Use both bullets and numbering in the slide master - PPT 2019

If you want to use both bullets and numbering in the slide master, you can use one of three options.

Provide a slide layout for bullet points and a separate one for numbering.

This is the easiest option  You can do this by copying an existant slide layout or by creating a new one (button Insert layout and button Insert placeholder). The latter takes more effort.

Go to View Slide Master. If you want to copy the slide and content layout just right-click the layout and choose Duplicate Layout.

The layout will get the same name preceded by 1_Title and content.

You can change the name by right-clicking it and choosing the Rename layout option.

In the master select the duplicate layout and change to numbering.

Watch the video below:

Provide two slide masters, one for bullets and one for numbering

You can do this by duplicating the existant master or by creating a new one (in the Slide Master ribbon use Insert slide master) The latter method takes a lot more effort as it creates a blank master and requires applying all the formatting needed.

Go to View and click the Slide Master button.

Right-click the current master and choose Duplicate master.

It is better to give the slide master a distinctive name. Right-click the master and choose the option Rename master. Type the new name and click the Rename button.

This is how it looks when you add a new slide:

This second master will be preserved even when you do not use it in your presentation. You can see this with the little pushpin icon beneath the master number.

In het second master you can add the numbering. You can do that by clicking in every level and choosing the Numbering button in the Paragraph group of the Home ribbon.

Using a second master has its disadvantages. It can create confusion when choosing the correct slide layout as both masters have the same layout.

Define the first three levels of the default slide layout with bullet points and the next three with numbering.

Although it looks like you can only use 5 levels in PPT it is possible to go to 9 levels. See my article : Increase outline levels. In the slide master below I used 6 levels. The first three for bullets, the last three for numbering.

If you want to use the numbering part this will mean you will have to press the increase level button several times to do so.

The indents for the levels can be set in the ruler. See my article : Adjust indents bullet list

This video shows you how to proceed:

Reorder bullet points easily in PPT 2019

When you use bullet lists it often occurs that you want to change the order of the items. You can of course use the cut and paste method but there are other possibilities that make this far more easy.

In the next bullet list I want to move two items, the item 'Future' must be the last item and 'Market research should be the first item.

Dragging with the mouse

Click on the bullet symbol/number you want to move. See the four-way arrow that appears.

Hold the left mouse button and drag the bullet item to its final position. During dragging a horizontal line will appear, release the mouse button when you have reached the correct position.

See the following video:

Using a keybord shortcut

Click in the bullet point you want to move and press Alt+shift+arrow.

Watch the video:

Use tab key to increase/decrease levels in bullet lists in PPT 2019

When you press the tab key in a bullet list PPT increases the level of the bullet. When you press the combination shift+tab key it decreases the level. You can format the bullets in the slide master. If the tab key does not work that means your cursor is not in a bullet list or the bullets have been turned off. Then the tab key will act as an ordinary tab.

Pressing the tab key with the cursor in a list gives the following result (I formatted the slide master so that each level starts under the text of the previous level) :

If you switch off the bullets you get the following result, the levels follow the default tab stops of one inch:

If you switch off the bullets and use the promote/demote buttons in the paragraph group you get the same results, with the cursor in a bulleted list the next/previous level, with bullets off you get a left indent:

Can you add your own bullets to the bullet library? - PPT 2019

No you can't. The bullets are hard coded in PowerPoint. If you make a new bullet one of the hard coded ones is replaced as you can see in the following picture. 

When you click in bulleted text or go to another slide you will see that the new bullet is not available. 

If you really want to use new bullets you will have to adapt the master (View - Master), select the top layout (master) and change your bullets for one or more levels. Every layout will follow the master. This will only work with slide layouts that are built in and layouts you create yourself. The button on the ribbon will remain like it was. If you want you can save the master as a new template.

See my previous article : Use customized bullet style

Use icons as bullets in PPT 2019

The choice to include icons in PPT was a good one. You can also use these icons as a bullet in content placeholders.

Click on the Bullet button in the Paragraph group of the Home tab, choose Bullets and numbering at the bottom.

Click on the Picture button in the dialog:

You are presented with three options:

Choose From Icons en select in a category of your choice a suitable icon then click on the Insert button.

The new bullet is now in the dialog and you can use it whenever you want.

Use customized bullet style for placeholders in different slides (1)

Ever made use of a custom bullet in a slide and noticed that it is no longer available in the next slide?

Very annoying.

To get around this the obvious workaround is to copy the slide as a whole.

Right click the slide with the bullet style and choose duplicate slide. Or just press Ctrl+D with the example slide active in the slide and outline pane.

Result:

You can only change the first level not the other levels. The new setting will apply only to the chosen slide layout. When you need the same setting further on in your presentation you will have to copy and paste it.

To change all levels or to change all slide layouts you will have to edit your master. This will ensure you will always have the correct bullet style for all your slides. We will explain this in a next entry.