The PowerPoint outline view shows the titles and main text from each slide as an outline of your presentation. Each title is accompanied by a slide icon and slide number on the left side of the pane that contains the Outline tab. The main text is indented under the slide title. In Outline view, graphic objects only show up as tiny notations on the slide icon.
How to outline text in PowerPoint
Consider these steps for how to outline text in PowerPoint:
1. Select the text you want to outline
By highlighting a section of text with your mouse and choosing the text you want to outline The “Format” tools tab in the top function panel becomes active when your text is selected. You can also use the “Format Text Effects” and “Text Options” options from the drop-down menu that appears when you right-click a text box to outline all of the text within it.
2. Customize your text outline
To add a “No line,” “Solid line,” or “Gradient line” to your outline, choose “Text Outline” from your “Text Options.” After selecting your outline type, customize the colors and transparency. To match a color from your presentation, choose one of PowerPoint’s default colors or create a custom color using a color mixer or eyedropper tool.
You can choose a gradient’s linear, radial, rectangular, or path angles and style when creating a gradient outline. You can alter the line’s thickness with the outline design you select using the options in the “Weight” tab, or you can create a dashed line outline in the “Dashes” tab. Aim to keep the designs of your text outline consistent with the theme of your presentation when customizing it.
3. Choose your text outline fill
You have the option of filling the outline around your text with a different color. Choose from the additional customizable “Text Fill” or “No Fill” options. You can choose the transparency and gradient angles when creating a solid or gradient fill for your outline. Consider using opposing color patterns for an outline and fill to prevent blending You can make your fill solid if your outline is gradient or vice versa. Alternately, if you want a gradient for both the fill and the outline, you can adjust the gradient angles so that they point in different directions.
4. Create a text box outline
To further draw attention to the text you’ve chosen, you can make a text box outline. Locate the “Insert” tab by clicking on the text box that you want to define. To create the outline around your text, click on a shape. You can either select “No Fill” or another color to fill the shape. By selecting a fill color, you can add a different background color over the slide background color for your text box’s outline. You can adjust the line weight and dashes to match the text outline by using the text box outline.
5. Change your background color
To increase readability, you can change your slide background color. To change your background color or to use a file image as a background, locate the “Design” tab at the top of your PowerPoint window and choose “Format Background.” You can decide whether to use this background for the currently-selected slide or for all slides.
Why is outlining text in PowerPoint important?
It’s crucial to outline text in PowerPoint to draw attention to key sentences or headings in your slideshows. To draw the audience in and make certain words or phrases stand out from the rest of the presentation slide, you can outline text and use design elements. To keep your slides concise, make sure only the most pertinent information is displayed by using large, outlined text. You can make your presentation easier to read and more memorable by putting less text on each slide.
Tips for outlining text in PowerPoint
Here are some tips for outlining text:
Create contrast
Contrast is a crucial component of readability because text with a background color that is too similar to it blends in and is difficult to read. When planning and creating your presentation slides, pick contrasting colors for the backgrounds, fills, and outlines of your text. You can select from a variety of color schemes and themes in PowerPoint to use complementary and contrasting hues.
You can view PowerPoint “Themes” and “Design Ideas” by selecting the “Design” tab to assist you in selecting color schemes for your presentation. With their pre-made themes and ideas, PowerPoint’s color schemes are typically well-developed for readability and aesthetics. You can change the fonts, font sizes, and specific colors to best meet your presentation goals.
Explore other effect features
You can highlight text in PowerPoint using the outline feature, or you can experiment with the other design and word art effects available. Additionally, you can use PowerPoint to add glows and shadows around your text and outlines, and you can change the angle, size, color, and transparency. Think about including graphics, such as slide transitions and text animations, to your slideshow to add movement.
After choosing a slide or text box for which you want to add effects, the “Transitions” or “Animations” tabs appear. Click “Effect Options” after selecting the function you want to create. You can choose when they are activated and what movement they make using these options.
Use add-in tools
Online, there are add-on tools you can use to make shortcuts for turning your text into an outline. These plug-ins streamline the outlining procedure and give you access to additional customization options. Some of these tools have text outline edit points that you can click and drag to change how your text outlines look.
The readability of your presentation can be assessed using add-in tools that test color contrasts and text sizes to ensure that the text is legible. Other tools may also provide you with additional themes and color schemes to use in your slides. There are many plug-in tools available that can be used to design presentations and generate text outlines.
Please be aware that Indeed is not connected to any of the products mentioned in this article.
Outline Text in PowerPoint Tutorial
FAQ
How do you outline text in PowerPoint 2019?
Choose the text you want to add an outline to from the WordArt or PowerPoint slide. Select the first piece of text, then while selecting the other pieces of text, press and hold CTRL to add the same outline to the text in multiple locations. Click the desired color to add or modify an outline.
How do you outline text in slides?
- Divide the textbook into chapters if applicable. Write the chapter title on the top of your outline.
- Write the subtitles, if they exist, on the outline page.
- While reading the text, jot down any details you feel are significant.
How do you insert an outline in PowerPoint?
Add the text for the outline to your PowerPoint presentation or click the slide you want the outline to follow in an existing presentation file. Click the arrow next to New Slide on the Home tab, then select Outline.
