MS PowerPoint
🔒 Log in to trackSlides, placeholders and file types
🔒 Log in to trackPowerPoint is the Office presentation program: content sits on slides shown one after another.
Placeholders are the dashed boxes on a layout (title, body/content, media) - text typed into a placeholder appears in the Outline view and can be restyled globally. A layout fixes where placeholders sit; a theme supplies colours, fonts and effects; a template (.potx) is a ready-made deck skeleton.
Slides: new slide Ctrl+M; duplicate Ctrl+D; delete with Delete key; reorder by dragging in the thumbnail pane or Slide Sorter. Speaker notes go in the Notes pane below the slide (View -> Notes); handouts print several slides per page (1, 2, 3, 4, 6 or 9; the 3-per-page layout adds note lines). Export to PDF, video (.mp4) or images; Package for CD bundles a show with its fonts/media.
Files: .pptx (2007+, X = XML), .ppt (97-2003), .potx template, .ppsx slide show that opens running, .pptm macro deck.
Detailed notes
What PowerPoint is
PowerPoint is the presentation program of Microsoft Office. Its output — a presentation — is a series of slides shown one after another on a screen or projector. Each slide holds a mix of text, pictures, charts, video and shapes. Exams test the vocabulary: presentation = the file, slide = one page of it, and the file extensions.
Placeholders, layouts and slide anatomy
- Placeholders are the dashed guiding boxes on a slide layout: a title placeholder at the top, a content placeholder below it (which offers one-click buttons for table, chart, SmartArt, picture, video), plus header/footer boxes.
- A layout fixes where these boxes sit: Title Slide, Title and Content, Two Content, Blank and so on. Changing the layout rearranges the boxes without touching your text.
- Placeholders guide; text boxes add extra text anywhere (Insert, Text Box).
- Slide Master (View tab) is the top design page: what you put or format there repeats on every slide — logos, fonts, background.
Theme, template and master — three different words
| Word | What it really is |
|---|---|
| Theme | only the look — colours, fonts, effects |
| Template | theme + slide layouts + sample content + masters, saved as a file |
| Slide Master | the hidden design page that drives every slide |
A theme is a paint job; a template is a ready-made house. Both appear under File, New.
New slide vs new presentation — the classic trap
- Ctrl+N creates a new presentation (a whole new file).
- Ctrl+M creates a new slide inside the current presentation (or use the New Slide button on the Home tab).
- Ctrl+D duplicates the selected slide. One letter apart, completely different jobs — this pair is asked again and again.
The extension family
| Extension | Meaning |
|---|---|
| .pptx | default presentation, PowerPoint 2007+ (X = XML) |
| .ppt | PowerPoint 97-2003 |
| .ppsx | PowerPoint Show — opens already running as a slideshow |
| .potx | template |
| .pptm / .ppsm | macro-enabled versions |
The X = 2007+, m = macro, t = template rule is shared with Word and Excel. A .ppsx file opens as a running show, not in the editor — a favourite trick option.
Quick revision
- Presentation = file; slide = one page; placeholder = dashed guide box; layout = box arrangement.
- Theme = look only; template = theme + layouts + content; master = drives every slide.
- Ctrl+N new presentation, Ctrl+M new slide, Ctrl+D duplicate slide.
- Default .pptx (2007+), .ppt old, .ppsx opens running, .potx template.
Types of questions asked
Every way this subtopic shows up in exams — how to recognise it, the formula or logic to use, and a solved example.
Type 1: PowerPoint extension familyvery common4 practice Q
'Default extension of a PowerPoint 2007+ file', identification of .ppsx/.ppt/.potx, or the odd extension out among pptx/docx/xlsx/ppt.
- Default = .pptx (2007+, X = XML); .ppt = 97-2003.
- .ppsx = PowerPoint Show — double-clicking runs the slideshow instead of opening the editor.
- .potx = template; m (.pptm/.ppsm) = macro-enabled. The X/m/t rule is shared across Office.
Example: A file named seminar.ppsx will —
open directly as a running slideshow — .ppsx is the PowerPoint Show format, not the editing file (.pptx).
Type 2: New slide vs new presentationvery common3 practice Q
'Shortcut to insert a new slide' or 'to create a new presentation' — with Ctrl+M and Ctrl+N swapped in the options.
- Ctrl+N = new presentation (whole file); Ctrl+M = new slide (inside the file).
- Ctrl+D duplicates the selected slide.
- M is also on the Home tab, New Slide button.
Example: Which shortcut inserts a new SLIDE in the open presentation?
Ctrl+M — Ctrl+N would create a separate new presentation file.
Type 3: Theme vs template vs master vs layoutcommon2 practice Q
A need is described ('same logo on all slides', 'ready-made design with sample content', 'arrange title and content boxes') and the matching term is asked.
- Theme = colours+fonts+effects only. Template = theme + layouts + sample content. Layout = where the placeholders sit on one slide type. Slide Master = the design page driving every slide.
- 'Change on ALL slides in one step' points to the Slide Master.
- 'Ready-made house' = template; 'paint job' = theme.
Example: Sneha wants her college logo to appear at the same spot on every slide of a 40-slide deck. Where should she put it?
On the Slide Master (View tab) — anything placed there repeats automatically on all slides using that master.
Type 4: Slide and placeholder basicscommon3 practice Q
Direct recall: a presentation is a series of slides, placeholders are the dashed boxes, layouts fix box positions, the content placeholder offers table/chart/picture buttons.
- Presentation = file; slide = one page; placeholder = dashed guide box (title, content).
- The content placeholder's icons insert a table, chart, SmartArt, picture or video in one click.
- Extra free text goes in a Text Box (Insert tab), not a placeholder.
Example: The dashed boxes that guide where the title and body text sit on a slide are called —
Placeholders — the title placeholder sits on top, the content placeholder below; layouts decide their positions.
Shortcut tricks
⚡ X-family again
pptx/docx/xlsx = 2007+; ppt/doc/xls = 97-2003; the extra M (pptm/xlsm/docm) = macros; ppsx = the self-running show ('s for show).
Example: Extension of a presentation that starts in slideshow mode?
.ppsx (PowerPoint show).
⚡ M for More slides
Ctrl+M = More slide (new slide). Ctrl+D = Duplicate the current slide. Remember M-then-D: More, then Duplicate.
Example: Shortcut for a new slide?
Ctrl+M.
Where students lose marks
Saying a .ppsx file opens for editing - it opens running as a show.
Calling a theme a template - a theme is look only; a template includes sample content and layouts.
Confusing Ctrl+N (new presentation file) with Ctrl+M (new slide).
Practice sets — 16 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Each answer comes with a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 5 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.