Change Slide Orientation in PowerPoint

Most PowerPoint (PPT) presentations are in 16:9 format, also known as landscape orientation, which is ideal for presenting on most monitors and projectors.

However, there are various options available for changing your slide orientation to better suit your content and presentation needs. In this article, we will explore how to set your slides to different orientations, including portrait mode, to enhance your presentation effectively.

Stay Flexible: Adapt to Circumstances

There may be situations where you encounter unique challenges while presenting. For instance, you could be presenting on a 4:3 monitor or using pivot monitors that display in portrait orientation. To ensure your presentation remains impactful irrespective of the circumstances, adapting it to the appropriate size or orientation becomes essential. Additionally, portrait orientation is often more suitable for creating handouts or printing presentations.

PowerPoint Portrait Orientation: The Advantages

You might find that landscape orientation doesn’t always serve your content well. For instance, if you’re presenting an organizational chart that outlines key employees and their roles, portrait orientation can facilitate a clearer presentation. It’s perfect for org charts and much more.

How to Set PPT Slide Orientation to Portrait

To change your slide orientation to portrait, follow these steps:

1. Open your presentation.
2. Navigate to the Design tab and select Slide Size.

3. Choose Custom Slide Size.
4. Under Orientation, select Portrait for Slides.
5. Confirm your selection by clicking OK.

6. A dialog box will appear for you to choose between Maximize and Ensure Fit.

Maximize will enlarge your content, which may lead to some images not displaying correctly. On the other hand, Ensure Fit will attempt to adjust all your content to fit the new orientation.

Set the PPT Orientation for Individual Slides

Using portrait orientation can elevate your presentation, but it often comes with challenges. Many PowerPoint templates are designed for landscape orientation, limiting your ability to create a presentation that mixes orientations. To achieve this, you must create two separate versions of your presentation—one in landscape and one in portrait—and link them together. Here’s how to do it.

First, select an object (like a text box) in your main landscape presentation. This will serve as the link base. Then, navigate to the Insert tab and select Action.

PowerPoint will open the Action Settings dialog box, where you can specify how to open the portrait version of your presentation. Click Hyperlink to, then select Other PowerPoint presentation.

Next, choose your second presentation (the one in portrait orientation) and click OK. A link to the portrait presentation will be created on your selected slide. To return to your original presentation after viewing the portrait slides, repeat this process to create a link back.

PowerPoint Portrait Slides: Print to Fit

If you plan to create a PDF or print a slide, you can manually set the PPT slide orientation and size. After changing the orientation to portrait, select Custom under Paper Size and enter your desired dimensions—for example, 21.6 cm for width and 27.9 cm for height (adjust based on your paper size).

Set Another PPT Slide Orientation

PowerPoint offers more than just portrait and landscape orientations; you can also use other slide formats to add visual impact to your presentation.

To change the size of your slides, simply click on Design > Slide Size and choose from Standard, Widescreen, or Custom Slide Size.

If your selected content cannot be scaled automatically, you will need to choose between Maximize or Ensure Fit again.

4:3, 16:9, A3, Banner, and Many More Options

To use a size other than Standard or Widescreen, select Custom Slide Size from the Slide Size dropdown. Click the down arrow under Slides sized for: to view various options and their dimensions.

On-screen Show will crop the slides to 4:3, 16:9, and 16:10 dimensions. More information on considerations for changing from 4:3 to 16:9 can be found here . Additionally, the advantages of using 16:9 can be found here .

The Widescreen setting adjusts the dimensions to 33.867 cm x 19.05 cm. While both versions look identical on-screen, Widescreen provides more surface area for your content. Be mindful when printing; Widescreen will not fit on standard paper without scaling.

Other options include Banner and Letter, giving you a range of interesting formats to choose from.

Customize Your Dimensions: Inches, Pixels, or Centimeters

In Custom Slide Size, you can adjust the dimensions by entering the desired height or width followed by in, cm, or px.

Click OK to save your changes. You may need to select Maximize or Ensure Fit again to ensure proper scaling of your content.

Set a Default Slide Orientation for Your Presentations

If you find a slide format that works well for your presentations, set it as your default. To do this, go to the Design tab, click the arrow under Themes, and select Save Current Theme. Your new theme will then appear under Themes > Custom, ready for future presentations.

Important: Avoid Distorted Content When Changing Your Slide Orientation

When working with various PPT orientations, be aware that you may need to rearrange or scale your slide content to maintain coherence and visual appeal.

Conclusion

Changing your PowerPoint slide orientation can significantly enhance how you present information. By exploring different orientations, you can create engaging visual perspectives that maintain your audience’s attention.