How to change slide size in PowerPoint

Trying to change slide size in PowerPoint presentations? PowerPoint lets you choose between a couple of standard slide sizes, plus a custom size option. In this hints and tips blog post we provide a guide to:

• The different slide sizes in PowerPoint 16:9, 4:3 and custom sizes
• How to change a PowerPoint slide size
• How to change the orientation of PowerPoint slides from landscape to portrait
• A workaround to change selected slides to portrait for printing

Where to change slide size in PowerPoint?

From the PowerPoint Design tab on the ribbon, select the Slide Size feature button. You can find the slide size feature button on the far right end of the ribbon - refer to the screenshot below.

The three slide size options of standard, widescreen and custom will display, as shown in the screenshot below.

What are the PowerPoint slide size options?

PowerPoint offers three different slide sizes. What's the difference 4:3 vs 16:9 PowerPoint slide sizes? The Standard 4:3 and Widescreen 16:9 both have the same slide width, but have different slide heights:

• PowerPoint Standard (4:3) Slide Size: This is the original PowerPoint slide size. The standard screen size is easy to print and works well on older style pull down projector screens (when the screen shape is closer to a square than the newer widescreen layout). Powerpoint 4:3 dimensions are 10 in x 7.5 in (which is 33.867 cm x 19.05 cm). Standard PowerPoint slide size pixels = 1024 px x 768px
• PowerPoint Widescreen (16:9) Slide Size: The PowerPoint 16:9 widescreen option was a later addition but is now the default value in PowerPoint for new presentations. Widescreen is more commonly used now because the size is well suited for presenting on digital screens (typically shaped like elongated rectangles similar to a current TV screen). Powerpoint 16:9 dimensions are 10 in x 5.625 in (33.867 cm x 14.288 cm). Widescreen size 16:9 size ppt dimensions pixels = 1920 px x 1080 px
• PowerPoint Custom Slide Size: PowerPoint also provides a custom slide size option. You can select from a range of suggested slide dimensions enter your preferred dimensions for the slide width and either use or modify the dimensions. The range of suggested custom slide size dimensions includes:
  • On-screen show (4:3)
  • Letter Paper (8.5x11in)
  • Ledger Paper (11x17in)
  • A3 Paper (297x420mm)
  • A4 Paper (210x297mm)
  • B4 (ISO) Paper (250x353mm)
  • B5 (ISO) Paper (176x250mm)
  • 35mm slides
  • Overhead
  • Banner
  • On-screen Show (16:9)
  • On-screen show (16:10)
  • Widescreen
  • Custom

You can either select from one of the many options in the drop down list, or you can directly key in your preferred Width and Height for your PowerPoint presentation. As soon as you key in width and/ or height values, the drop down menu will update to show the Custom option.

Note that when you are entering a custom slide size, you have the option to specify your PowerPoint size in pixels (e.g. specify pixels for width and height). You can do this by typing in your preferred height and width in pixels using px at the end. The minimum width or height in pixels for PowerPoint slides is 120 px and the maximum width or height is 720 px. When you specify pixel size of PowerPoint slides, PowerPoint will convert the pixels automatically to your default unit of measurement (e.g. either cm or in).

If you're trying to work out how to make PowerPoint portrait layout, you can select the Orientation of PowerPoint slides from this menu. You have the option of Portrait or Landscape orientation. By default PowerPoint displays in Landscape format. You can select the orientation separately for the slides and the Notes, Handouts & Outline.

What PowerPoint slide size should I use?

Before the popularity of larger monitors, the 4:3 slide size in PowerPoint was the more commonly used option. 4:3 slide size is smaller and better suited to older PC monitors and older pull down projection screens.

However large monitors have now become commonplace both for use in offices and for presentation in meeting rooms. As a result - 16:9 PowerPoint slide size would now be considered the default. The 16:9 slide size is wider than the 4:3, which gives you a bit more space to work with when creating slides, especially consulting style layouts with charts or images beside text.

If you are presenting to a large audience, and/or if you are submitting slides that are being consolidated into a larger presentation, it's worth checking with the coordinator or location AV team for any guidance (for example some theatres may have screen setups which benefit from custom presentation sizes).

Can I resize selected slides in a PowerPoint presentation?

No - the PowerPoint resize option is applied to all slides in your presentation. You cannot change size of selected slides in your PowerPoint presentation.

Does PowerPoint auto resize content if slide size changes?

If you select to change the slide size for an existing presentation, PowerPoint will display a slide scaling popup menu. The menu will give you the following options for scaling your slides:

• Maximise: The maximize size scaling option in PowerPoint will make the content larger, but it may spill over the edges of your slide.
• Ensure Fit: The ensure fit scaling option in PowerPoint ensures that all content remains visible on the slide, however the content may shrink to ensure that it fits.

It's a good idea to review your content after completing the change of PowerPoint slide sizes - even if you select the ensure fit option you may need to adjust the content on some slides.

Can I change orientation of PowerPoint slides from Portrait to Landscape?

Trying to work out how to change PowerPoint to portrait layout? You can change the orientation of your PowerPoint slides from Landscape to Portrait for the entire presentation, (you cannot change only selected slides in a presentation). To change orientation of PowerPoint slides:

As per the steps above, from the PowerPoint Design tab on the ribbon, select the Slide Size feature button (on the far right end of the ribbon).

The three slide size options will display, as shown in the screenshot below. Irrespective of what size layout you want this time, you need to select the Custom Slide Size option from the PowerPoint ribbon.

From the Slide Size popup menu on the PowerPoint ribbon, you have the option to select Portrait or Landscape mode. You can select the orientation display without modifying your slide size if you already have the correct slide size selected.

You can change the orientation for both your PowerPoint slides and handouts. Note that changing the orientation e.g. from Landscape to Portrait does not automatically adjust your PowerPoint template (your logos will likely appear distorted and the title page of your presentation will look squished). You need to adjust your PowerPoint template separately. If you are changing orientation only for a single PowerPoint presentation, you can do this via your presentation's Slide Master. Or if you plan on creating multiple presentations in the new orientation, its worth spending the extra time to create a new .potx template file, suited to the new orientation.

Can you have different orientation slides in a PowerPoint? presentation?

Trying to add a vertical slide in PowerPoint, but keep the rest of the presentation horizontal? Unfortunately it's not possible to have a combination of Portrait and landscape slide orientations in a single PowerPoint presentation. But there is a workaround if you are printing rather than online presenting your PowerPoint presentation.

If you are preparing a PowerPoint presentation that will be printed, a workaround to include different orientation pages in PowerPoint is to create a slide master layout with the orientation on its side. This is a way to rotate PowerPoint slides to Portrait without changing all slides. Refer to the screenshot below for an example.

This How to Guide was brought to you by the PPT Productivity team.