Turn Autofit Off or On in PowerPoint Presentations
by Avantix Learning Team | Updated March 12, 2021
Applies to: Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)
You can turn off Autofit to stop PowerPoint from automatically formatting or changing font size in placeholders, text boxes and shapes containing text. Depending on your requirements, you can turn Autofit off using PowerPoint Options, the Format Shape task pane or a Smart Tag. Autofit can be turned off (or on) in the current presentation or for all new presentations.
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Turning off Autofit for a placeholder using a Smart Tag
You can control Autofit options for title placeholders, content placeholders and text placeholders on slides using a SmartTag. If Autofit is turned on and you enter more text than will fit in a placeholder on a slide, a Smart Tag will appear and you can turn off Autofit using the Smart Tag menu..
To turn off Autofit using a Smart Tag:
- In Normal View, display the slide with the font that is being resized in the placeholder.
- Click in the placeholder.
- Select the Smart Tag that appears beside the placeholder (which displays as two arrows). A drop-down menu appears.
- Select Stop Fitting Text to This Placeholder.
When you click the Smart Tag, a drop-down menu appears with several options (some other options display depending on context such as splitting text between two slides):
You can also access AutoCorrect Options in the drop-down menu and change the default Autofit setting.
Turning off Autofit for specific objects using the Format Shape task pane
To turn off Autofit for specific placeholders, text boxes or shapes containing text on a slide in the current presentation:
- In Normal View, select the placeholder, text box or shape containing text by clicking its edge.
- Right-click and select Format Shape from the drop-down menu. The Format Shape task pane appears.
- Click Text Options at the top of the task pane.
- Select Text Box below Text Options.
- Select Do Not Autofit. This will only affect the selected object.
The Format Shape task pane appears as follows:
You can also turn Autofit off in Slide Master View for title, content and text placeholders on layouts.
Turning off Autofit in the current presentation and all new presentations
If you want to turn off Autofit globally, you will need to change PowerPoint Proofing options:
To turn off Autofit for placeholders in the current presentation and all new presentations:
- Open a presentation.
- Click the File tab in the Ribbon.
- Select Options. A dialog box appears.
- In the categories on the left, select Proofing.
- Click AutoCorrect Options. A dialog box appears.
- Select the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
- Deselect or uncheck the AutoFit title text to placeholder and AutoFit body text to placeholder options.
- Click OK twice.
When you click AutoFormat as You Type in AutoCorrect Options, the following dialog box appears:
You can turn Autofit off for title placeholders and body placeholders. This would affect PowerPoint layouts that include title placeholders, content placeholders or text placeholders.
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More resources
How to Remove the Background of an Image in PowerPoint
How to Make an Image Transparent in PowerPoint (3 Ways)
How to Animate Text, Images and Other Objects in PowerPoint
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Microsoft PowerPoint: Intermediate / Advanced
Microsoft PowerPoint: Design for Non-Designers
Microsoft PowerPoint: Animations Bootcamp
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