PowerPoint’s Selection Pane Can Make Your Life Much Easier

Let’s be honest, with all of the new and improved AI additions to PowerPoint, there are some fundamental elements that seem to get lost in the shuffle. One of these underutilized, but helpful, Powerpoint tools is the Selection Pane. This tried-and-true option allows you to view, name, organize and arrange each object on a slide as individual layers. Sure, it’s nice to be organized, but why would you need this? Because it also allows you to control the individual layers and visibility of each.

When Would I Use This?

The Selection Pane is especially useful when you need to utilize a slide a few different ways. For example, you have a deck that is sometimes shared internally, sometimes externally. In addition, it is sometimes sent ahead or left behind, but other times has a presenter. Taking the time to organize and arrange your layers makes hiding certain elements as easy as a single click. Do you have a chart that looks great on its own with a presenter, but can’t really stand alone without one? Add in a text box! Then simply hide that layer when you’re presenting. When needed, you can send along the version without the text box hidden.

Show and Tell

So let’s see how it works!

  1. Under the home tab, find Arrange and choose the Selection Pane from the menu.
  2. With the Pane visible, organize and name all elements that make up your slide.
  3. Want to remove an element? Simply find the labeled layer highlighted in your Selection Pane, and click the eye icon off to remove it’s visibility.
  4. Next, find any accompanying layers in your Selection Pane and click the visibility icon so they are turned off too. (Think: hiding a shape and the text box sitting on top of it)

YouTube

We’ve taken the time to do a short YouTube tutorial with the map below to show you another Selection Pane application. You can check it out here.

selection pane

The great thing about this tool is that if you want these elements to be highlighted again, all you have to do is cut the visibility back on. No more deleting unwanted items, or the need for multiple versions of the same page. Using this feature allows you to fully control what design elements are used and when, without the hassle of losing any of the undesired elements. Check out the design section of our blog for more presentation design tips and tricks.

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