Create and save a PowerPoint template

When you create a presentation and then save it as a PowerPoint template (.potx) file, you can share it with your colleagues and reuse it again. To create a template, you'll need to modify a slide master and a set of slide layouts.

Choose from thousands of free templates to download at Microsoft templates

Windows Web

Select a topic to see detailed instructions:

Open a blank presentation: File > New > Blank Presentation
On the Design tab, select Slide Size > Custom Slide Size and choose the page orientation and dimensions you want.
On the View tab, in the Master Views group, choose Slide Master.

The slide master is the largest slide image at the top of the slide thumbnail list, to the left of your slides. Associated slide layouts are positioned beneath the slide master.
To make changes to the slide master or slide layouts, on the Slide Master tab, do any of the following:
- To add a colorful theme with special fonts and effects, select Themes, and choose a theme from the gallery. Use the scrollbar on the right to see more themes.
- To change the background, select Background Styles, and choose a background.
- To add a placeholder (to hold text, a picture, chart, video, sound, and other objects), in the thumbnail pane, select the slide layout that you want to hold the placeholder, and do the following:
  - Select Insert Placeholder and choose the type of placeholder you want to add.
  - On the slide master or slide layout, select and drag to draw the placeholder size.
    
    Tip: To resize a placeholder, drag the corner of one of its borders.
- To move a placeholder around on a slide master or slide layout, select the edge and then drag it into a new position.
- To remove an unwanted placeholder in a slide master or slide layout, select it in the slide thumbnail pane, and then select the border of the placeholder on the slide and press Delete.
- To set the page orientation for all of the slides in your presentation, select Slide Size > Custom Slide Size.
  
  Under Orientation, choose Portrait or Landscape.

On the File tab, select Save As (or Save a Copy, if you are using Microsoft 365).
In the Save as type list, choose PowerPoint Template.
When you choose the "template" type, PowerPoint automatically switches the storage location to the appropriate folder, the Custom Office Templates folder.
In the Save As dialog box, in the File name box, type a file name for your template, or do nothing to accept the suggested file name.
Select Save.
To use your template for a new presentation, select File > New. Then select Custom > Custom Office Templates, and then double-click the template you saved.