Organize Your PowerPoint Presentation Using Sections
by Avantix Learning Team | Updated June 9, 2021
Applies to: Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)
You can manage a PowerPoint presentation by organizing it into sections. Although you can work with sections in Normal View or Slide Sorter View, it's easier to work with sections in Slide Sorter View. You can insert, name, move, collapse, expand and remove sections in PowerPoint. If you are working with a team on a large presentation, you can assign team members to different sections. In PowerPoint 2019 or 365, you can also use Summary Zoom to create links to different sections.
The Sections command appears on the Home tab in the Ribbon in the Slides group (although you can use the context menu to add and manage sections). Sections created with the Sections command are different from section layouts.
In this article, we'll be using the Slide Sorter to work with sections.
Recommended article: How to Quickly Remove All Animations in PowerPoint
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Below is a sample presentation organized into sections:
Working with sections in Slide Sorter View
You can work with sections in Slide Sorter View in 3 ways:
- Right-click to access the context menu
- Press Shift + F10 or press the Context key on your keyboard (if available) to access the context menu
- Use Sections on the Home tab in the Ribbon in the Slides group
Below is the Sections command on the Home tab in the Ribbon in the Slides group:
Adding a section
To add a section in Slide Sorter View:
- Right-click the slide you want to use as the starting slide in a section or right-click between two slides where you want to add a section. You can also click Sections in the Slides group on the Home tab in the Ribbon or press Shift + F10 or the Context key to access the context menu. A drop-down menu appears.
- Select Add Section. A section marker appears as a bar across the screen. PowerPoint will also create a default section at the beginning of the presentation. A dialog box appears.
- Enter a name for the section and click Rename.
- Repeat to create other sections.
Renaming a section
To rename a section in Slide Sorter View:
- Right-click the section marker (which may be Untitled or have been named). The section marker appears as a bar across the screen. You can also click Sections in the Slides group on the Home tab in the Ribbon or press Shift + F10 or the Context key to access the context menu. A drop-down menu appears.
- Select Rename. A dialog box appears.
- Enter a name for the section and click Rename.
Collapsing and expanding sections
To collapse or expand sections, in Slide Sorter View, click the arrow to the left of the section marker to collapse or expand a section.
Moving a section
To move a section in Slide Sorter View:
- Click the arrow to the left of the section marker to collapse the section.
- Drag the section marker up or down to move the section. You can also right-click the section marker and select Move Section Up or Move Section Down (or press Shift + F10 or the Context key to access the context menu).
- Click the arrow to the left of the section marker to expand the section.
Removing a section
To remove a section in Slide Sorter View:
- Right-click the section marker. You can also click Sections in the Slides group on the Home tab in the Ribbon or press Shift + F10 or the Context key to access the context menu. A drop-down menu appears.
- Select Remove Section. A dialog box appears.
- Select Remove Section, Remove Section & Slides or Remove All Sections.
- A dialog box may appear to ask you to confirm the deletion. Click OK.
Sections will also appear in Normal View in the slide thumbnails area on the left.
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More resources
PowerPoint Slide Show Shortcuts (50+ Shortcuts)
How to Print a PowerPoint Presentation with Notes
How to Embed a YouTube Video in PowerPoint
How to Add Audio in PowerPoint Presentations
How to Remove the Background of an Image in PowerPoint (2 Ways)
Related courses
Microsoft PowerPoint: Intermediate / Advanced
Microsoft PowerPoint: Design for Non-Designers
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