Which view in PowerPoint allows you to change the order of slides?

Normal View in PowerPoint 2016 is the view that you normally work in to edit your slides, move things around, add text or graphics, and so on. However, Normal View has one serious limitation: It doesn't give you a big picture of your presentation.

You can see the details of only one slide at a time, and the Slide Preview pane lets you see snapshots of only a few slides. To see an overall view of your presentation, you need to work in Slide Sorter View.

You can switch to Slide Sorter View in two easy ways:

• Click the Slide Sorter button at the right side of the status bar (as shown in the following figure).

• Select the View tab on the Ribbon and then click the Slide Sorter button in the Presentation Views group.

  

  Slide Sorter View lets you see the big picture.

The PowerPoint Slide Sorter View is shown here.

The following list tells you how to rearrange, add, or delete slides from Slide Sorter View:

• Move a slide: To move a slide, click and drag it to a new location. Point to the slide and then hold down the mouse button. Drag the slide to its new location and release the button. PowerPoint adjusts the display to show the new arrangement of slides.

• Delete a slide: To delete a slide, click the slide to select it and then press Delete or Backspace. This works only in Slide Sorter View.

• Add a new slide: To add a new slide, click the slide that you want the new slide to follow and then click the New Slide button. The Slide Layout task pane appears so that you can select the layout for the new slide. To edit the contents of the slide, return to Normal View via the view buttons or the View tab on the Ribbon or by double-clicking the new slide.

If your presentation contains more slides than can fit onscreen at one time, you can use the scroll bars to scroll through the display. Or you can use the zoom slider at the bottom-right corner of the screen to make the slides smaller.

Slide Sorter View might seem kind of dull and boring, but it's also the place where you can add jazzy transitions, build effects, or add cool animation effects to your slides. For example, you can make your bullets fall from the top of the screen like bombs and switch from slide to slide by using strips, wipes, or blinds.

As you add more slides to a presentation, it can be difficult to keep everything organized. Fortunately, PowerPoint offers tools to help you organize and prepare your slide show.

Optional: Download our practice presentation.

Watch the video below to learn more about managing slides in PowerPoint.

About slide views

PowerPoint includes several different slide views, which are all useful for various tasks. The slide view commands are located in the bottom-right of the PowerPoint window. There are four main slide views.

• Normal view: This is the default view, where you create and edit slides. You can also move slides in the Slide Navigation pane on the left.
  
• Slide sorter view: In this view, you'll see a thumbnail version of each slide. You can drag and drop slides to reorder them quickly.
  
• Reading view: This view fills the PowerPoint window with a preview of your presentation. It includes easily accessible navigation buttons at the bottom-right.
  
• Slide show view: This is the view you'll use to present to an audience. This command will begin the presentation from the current slide. You can also press F5 on your keyboard to start from the beginning. A menu will appear in the bottom-left corner when you move the mouse. These commands allow you to navigate through the slides and access other features, such as the pen and highlighter.
  

Outline view

Outline view shows your slide text in outline form. This allows you to quickly edit your slide text and view the content of multiple slides at once. You could use this layout to review the organization of your slide show and prepare to deliver your presentation.

To view an outline:

1. From the View tab, click the Outline View command.
   
2. An outline of your slide text will appear in the slide navigation pane.
3. You can type directly in the outline to make changes to your slide text.
   

Slide notes

You can add notes to your slides from the Notes pane. Often called speaker notes, they can help you deliver or prepare for your presentation.

To add notes:

1. Click the Notes command at the bottom of the screen to open the Notes pane.
   
2. Click and drag the edge of the pane to resize it if desired.
   
3. Click the Notes pane, and begin typing to add notes.
   

You can also access Notes Page view to edit and review your notes. Just click the Notes Page command from the View tab. From there, you can type notes in the text box below each slide.

Slide sections

If you have a lot of slides, you can organize them into sections to make your presentation easier to navigate. Sections can be collapsed or expanded in the Slide Navigation pane and named for easy reference.

To create slide sections:

In our example, we will add two sections: one for dogs that are available for adoption, and another for cats and other pets.

1. Select the slide you want to begin a section.
   
2. From the Home tab, click the Section command, then choose Add Section from the drop-down menu.
   
3. An Untitled Section will appear in the Slide Navigation pane.
   
4. To rename the section, click the Section command, then choose Rename Section from the drop-down menu.
   
5. Type the new section name in the dialog box, then click Rename.
   
6. Repeat to add as many sections as you need.
7. In the Slide Navigation pane, click the arrow next to a section name to collapse or expand it.
   

To remove a section, click the Section command, then click Remove Section. You can also click Remove All Sections to remove all sections from your slides.

Which view allows you to change the order of the slides?

Which view allows you to reorder slides by displaying each slide as a thumbnail?