Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 Version Overview
If you're considering upgrading to Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 before attending a training course or arranging custom training, check out this list of some of the new features in PowerPoint 2013.
If you are using PowerPoint 2016 or considering upgrading to PowerPoint 2016, see the Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 Overview.
Are you working on PowerPoint 2010? Check out new features in the Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 Overview.
Looking for PowerPoint training courses?
Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 New Features
Applies to: Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 for Windows
The following are some of the key new features available in Microsoft PowerPoint 2013.
Default Widescreen Format
In PowerPoint 2013, the default format is widescreen or 16:9. However, if you're printing slides, they won't convert to print as 1 slide per page as easily as the 4:3 size (Microsoft recommends printing widescreen 2 slides per page).
There are a number of widescreen templates that are included with PowerPoint 2013. Also, if you switch from 4:3 to widescreen, graphics will need to be resized. It's best to start in widescreen if that is how you intend to run your presentation.
Enhanced Theme Options
There are new theme options or variations in PowerPoint 2013. Click on the Design tab on the Ribbon and you'll be able to choose between different themes and variations.
New Animations
PowerPoint 2013 features four new animations. There are two new entrance effects and two new exit effects.
Compress is available as an entrance and exit effect. There is also a Stretch entrance and a Collapse exit effect.
New Slide Transitions
There are 11 new transitions and Microsoft has brought back the random transition option.
The new transitions are:
- Fracture
- Crush
- Peel Off
- Fall Over
- Drape
- Curtains
- Page Curl
- Airplane
- Origami
- Wind
- Prestige
- Random
Improved Presenter View
In PowerPoint 2013, the improved Presenter View allows you to easily view the current slide, the notes for your current slide and a preview of the next slide. This view is seen only by the presenter while the audience views the current slide.
To launch Presenter View, press Alt + F5 to start your presentation from the beginning in Presenter View or press Alt + Shift + ALT + F5 to start Presenter View at the current slide.
You now also have a variety of options in Presenter View – a laser pointer / pen / highlighter, slide sorter, zoom and an option to switch between black screen and the current slide.
New Video and Audio Formats and Features
PowerPoint 2013 has a number of newly-supported audio and video formats that can now be viewed in PowerPoint without having to download other applications (such as QuickTime). The ability to include MP4 videos which play smoothly without adding QuickTime is a great improvement for those using video.
The following video formats are now supported in 2013 (the default is MP4):
- MP4 video file (.mp4, .m4v, .mov)
- Windows media file (.asf)
- Windows video file (.avi)
- Movie file (.mpg or .mpeg)
- Adobe Flash media (.swf)
- Windows media video file (.wmv)
The following audio formats are now supported in 2013:
- AIFF audio file (.aiff)
- AU audio file (.au)
- MIDI file (.mid or .midi)
- MP3 audio file (.mp3)
- MPEG-4 audio file (.m4a, .mp4)
- Windows audio file (.wav)
- Windows media audio file (.wma)
Feature enhancements include:
- Music can be played in the background easily with the Play in background feature.
- You can now drag and drop media files from folders directly into a presentation.
- In 2013, you can also export PowerPoint presentations to MP4 video instead of just Windows media video (wmv).
Match Colours using the Eye Dropper Tool
You can now match colours with the Eye Dropper tool. This tool allows you to pick up a color from another object and paste it to a different object.
Contact us to discuss any of our custom options.
Check out our blog for more PowerPoint tips, tricks and shortcuts.
Public courses are delivered at our downtown Toronto location at 1 Yonge Street, Suite 1801 (Toronto Star Building), Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Do you need more information? Contact us!
Copyright 2017 Avantix Learning Inc.
To request this page in an alternate format, contact our staff.
Custom training
Register for a public course or contact us to arrange custom training at your site or ours.
Related courses
Microsoft PowerPoint: Introduction
Microsoft PowerPoint: Intermediate / Advanced
Microsoft PowerPoint: Design for Non-Designers
You may like
How to Create a Mouse Over or Hover Over Pop-up Effect in PowerPoint
You can create a pop-up effect in PowerPoint when you hover over or mouse over text, pictures or other objects. When you hover over an object during a slide show, you can have PowerPoint jump to another slide to make it appear that an object is a pop-up.
How to Turn Off Autofit in PowerPoint to Stop Automatic Formatting
You can turn off Autofit to stop PowerPoint from changing font size automatically in placeholders, text boxes and shapes containing text. Depending on your preferences, you can turn Autofit off for objects in the current presentation or in all new presentations.
How to Insert Linked or Unlinked Excel Worksheet Data into PowerPoint
You can insert Excel worksheet data into PowerPoint as an object or a table. Objects can be linked or unlinked. If you insert worksheet data as a table, it cannot be linked but can be formatted in PowerPoint.
You may also like
How to Delete a Pivot Table in Excel
A pivot table can be deleted in an Excel workbook in several ways. You can delete a pivot table, convert a pivot table to values or clear data and customizations from a pivot table to reset it. When a pivot table is created from source data in a workbook,
How to Change Commas to Decimal Points and Vice Versa in Excel (5 Ways)
Depending on your country or region, Excel may display decimal points or dots instead of commas for larger numbers. The decimal point (.) or comma (,) is used as the group separator in different regions in the world. You can change commas to decimal points or dots or vice versa in your Excel workbook temporarily or permanently.
How to Group by Month and Year in a Pivot Table in Excel
You can group by month, year or other date period in a pivot table in Excel. One option is to group by date periods in a pivot table using the Grouping feature. Alternatively, you can also create calculations in source data to extract the month name and the year from a date field and use the fields in your pivot table.
Microsoft, the Microsoft logo, Microsoft Office and related Microsoft applications and logos are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in Canada, US and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of the registered owners.
Avantix Learning | 1 Yonge Street, Suite 1801 (Toronto Star Building), Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5E 1W7 | info@avantixlearning.ca