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PowerPointBeginner~25 min practiceLesson 1 of 20

Create, save and inspect a presentation

Find the main editing controls and keep a working file separate from a practice copy.

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In this lesson

Create a three-slide project update, save it, then reopen it to check the titles and notes.

Example

Harbor onboarding pilot

Prepare an onboarding pilot update for a team lead. The pilot starts on 7 October, covers 24 employees and has a planned budget of $2,400. Your three slide titles are Pilot overview, Schedule and participants, and Decision requested. Ask for approval to spend the budget; the pilot has not yet produced savings or completion results.

How it works

A presentation contains slides; Normal view combines the thumbnail pane, current slide and notes. The ribbon changes its commands when you select a picture, chart or shape, so selecting the right object is part of the operation.

PPTX is an editable presentation. PPSX normally opens as a show, PDF freezes the page appearance, and PPTM permits macros. A different extension changes the intended use; it does not turn untrusted macros into safe content.

Steps

  1. Choose File › New › Blank Presentation. Save as Harbor-Pilot-Working.pptx before adding detail, using File › Save As or Save a Copy where your version offers it.

  2. Identify the thumbnail pane on the left, the slide canvas, the Notes area and the zoom control. Type Pilot overview into the title placeholder, not into an unrelated floating text box.

  3. Choose Home › New Slide twice. Use Title and Content for both slides, then enter Schedule and participants and Decision requested as their title-placeholder text.

  4. On slide 2 enter Start: 7 October and Participants: 24 employees as separate bullets. On slide 3 enter Approve the $2,400 pilot budget; do not imply the approval has already happened.

  5. Select View › Slide Sorter and move Decision requested to the end if necessary. Return to Normal view and confirm the three thumbnails match the intended narrative.

  6. Add the note Explain that these are planning figures to slide 1. Save, close and reopen the file. Check that all three titles and the note are still there.

Try it yourself

  1. Create a separate copy called Harbor-Pilot-Practice.pptx. Change the practice copy to 30 participants and a $3,000 planned budget without editing the original file.
  2. Reopen both files and write a two-line check: working copy figures, then practice copy figures. Start a slide show from the beginning and confirm the request remains the last slide.
Show expected result
  • Working copy: 24 employees and $2,400; practice copy: 30 employees and $3,000.
  • Each file has three slides with a genuine title placeholder and the planning note on slide 1.

If something goes wrong

A change seems lost after closing the file.
Check the folder and filename you reopened. If cloud syncing is still pending, save a named local copy and reopen it. Keep both versions until you know which contains your latest changes.
The file opens as a full-screen show when you wanted to edit.
Open PowerPoint first, then use File › Open. Save a PPTX copy for editing. Renaming a show file’s extension does not convert its contents.

Quick check

Try these questions after the exercise. Check the result in your app before marking the lesson complete.

1. Which format should remain the editable working source?
2. How do you verify a saved practice copy?
3. What should the budget request claim?

Choose an answer for all 3 questions to check your understanding.

Optional: try it with Copilot

If you have Copilot, try this after the exercise. Keep the original file and compare its suggestions with your own result.

Suggest three slide titles for the Harbor pilot using only: 7 October, 24 employees, planned budget $2,400, approval requested. Do not invent outcomes.

More from Microsoft

These Microsoft guides cover the tools used in this lesson.

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