Create a default "blank" presentation with your own defaults

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Normally when you start PowerPoint you can choose between creating a new blank presentation or a presentation based on one of the included templates.

But suppose the default blank presentation is simply too boring for words. OK, why suppose? It is too boring for words! So you'd rather base all new presentations on a template of your own design. Automatically.

You can. Magic? No, just a matter of knowing a simple little trick: PowerPoint's "blank" presentation is actually a template file; if you create a replacement for it, one that uses your own custom formatting, it will use your template in place of the default (booooorrrrrinnnnggg) blank presentation. Here's how:

Start PowerPoint and open a new presentation. It'll save some work if you base it on an existing template that's fairly close to what you want to end up with for your new custom blank presentation template.

Set the defaults you want to include with each new presentation. You can set defaults for Slide Size and Orientation (File, Page Setup), color scheme, colors for fill, line, shadow and text, text styles, the formatting for Title and Text placeholders on the Slide Master and so on. And of course, you can include any background graphics you want on the Slide and Title Masters.

Once you've got everything just the way you want it, save your presentation as a new Design Template:

1. Choose File, Save As
2. Pick Design Template (*.pot) from the Save As Type list box
3. Give the new template a name:
• If you use PowerPoint 97 or 2000, name it Blank Presentation.pot
• If you use Mac PowerPoint 2004 (and probably earlier versions), name it Blank presentation
• If you use PowerPoint 2002 (X) or 2003, name it Blank.pot
• If you use PowerPoint 2007, name it Blank.POTX
4. Click Save. PowerPoint automatically chooses the correct folder for you, so accept the default location.

Now close the file and restart PowerPoint. When you choose File, New, one of the available templates will be your new template, and whenever PowerPoint starts a new Blank presentation, it'll use your template.

In PowerPoint 2003 and later, you can set a template to be used for all new presentations.

In PowerPoint 2003:

• On the Slide Design task pane locate your template in the section labeled "Available for Use"
• Click on it to see an arrowhead appear on the right side.
• Click on the arrowhead and select "Use for all new presentations".

In PowerPoint 2007:

• Click the design tab on the ribbon.
• In the Themes group, right-click the design you want to use as your default then click "Set as Default Theme" on the pop-up menu that appears. (If you
• don't see the theme you want, use the scroll arrows at the right of the themes thumbnails to scroll through the available themes. Custom themes are listed at the top of the pane.

PowerPoint 2004, PowerPoint X / Mac (thanks to Mac PPT MVPs Mickey Stevens and Jim Gordon for the instructions)

• Start with a new, blank presentation.
• Choose View, Master, Slide Master Whatever you do on the slide master becomes the basis for any new slide in the presentation. Format it to suit your needs.
• Click the CLOSE button on the little toolbar.
• Now you are looking at the Title slide. This slide can be formatted any way you like and is independent of any slides that are added. Added slides will
• be like the slide master.
• If you wish, you can add a Title Master while you're in Master view; newly added Title layout slides will follow the Title master, if there is one. To add one, choose Insert, New Title Master and format it to taste.
• You might want to format the Handout master and Notes Master while you are in the formatting mood.
• Once you have finished your formatting use File, Save As. Change the Format to Design Template which changes the extension to .pot.
• By default, PowerPoint saves the template in My Templates; if you store it there, it'll appear in My Templates in the Project Gallery. If you save it to the Design folder (navigate to ...Microsoft Office 2004:Templates:Presentations:Designs) it will appear in the Designs folder under Presentations in the Project Gallery.

If you want the template to be the default whenever you open PowerPoint, save it to the Designs folder as above but click on Blank Presentation (that will correctly name the file - don't change it at all), then click Save and when asked, choose Replace.

The file called "Blank Presentation" (it has NO file extension) is the one that PowerPoint uses when it starts up and whenever you click the New Presentation button.

Contents © 1995 - 2008 Stephen Rindsberg, Rindsberg Photography, Inc. and members of the MS PowerPoint MVP team. You may link to this page but any form of unauthorized reproduction of this page's contents is expressly forbidden.

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