentation appears as an outline, with the title of each slide as a separate heading at the highest level of the outline, and the text on each slide appears as lower-level headings subordinate to the slide headings. See the following figure. (Note that if a slide doesn’t have a title, the slide still appears in the outline, but the top-level heading for the slide is blank.)

You can expand the area devoted to the outline by clicking and dragging the border of the Outline pane.

• The outline is comprised of the titles and body text of each slide. Any other objects that you add to a slide — such as pictures, charts, and so on — are not included in the outline. Also, if you add any text objects to the slide in addition to the basic title and body text placeholders in the slide layout, the additional text objects are not included in the outline.
• Each slide is represented by a high-level heading in the outline. The text of this heading is taken from the slide’s title, and an icon that represents the entire slide appears next to the heading. Also, the slide number appears to the left of the Slide icon.
• Each text line from a slide’s body text appears as an indented heading. This heading is subordinate to the slide’s main title heading.
• An outline can contain subpoints that are subordinate to the main points on each slide. PowerPoint enables you to create as many as nine heading levels on each slide, but your slides will probably get too complicated if you go beyond two headings.

How to select and edit an entire PowerPoint slide

You can delete, cut, copy, or duplicate an entire slide:

• Delete: To delete an entire slide, select it and then press Delete.
• Cut or copy: To cut or copy an entire slide to the Clipboard, select the slide and then press Ctrl+X (Cut) or Ctrl+C (Copy), or use the Cut or Copy button on the Home tab on the Ribbon. You can then move the cursor to any location in the outline and press Ctrl+V or use the Paste button to paste the slide from the Clipboard. (You can also cut or copy a slide by right-clicking the slide and choosing Cut or Copy from the menu that appears.)
• Duplicate: To duplicate a slide, select it and then press Ctrl+D. This step places a copy of the selected slide immediately after it. (Actually, you don’t have to select the entire slide to duplicate it. Just click anywhere in the slide’s title or body text.)

How to select and edit one paragraph in PowerPoint 2019

To cut or copy an entire paragraph to the Clipboard along with its subordinates, select it and then press Ctrl+X (Cut) or Ctrl+C (Copy). You can then press Ctrl+V to paste the paragraph anywhere in the presentation.

How to promote and demote entire paragraphs in PowerPoint

To promote a paragraph, place the cursor anywhere in the paragraph and then press Shift+Tab or click the Decrease List Level button in the Paragraph group on the Home tab. (Note that you can’t promote a paragraph that is already at the highest outline level.)

To demote a paragraph is to do just the opposite: The paragraph moves down one level in the outline. When you demote a paragraph, the paragraph’s indentation is shifted to the right. If you demote the “Shakespeare was 46 years old in 1611” paragraph in the figure, it becomes a subpoint under “King James Bible published in 1611” rather than a separate main point.

To demote a paragraph, place the cursor anywhere in the paragraph and then either press the Tab key or click the Increase List Level button in the Paragraph group on the Home tab.

Note that you can’t promote a slide title. Slide title is the highest rank in the outline hierarchy. If you demote a slide title, the entire slide is subsumed into the preceding slide. In other words, the slide title becomes a main point in the preceding slide.

You can promote or demote paragraphs by using the mouse, but the technique is a little tricky. When you move the cursor over a bullet (or the Slide button), the pointer changes from a single arrow to a four-cornered arrow. This arrow is your signal that you can click to select the entire paragraph (and any subordinate paragraphs). Then, you can use the mouse to promote or demote a paragraph along with all its subordinates by dragging the selected paragraph left or right.

Be gentle when you demote paragraphs. Being demoted can be an emotionally devastating experience.

How to add a new paragraph in PowerPoint's Outline view

Note that if you move the insertion point to the end of the title line and press Enter, PowerPoint creates a new slide. However, you can then press the Tab key to change the new slide to a paragraph on the preceding slide.

If you position the insertion point at the beginning of a paragraph and press Enter, the new paragraph is inserted above the cursor position. If you position the cursor in the middle of a paragraph and press Enter, the paragraph is split in two.

After you add a new paragraph, you might want to change its level in the outline. To do that, you must promote or demote the new paragraph (as described in the preceding section). To create a subpoint for a main point, for example, position the cursor at the end of the main point and press Enter. Then, demote the new paragraph by pressing the Tab key.

How to add a new PowerPoint slide

• Promote existing text: Promote an existing paragraph to the highest level. This method splits a slide into two slides.
• Promote new text: Add a new paragraph and then promote it to the highest level.
• Press Enter: Place the cursor in a slide’s title text and press Enter. This method creates a new slide before the current slide. Whether the title text stays with the current slide, goes with the new slide, or is split between the slides depends on the location of the cursor within the title when you press Enter.
• Press Ctrl+Enter: Place the cursor anywhere in a slide’s body text and press Ctrl+Enter. This method creates a new slide immediately following the current slide. The position of the cursor within the existing slide doesn’t matter; the new slide is always created after the current slide. (The cursor must be in the slide’s body text, however, in order for this method to work. If you put the cursor in a slide title and press Ctrl+Enter, the cursor jumps to the slide’s body text without creating a new slide.)
• Insert a new slide: Place the cursor anywhere in the slide and use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+M or click the Add Slide button in the Slides group of the Home Ribbon tab.
• Duplicate an existing slide: Select an existing slide by clicking the slide’s icon or triple-clicking the title, and then press Ctrl+D to duplicate it.

Because the outline focuses on slide content rather than on layout, new slides receive the basic Title and Content layout, which includes title text and body text formatted with bullets.

How to move text up and down in PowerPoint's Outline view

You can rearrange your presentation by right-clicking the paragraphs that you want to move and then clicking the Move Up or Move Down button in the menu that appears. Or you can point to the bullet next to the paragraph that you want to move. Then, when the cursor changes to the four-cornered arrow, click and drag the paragraph up or down. A horizontal line appears, showing the horizontal position of the selection. Release the mouse button when the horizontal line is positioned where you want the text.

Be careful when you’re moving text in a slide that has more than one level of body text paragraphs. Notice the position of the horizontal line when you drag the selection; the entire selection is inserted at that location, which might split up subpoints. If you don’t like the result of a move, you can always undo it by pressing Ctrl+Z or clicking the Undo button.

How to collapse and expand the outline in PowerPoint

Expanding a presentation restores the collapsed body text to the outline so that you can once again focus on details. You can collapse and expand an entire presentation, or you can collapse and expand one slide at a time.

To collapse the entire presentation, right-click anywhere in the outline and then choose Collapse →Collapse All or use the keyboard shortcut Alt+Shift+1. To expand the presentation, right-click and choose Expand →Expand All or press Alt+Shift+9.

To collapse a single slide, right-click anywhere in the slide and then choose Collapse → Collapse from the menu that appears. To expand a single slide, right-click the collapsed slide and choose Expand →Expand.

About This Article

This article is from the book:.

• PowerPoint 2019 For Dummies ,

About the book author:

Doug Lowe is a master at demystifying technology. The 50+ technology books he's written include more than 30 For Dummies books, including Networking All-in-One For Dummies. Doug has been managing networks at publishing companies and nonprofit organizations for more than 20 years and is presently IT director for a civil engineering firm.

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Outline View in PowerPoint

How to Use Outline View in PowerPoint

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Outline View shows your presentation arranged as an outline and is ideal for quickly adding text to a slide or previewing the structure of a presentation.

View an Outline

• Click the View tab.

The Outline pane appears at the left, showing only the text in your presentation.

You can quickly create an entire presentation by pasting an outline from Word into the Outline pane.

Collapse and Expand Headings

In Outline View, you can collapse or expand headings, subheadings, and text.

• Right-click any slide title in the Outline pane.
• Click the Collapse list arrow.
• Collapse : Collapse only the selected slide.
• Collapse All : Collapse all slides in the Outline view.

You can expand or collapse a heading by double-clicking a slide icon in the Outline pane.

Rearrange Outline Content

• Right-click the slide you want to move.

Adjust the List Level

You can also change the level of slide text using the Outline pane.

• Select an Outline item.
• Increase List Level : Demotes a paragraph by moving it down one level in the outline, increasing its indent level.
• Decrease List Level : Promotes a paragraph by moving it up one level in the outline, decreasing its indent level.

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How To Turn Powerpoint Into Outline

Do you want to turn your PowerPoint presentation into an outline? You can do it easily by utilizing a built-in feature in PowerPoint. Keep reading to find out the steps to creating an outline from your PowerPoint presentation.

Step 1: Click On The “File” Tab

First, you will need to open up the PowerPoint presentation from which you want to create an outline. Click on the “File” tab in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.

Step 2: Select “Export”

Upon clicking “File”, new options will appear. Click on “Export” from the options in the File tab.

Step 3: Create Handouts

Click “Create Handouts” under the Export tab then press the “Create Handouts” icon.

Step 4: Select “Outline Only”

A popup will appear after clicking on the “create handouts” button. Select the “Outline Only” option and press “Ok”.

That’s it! Once you do so, PowerPoint will generate an outline, and it will open in the MS Word program. If you want to make edits to the outline, simply make them in Word and then save the document. We hope you found this helpful. Thanks for reading!

As you see, it’s quite easy to turn your presentation into an outline using PowerPoint’s built-in feature. All you need to do is follow the steps that are outlined in this article. Thanks for reading!

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• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

PowerPoint Tip: Start Your Presentation with an Outline

PowerPoint presentations are much like college essays. They present cited, relevant information that is meant to educate and inform. They are made for a wide audience. Do you remember what your teachers used to advise you to do when they assigned an essay writing assignment?

“Don’t forget to make an outline before you write.”

You can use the same concept in your next presentation. Just because it contains pictures and encourages interactivity doesn’t mean that it can’t be approached in a similar fashion. Outlining key points is a powerful strategy, and PowerPoint 2013 has a very useful tool to help you do it. This article will explain the importance of outlining and how to use the PowerPoint Outline View .

Why Create an Outline?

The answer is fairly simple: outlining focuses your presentation. It acts as a sort of pre-first draft, giving you leeway to throw ideas on the table and figure out which ones work best for your presentation. By putting everything you’ve thought of in one space, you can see your ideas and points side-by-side and more efficiently eliminate ones that don’t contribute to your overall message. By tightening the screws and oiling the gears, you will have a more cohesive presentation that works well both in presenting (on your end) and receiving (on the audience’s end).

PowerPoint Outline View

When you switch to Outline View in PowerPoint, you will see all the text currently within your title and text placeholders in a document-style format that appears on the left side of the screen. This will allow you to go through all the text and edit it without having to locate your text boxes one by one, slide by slide. It is a very useful tool to use when you want to focus on both text and image in a single go, consolidating your work from different areas of the screen.

Outline View can easily be switched on and off by using the Ctrl+Shift+Tab key combination or via VIEW → Outline View .

Text typed in Outline View will appear in the title of the current slide. Press Enter to add a new slide. By pressing Tab the current item will be indented and become a subitem of the previous item. Shift+Tab removes the indentation. All of these features are also accessible via the context menu, which can be accessed by right-clicking an outline item.

Importing an Existing Outline

If you have already created an outline in Microsoft Word, you can easily convert it into PowerPoint slides. PowerPoint will use the heading styles that you assigned to your text in Word to determine which paragraphs are titles and which are content. Heading 1 lines will become slide titles, Heading 2 lines will become bulleted items on the slides, and Heading 3 lines will become sub-bulleted items.

To import an existing outline file, click the drop-down menu under New Slide on the HOME tab, and select Slides from Outline . Navigate to the outline file, and click Insert .

Another option is to create an outline in .txt format using Notepad (or any other text editor), as shown in the screenshot below.

Normal paragraphs will be converted into slide titles, whereas paragraphs indented by tabs will result in bulleted lists.

All of the best presentations include three things: research, quality, and purpose. PowerPoint’s Outline View can help you achieve the quality work you desire as you create your presentation and impress your audience with your vision. By consolidating all of your important content into a single segregated window, you can more easily weed out the text you don’t want and refine the text you do want. That way, by the end, you’ll achieve your goal.

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When you plan out your slideshow ahead of time, you might use an outline. This helps determine the content for each slide. In Microsoft PowerPoint, you can pull that outline right into the application and transform it into a presentation.

If you already have an outline, you're one step ahead. If not, you can use an application like Microsoft Word or Notepad for your outline.

Related: How to Create and Work with Multilevel Lists in Microsoft Word

Each line in the outline displays on a separate slide even if you have a multilevel outline .

If you use numbering or bullets in an application like Word , those normally won't carry over to the slides. But with software like Notepad, they may. So, depending on the application you use for the outline, this is something to keep in mind.

You can add the outline to an existing presentation, new blank slideshow, or one with a template . Open PowerPoint and choose the slideshow or make a new one.

Related: How to Create a Custom Template in PowerPoint

On either the Home or Insert tab, select the New Slide drop-down menu. Pick "Slides From Outline."

Browse for the outline file on your computer, select it, and click "Insert."

After a moment, you'll see your outline load into PowerPoint. As mentioned, each line of the outline is its own slide.

From there, you can add text, include images, insert animated charts , and use videos as you normally would.

Creating a PowerPoint slideshow from an outline gives you a good jump-start on your presentation.

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How to use Outline View in PowerPoint

With Outline view in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, you can quickly and easily create a short summary of the content of your document — without the need to type it out again.

In this blog, Edmund explains the benefits of Outline view and how to do it.

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Outline view displays an outline of your document's contents in either PowerPoint or Word. It makes it easy to focus on your text in the contents without graphics.

If you have used Word to develop your ideas and now need to put that work into PowerPoint, there is no need to type it all out again or copy and paste all the content. You can use that .doc file to instantly create a presentation!

With Outline view, you can edit your slides and move them around as needed, and easily control what information is displayed using Word's Heading Styles.

How to transform your Word document into a PowerPoint presentation

To get the full benefit of using Outline View, your Word document must be properly formatted using Heading Styles such as Heading 1, Heading 2 and Heading 3. You will need to set up your document so that the content that will become a Slide Title is formatted with the Heading 1 Style. Bullets are formatted with the Heading 2 Style and sub-bullets with Heading 3, 4 and 5 Styles.

Body Text content that is not in these heading styles will be ignored in the PowerPoint when converting.

To get started with Outline View, click on the View tab in Microsoft Word, and then click on Outline View.

In Outline View above you will see + signs to the left of text indicating that it will appear in the slideshow.

A Body Text with a circle in front of it will be ignored.

If your Word document contains no Heading 1 or Heading 2 styles, PowerPoint will create a slide for each paragraph in your content.

Any blank lines in between are automatically formatted as Headings or they become extra slides in PowerPoint – so you’ll need to make sure that you delete any extra blank lines.

If there is a plus sign on the left of the text, this means that the text is formatted as a Heading Style and has additional Subheadings. This heading can then be expanded to see all the Subheadings.

Text that is not formatted as a Heading Style is called Body text and is identified by a small circle next to it and is usually indented below the heading that it follows. 

Next, you’ll need to open PowerPoint and select Home > New Slide, then select Slides from Outline.

Finally, in the Insert Outline dialog box, find and select your Word outline and select Insert.

And that’s it! You will now have transformed your Word document into a PowerPoint presentation that just summarises your main points.

This feature means you’ll never have to spend time re-writing your documents into presentations ever again. How much time could this feature save you?

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How To Make an Effective Presentation Outline

Edraw content team, do you want to make presentation outline.

EdrawMind helps move ideas forward, faster and better. Learn from this complete guide to know how to make a perfect Presentation Outline. Just try it free now!

1. What is a Presentation Outline?

A presentation outline presents a comprehensive idea of what you plan to share with the audience. It is a synopsis of a talk, pitch, or subject matter under discussion. It serves as a guide for writing a paper, publishing a study, or building a presentation and enables you to structure your information in a way that is easy to understand. Making a presentation outline is similar to having all the necessary pieces in place before building a house. It may appear counter-productive to spend time and resources sorting things in the form of an outline. However, outlining saves time and gives clarity on a particular topic.

2. Why Should You Create a Presentation Outline?

A presentation outline assists you in preparing for your pitch or speech. It provides a clear path to take your audience from where it is to where you want it to be. It plays an important role in positively shaping people's perspectives about your planning and execution skills. There are several other advantages associated with creating a presentation outline which includes:

• It helps in brainstorming your presentation and saves time by giving a clear idea of what you need to focus on.
• It helps structure ideas so that they appear in a logical order.
• It enables you to determine the main points you need to keep in your presentation.
• You can categorize ideas into groups and create separate slides for each group for further clarity.
• It helps you rehearse your presentation while going over the important points.
• It provides a visual aid to help people understand your topic in a better way.

3. How to Create a Presentation Outline?

The following steps will help you create a presentation outline:

1 Considering the Purpose of Presentation

Determination of your presentation goal is fundamental to creating an outline. To find the purpose, you need to think about what you want from your audience. Finding this out will enable you to build your whole presentation. There are six purposes your presentation possibly have:

• Entertaining
• Inspiring to act

Considering the purpose will help you build an impressive presentation. The following few questions will enable you to figure this out:

• What do I want people to take away or understand from my presentation?
• How will my talk help those attending the presentation?
• What do I want people to do after the presentation is over?

Answers to these questions will help you create a summary of your presentation and will serve as a fine starting point.

2 Creating Structure

Creating a structure implies considering where different points belong in your discussion and where to use the supporting material. There are three main components of a presentation:

• Introduction

Structuring your points and arguments in these parts will enable you to transition from one part of the presentation to another without creating any trouble.

3 Using an Attention Grabber

Thinking about how you want to open your topic is an integral part of planning a presentation. If you want your audience to get engaged with what you are talking about, you can ask an interesting question, share a related story or quote something entertaining. It sets the tone for the rest of your discussion.

4 Considering Visual Content

You can add images, videos, or other visual content to your presentation to convey what you want to. It helps you to communicate emotions, excitement, passion, and experiences effectively. You can also focus on using different fonts and colors to make your presentation more interactive and interesting.

5 Including a Call to Action

A creative call to action will inspire your audience to take appropriate action. It will show what you want your audience to do after the presentation. Let your audience know what it will get from performing the required action.

4. How to Make a Presentation Outline?

You can make a presentation outline in the following two ways:

With PowerPoint and Word

1 creating an outline in word.

• Open Word document.
• Select View > Outline. This will automatically generate an outline and open the Outlining tools.
• If there are headings in your document, you will witness those headings organized by level (from H1 to H9). If there are no headings in the document, the outline will appear as a bullet list. You can assign or edit headings, and heading levels. You can also set up the structure of your document.
• Select a bullet item.
• Select a heading Level 1 for slide titles, Level 2 for bullet points on that slide from the Outline Level box.
• When the work is done, select Outline View to edit your document.
• Select Save to save your document, name your file, and then select Save once more.
• Select Close to close the document.

2 Importing a Word Outline into PowerPoint

• Open PowerPoint and select Home > New Slide.
• Select Slides from Outline.
• In the Insert Outline dialog box, find and select your Word outline. Select Insert.

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5. Presentation Outline Template

This presentation outline template describes three components of the outline: The introduction, the main body, and the conclusion. The introductory part opens the topic with an attention grabber and summarises the importance of the topic and its relevance of the topic to the audience. It also includes learning objectives that points out what the audience is going to learn from this presentation. The main body part constitutes the main idea of the topic. This idea is substantiated by supporting material. The concluding part constitutes a summary of the topic discussed and what the audience learned from it. It reviews the main points and calls the audience to take appropriate action.

6. Key Tips for Creating a More Effective Presentation

Here are some important points to consider to create an effective presentation:

• Know Your Audience. Get to know your audience by researching ahead of time so that you can make your presentation relatable.
• Add Quotes, Testimonials, or Data. Adding additional information to your presentation can help you engage your audience better.
• Visualize Your Ideas. The way you present your ideas is fundamental to the success of those ideas. EdrawMind helps you to create and present your ideas most effectively and efficiently.
• Identify Key Takeaways from Your Presentation. It will enable you to recall, review, and reassert what you want to communicate with your audience.
• Gather Feedback. Gathering honest feedback will help you make further improvements and adjustments to your presentation to make it more effective.

7. Key Takeaways

A presentation outline is a tool to communicate your ideas precisely. It helps you brainstorm and plan your presentation in a logical flow. Moreover, it helps to grab the attention of your audience by providing it with a visual depiction of what you are going to talk. If you want to create an impressive and creative presentation outline, EdrawMind will help you in this regard. It has a variety of functions and tools which enable you to create a dynamic outline suited to your topic. It enables you to brainstorm and present your ideas most effectively by using different diagrams, charts, graphs, clipart, etc. EdrawMind provides the best solution to your presentation problems.

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How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

by Guy Kawasaki

Summary .   

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. To create a truly excellent display, you need to have a sharp understanding of fonts, colors, pictures, and flow.

As the chief evangelist for Canva, an entrepreneur with years of experience pitching, and a venture capitalist who has sat through many mediocre presentations, I have unique insights into what makes a presentation stand out. Let’s talk about how each of the following elements can enhance the impact and retention of your message.

Fonts: Foundation of Readability

The font you choose to feature in your presentation plays a pivotal role in its readability and overall aesthetic. Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial — boring as you may consider them — are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances.

Make sure to be consistent in font usage throughout the presentation, as it helps maintain a cohesive look and feel. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.

Font size matters, too. For body text, a minimum size of 30 points ensures legibility, while titles and headers should stand out at a size of 40 points or more. If you find yourself reducing font size to squeeze in more text, the solution is to tighten your thinking, not using a smaller font.

Colors: Visual Appeal and Comprehension

Have you ever seen movie credits with grey or blue text on a white background? Probably not. And there’s a reason for that. The use of high-contrast color combinations such as black text on a white background or white text on a black background ensures maximum visibility and readability. These combinations facilitate the audience’s ability to absorb and retain the presented information. My preference is for white on black because staring at a bright white screen in a darkened room (as opposed to a printed page or a small computer) causes squinting and eye fatigue.

Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.

Don’t: Use more than 2 – 3 colors.

Do: Keep the color palette minimal.

This isn’t rocket science. You want a dramatic color contrast between the background your important elements. It’s the same reason that fire engines are red.

Tools and guidelines are available to test color schemes for accessibility, ensuring that no viewer or attendee is at a disadvantage when reading or watching your slides. You should consider accessibility for all audience members, including those with visual impairments such as color blindness.

Pictures: Storytelling and Appeal

Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key.

While images are potent tools for storytelling , you should try to strike a balance between visual and textual elements on your slides. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20–25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text — as opposed to gratuitous “eye candy” that you think is cool.

Remember not to clutter your slides with more than one image as that can confuse rather than clarify the point you’re trying to make. When choosing the image, pick one that communicates a single idea or feeling and serves to illustrate or enhance the message you are conveying.

Say, for example, you were to narrate the story of the Japanese surrender in World War II and the celebration of peace. Instead of using words to verbalize the emotions people may have felt, you could use the iconic photo — also known as ‘ The Kiss ’ — of a sailor kissing a woman on August 14, 1945 in the Times Square. Admittedly, this is a high bar, but you should aspire to a single photo that captures attention and says it all.

Or, if you are going to talk about the company’s limited edition product usage in a certain geography, it’s better to show pictures of your product in actual use by actual customers than trying to personify inclusiveness with stock photos.

Slide Layout: Art of Composition

A common pitfall many people make is overcrowding slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think: phrases and bullets, not sentences. Think Apple store, not swap meet.

Don’t: Use low contrast colors and overcrowd the slides.

Do: Make a clean and uncluttered design.

It’s also important to establish a visual hierarchy on each slide to guide the viewer’s eye to the one critical place. Make use of font size, color, and the placement of the text or images strategically to differentiate between elements of varying importance. A viewer shouldn’t have any doubt about what the focal point of each slide is. A great example of this is Steve Jobs introducing a new product . Notice how his slides have three to five words in a 150–200 point font, and one picture.

Making your design theme consistent across slides contributes to a professional and cohesive presentation. This includes uniform use of colors, fonts, and layout styles. Consistency also helps in reinforcing brand identity and makes the presentation more digestible for the audience because there aren’t conflicting thoughts and ideas.

Flow: Removing Barriers

Let’s begin with the opening of your presentation. A good opening or first slide should be able to grab the audience’s attention and state the purpose and objectives in the first thirty seconds.

Think of your presentation as a rocket on a launchpad, not an airplane on a runway. An intriguing question, a surprising fact, or a compelling story can set the tone for the entire presentation, signaling its value and relevance to the audience.

A well-organized presentation follows a logical and linear flow — guiding the audience through the content in a coherent manner. It’s advisable to group related topics as it aids comprehension.

For instance, if you’re giving a product update, discuss marketing and sales issues at the same time because of their inherent connection rather than forcing listeners to shift mindsets — say, by moving from marketing to design to sales. You can then move on to solutions for overcoming the issues you present. This kind of a smooth transition between topics helps the audience follow the argument you’re making or the story you aim to tell.

When it comes to length, try to contain your presentation in 10 to 15 slides—few people can remember 10 things from a presentation and even fewer can communicate that many.

These practices are based on a harsh reality: The purpose of a presentation is not to impress your audience with a work of art. The goal is for people to understand and remember what you said or be persuaded to take a specific action. Your creativity and coolness may look great on greeting cards, party invitations, and social media, but when it comes to presentations, less is more. This is how remarkable people make remarkable presentations.

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The Geneva Conventions and their Commentaries

The 1949 Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols are international treaties that contain the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war. They protect people who do not take part in the fighting (civilians, medics, aid workers) and those who can no longer fight (wounded, sick and shipwrecked troops, prisoners of war).

• The rules of war
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What are the Commentaries?

Useful links, from the international review of the red cross.

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The rules of war in a nutshell

People have always used violence to settle disputes, and all cultures through the ages have believed that there have to be limits on that violence if we are to prevent wars from descending into barbarity. For instance, there are rules protecting non-participants, prisoners and the wounded. These rules are set out in international humanitarian law. Yes, even wars have limits.

Updated Commentary on the First Geneva Convention

Updated Commentary on the Second Geneva Convention

Updated Commentary on the Third Geneva Convention

The Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols

What are the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols?

The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols are international treaties that contain the most important rules limiting the barbarity of war. They protect people who do not take part in the fighting (civilians, medics, aid workers) and those who can no longer fight (wounded, sick and shipwrecked troops, prisoners of war).

The Geneva Conventions – one of humanity's most important accomplishments of the last century – turned 70 on 12 August 2019. It was an opportunity to celebrate all the lives the Conventions have helped save, determine what further work needs to be done and remind the world of the importance of protecting people from the worst of war.

The Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols are at the core of international humanitarian law , the body of international law that regulates the conduct of armed conflict and seeks to limit its effects. They specifically protect people who are not taking part in the hostilities, including civilians, health workers and aid workers, and those who are no longer participating, such as wounded, sick and shipwrecked soldiers and prisoners of war. The Conventions and their Protocols call for measures to be taken to prevent or put an end to all breaches. They contain stringent rules to deal with what are known as "grave breaches". Those who commit grave breaches must be pursued and tried or extradited, whatever their nationality. 

The ICRC has produced Commentaries on each of the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols to promote better understanding of and respect for these vital treaties. They are currently being updated to incorporate developments in the application and interpretation of these treaties since their negotiation. The main aim of the updated Commentaries is to give people an understanding of the law as it is currently interpreted so that it can be applied effectively in today's armed conflicts. They are an essential tool for practitioners, reaffirming the continued relevance of the Conventions, generating respect for them and strengthening protection for people affected by armed conflict.

Treaty database: full texts, commentaries and state parties

• First Geneva Convention, 1949
• Second Geneva Convention, 1949
• Third Geneva Convention, 1949
• Fourth Geneva Convention, 1949
• Protocol I additional to the Geneva Conventions, 1977
• Protocol II additional to the Geneva Conventions, 1977
• Protocol III additional to the Geneva Conventions, 2005

Domestic Law

• Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949
• The Protection of the Red Cross, Red Crescent and Red Crystal Emblems
• The International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Commission
• Geneva Conventions (Consolidation) Act – Model Law
• Third Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 – Ratification kit
• Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 – Ratification kit
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• The Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry Repor…

Create and print a presentation in Outline view

Outline view in PowerPoint 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 tab, along with a slide icon and slide number. The main text is indented under the slide title. Graphic objects appear only as small notations on the slide icon in Outline view.

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.

When you're creating your outline, think about how many slides you need. You probably want at least:

A main title slide

An introductory slide that lists the major points or areas in your presentation

One slide for each point or area that is listed on the introductory slide

A summary slide that repeats the list of major points or areas in your presentation

By using this basic structure, if you have three major points or areas to present, you can plan to have a minimum of six slides: a title slide, an introductory slide, one slide for each of the three major points or areas, and a concluding summary slide.

If you have a large amount of information to present in any of your main points or areas, you may want to create a sub-grouping of slides for that material by using the same basic outline structure.

Consider how much time each slide should be visible on the screen during your presentation. A good standard estimate is from two to five minutes per slide.

Create a presentation in Outline view

On the View tab, in the Presentation Views group, click Outline .

In the slide thumbnail pane, place the pointer, and then either paste your content or begin typing text.

The first text you type will be a title, indicated by boldface type. Press ENTER when you've completed the title.

PowerPoint uses the Enter key on the keyboard to start a new line in an outline. The new line is automatically at the same hierarchical level as the one you just typed. To change that hierarchical level:

Press the Tab key on the keyboard to move the current line downward one level in the outline hierarchy.

Press Shift+Tab to move the current line upward one level in the outline hierarchy.

View a presentation in Outline view

Print a presentation in outline view.

Open the presentation that you want to print.

Click File > Print .

In the Print dialog box, under Settings , select the second box (which by default is set to Full Page Slides ) to expand the list of options. Then, under Print Layout , select Outline .

You can choose a page orientation (Portrait or Landscape) in the Printer Properties dialog box.

Click Print .

(For more complete information on printing, see the article Print your PowerPoint slides or handouts .)

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Project 2025 Explained: What To Know About The Controversial Right-Wing Policy Map For Trump—As He Speaks At RNC

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Former President Donald Trump will speak at the Republican National Convention on Thursday after he formally clinched the party’s nomination , bringing renewed attention to Project 2025, a conservative think tank’s wide-ranging blueprint for a potential second Trump term that covers everything from recruiting like-minded personnel to eliminating entire agencies—a platform assembled partly by ex-Trump staffers, though the former president has tried to distance himself.

Then-President Donald Trump gives a speech at the Heritage Foundation's President's Club Meeting on ... [+] October 17, 2017, in Washington D.C.

Project 2025, spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation with help from more than 100 other conservative groups , is a multi-part plan for the next conservative administration—namely a Trump presidency—which includes a LinkedIn-style database for presidential personnel hopefuls, training programs for executive branch positions and an as-yet-unreleased “playbook” laying out what Trump should do in his first 180 days.

Though the project is led by the Heritage Foundation and other private third-party groups and is not formally tied to Trump, who has tried to distance himself from the operation, its proposals were developed in part by former members of his administration and other Trump allies, and the ex-president has previously praised Heritage for its policy work.

The project has drawn the most attention for its “Mandate for Leadership,” a 900-page proposed policy agenda that describes itself as a “plan to unite the conservative movement and the American people against elite rule and woke culture warriors,” laying out plans for all aspects of the executive branch.

Personnel: Project 2025 broadly proposes to insert far more political appointees who are ideologically aligned with the president into the executive branch—replacing many of the nonpartisan career civil servants who serve in it now—proposing an executive order that would put political appointees into any “confidential, policy-determining, policymaking, or policy-advocating positions” (which Trump previously did at the end of his presidency, but President Joe Biden then overturned it).

Federal Agencies: It proposes a scaled-down federal government, including the abolishment of multiple agencies—including the Department of Education, Department of Homeland Security, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—whose remaining departments would be folded into other agencies or privatized, including the Transportation Security Administration.

Transgender Rights: Transgender rights and gender identity beyond biological sex are roundly rejected, with such steps as reinstating the ban on transgender Americans serving in the military, prohibiting public school educators from referring to students by anything other than their birth name and pronouns without parental permission, and ensuring no federal funds are used to provide gender-affirming care.

DEI and LGBTQ Rights: Project 2025 seeks to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs from throughout the federal government and in universities, and while it doesn’t outlaw same-sex marriage, it supports “nuclear families” that include a “married mother, father, and their children,” and calls for restricting laws that bar discrimination on the basis of sex to exclude sexual orientation and gender identity.

Climate Change: The proposal would undo much of the federal government’s climate work, including by leaving the Paris Climate Agreement, overhauling the Department of Energy to promote oil and natural gas and deemphasize green energy sources, removing the Department of Agriculture’s focus on sustainability and curtailing climate research.

Abortion: While Project 2025 doesn’t explicitly call for an abortion ban, it would take many steps to restrict the procedure, including directing the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval of abortion drug mifepristone, using the Comstock Act to block any abortion equipment or medication from being mailed—which abortion rights advocates have said would be a “backdoor” way to ban abortion—barring federal funds being used to provide healthcare coverage for abortion and requiring states to report all abortions that take place there to the federal government.

Education: Project 2025 emphasizes a “school choice” policy that directs public funds to be used for students to attend private or religious schools, bars “critical race theory” from being taught in federally funded schools and advocates for legislation that would allow parents to sue schools they feel have acted improperly—such as by teaching controversial subjects or requiring students to disclose information about their religious beliefs.

Student Loans: Student loan relief efforts would come to an end—including the public service loan forgiveness program and income-driven repayment plans—as the proposal states “borrowers should be expected to repay their loans.”

Big Tech: TikTok would be banned, and the proposal calls for reforming Section 230 —which shields tech companies and social media networks from being sued over content on their platforms—and allowing laws like those passed in Florida and Texas that seek to punish social media companies who ban or suspend users based on their “viewpoints.”

Justice Department: Project 2025 calls for a “top-to-bottom overhaul” of the DOJ and FBI that gets rid of what it calls an “unaccountable bureaucratic managerial class and radical Left ideologues,” proposing an agency that would be more focused on violent crime and filing litigation that’s “consistent with the President’s agenda” and filled with far more political appointees; it also proposes prohibiting the FBI from investigating misinformation or making “politically motivated” moves against U.S. citizens.

Taxes: Project 2025 would seek to get rid of current tax rates and most deductions and credits, instead proposing a 15% rate for anyone under the Social Security wage base ( $168,000 in 2024) and 30% for taxpayers earning more than that—which means the lowest-income taxpayers will now pay more and some higher earners will pay less, and it would also lower the corporate income tax rate to 18%.

Federal Reserve: The project seeks to reform the Federal Reserve by “tak[ing] the monetary steering wheel out of [its] hands and return[ing] it to the people,” which the authors propose could be done by getting rid of the government’s control over the nation’s money entirely—instead leaving it up to banks—or returning to the gold standard, in which the dollar’s value would be tied to a specific weight of gold.

Foreign Relations: Project 2025 emphasizes opposing China, which it describes as “a totalitarian enemy of the United States,” and directs the U.S. to pull out of international organizations when they don’t serve the administration’s interests, including the World Health Organization and various United Nations agencies.

Healthcare: Project 2025 does not seek to overturn the Affordable Care Act, but would make significant cuts to Medicaid and impose work requirements to receive coverage, as well as reform Medicare—including by making Medicare Advantage, a paid supplement to Medicare, the default option for patients.

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Is Trump Involved With Project 2025?

Trump has denied any connection to Project 2025, claiming on Truth Social last week that he has “nothing to do with them,” has “no idea” who’s behind the plan and finds some of its ideas “absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” But many aren’t buying his claims: The team behind Project 2025 includes 140 people who worked for Trump in his administration, according to CNN , including six former Cabinet secretaries and four people he nominated as ambassadors. The ex-president has also seemingly endorsed the project in the past, saying at a 2022 dinner for the Heritage Foundation that the group was “going to lay the groundwork and detail plans for exactly what our movement will do … when the American people give us a colossal mandate.”

What Impact Could Project 2025’s Policies Have?

Experts have warned Project 2025’s proposals could have seismic impacts on how the federal government operates if carried out. In an article for Justia , criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor John May suggested Project 2025’s language endorsing the executive branch being able to “restrain the excesses” of the judicial branch and Congress means “if the President wants to, the President can defy any decision of the Supreme Court, any legislation by Congress, maybe even the act of impeachment and removal from office.”

Who’s Behind Project 2025?

The main team behind Project 2025 includes Heritage Foundation director Paul Gans and former Trump White House personnel leaders Spencer Chretien (who also served as Trump’s special assistant) and Troup Hemenway, according to the project’s website. Other groups listed as participating in the project include ex-Trump adviser Stephen Miller’s America First Legal, legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, Liberty University, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America and Turning Point USA. The 900-page policy agenda was co-authored by a series of conservative figures, with chapters penned by such Trump allies as former Housing Secretary Dr. Ben Carson, former Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, former HHS Civil Rights Director Roger Severino and former Trump advisor Peter Navarro, who went to prison in March for contempt of Congress.

Will Trump Have To Follow Project 2025’s Plans?

Trump will not be under any obligation to follow Project 2025’s proposals if he wins the presidency, though history suggests he’ll listen to at least some of them. The Heritage Foundation made a similar policy proposal for Trump ahead of his presidency in 2016, and boasted two years into his tenure that Trump had already followed 64% of its recommendations, CBS News notes .

Would Project 2025 Change Social Security?

One area that Project 2025 doesn’t touch on is Social Security benefits and any potential cuts to the program, even as proposals outline changes to numerous other government “entitlements.” Changing Social Security and making cuts to its spending has been a priority for the GOP for decades, though the American public has long opposed slashing benefits. Republicans’ efforts have waned under Trump, however, and the ex-president publicly claimed in March he “will never do anything that will jeopardize or hurt Social Security or Medicare,” after he came under fire for suggesting otherwise in an interview with CNBC.

Surprising Fact

While much of Project 2025’s policy agenda concerns federal agencies, the proposal has also gotten attention for its call to outlaw all pornography, which it claims is tied to “the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children” and is not protected under the First Amendment. Project 2025 calls not only for pornography to be made illegal, but also for anyone involved with its production and distribution to be imprisoned, for any librarians or educators who “purvey it” to be registered as sex offenders and for telecommunications and technology firms that facilitate its distribution to be shut down.

Key Background

The Heritage Foundation’s practice of laying out a policy roadmap for a future Republican administration actually dates back to the Reagan era, founder Edwin J. Feulner noted in the afterword of the 2025 edition. The organization first laid out a blueprint in 1981 that President Ronald Reagan ultimately adopted, fulfilling half of its recommendations by the end of his first year in office. The Heritage Foundation has continued to come out with blueprints for potential conservative presidents each election since, it notes, and its 2025 Mandate for Leadership was published in 2023. While it came out last year, Project 2025 gained new attention in the past week since Trump disavowed it—sparking a wave of reports highlighting his ties to the figures behind the project that debunk his claims. Democrats have also used the controversial proposal as a key talking point and argument for why the left should unite behind President Joe Biden and focus on defeating Trump, particularly as Biden’s candidacy has come under widespread scrutiny in the wake of the president’s poor debate performance in June.

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