PPT: Setting Default Attributes for Slide Objects

You can control the default text characteristics for new objects you create by using the Text Tool:

1.

Click the Selection Tool, and then click a blank area of your slide. This ensures that no objects are selected.

2.

To change the default alignment, use the procedure appropriate for your version of PowerPoint. PowerPoint 4.0, 7.0 ------------------- On the Format menu, point to Alignment, and then click the appropriate submenu command. PowerPoint 3.x -------------- On the Text menu, click Alignment and select from among the submenu alignment options. PowerPoint 2.x -------------- On the Text menu, click Left, Center, Right, or Justify.

The text, label, or word processor objects you create now follow the new default you selected.

This does not affect the default alignment for Title and Body objects because that is controlled by the alignment formatting of the corresponding objects on the Slide Master and Notes Master.

You can set up a default presentation, so that the defaults you select apply to all the new presentations you create. The default presentation can include all of your custom defaults for slides, notes, and handouts. If you do not create a default presentation file, PowerPoint uses its own defaults.

In order for the changes to drawing object attributes and text object attributes to be saved as the defaults for new presentations, you must take one more step.

For text objects:

Select the text with the desired attributes. On the Format menu, click "Pick Up Text Style," click anywhere in the slide background, and then click "Apply To Text Defaults."

For drawing objects:

Select the object after applying the attributes you want. On the Format menu, click "Pick Up Object Style," click anywhere in the slide background, make sure nothing else is selected, and then click "Apply To Object Defaults" on the Format menu.

In PowerPoint for Windows 4.0, the default presentation is called Blank Presentation.pot and in PowerPoint 3.x and 4.0 for the Macintosh, the default presentation is called Default.ppt.

For more information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: