Show All

Hide All

• What is a PowerPoint 2007 template?

• Templates are different from design templates

• Apply a template

• Watch the demo: Download and apply a template from Office Online

 Note   To create a new PowerPoint 2007 template, see Create a PowerPoint 2007 template.

What is a PowerPoint 2007 template?

A Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 template is a pattern or blueprint of a slide or group of slides that you save as a .potx file. Templates can contain layouts (layout: The arrangement of elements, such as title and subtitle text, lists, pictures, tables, charts, shapes, and movies, on a slide.), theme colors (theme colors: A set of colors that is used in a file. Theme colors, theme fonts, and theme effects compose a theme.), theme fonts (theme fonts: A set of major and minor fonts that is applied to a file. Theme fonts, theme colors, and theme effects compose a theme.), theme effects (theme effects: A set of visual attributes that is applied to elements in a file. Theme effects, theme colors, and theme fonts compose a theme.), background styles, and even content.

You can create your own custom templates and store them, reuse them, and share them with others. You can also find hundreds of different types of free templates on Office Online and on other partner Web sites that you can apply to your presentation. See the demo at the end of this article for a walk-through on how to download and apply a template from Office Online.

Some examples of templates on Office Online include, but are not limited to, the following:

A template can include the following:

 Subject matter-specific content, such as Certificate of Achievement, Soccer, and the soccer ball image

 Background formatting, such as pictures, texture, gradient or solid fill color, and transparency. This example shows the light blue solid fill background

 Color, fonts, effects (3-D, lines, fills, shadows, etc.), and theme design elements (such as the color and gradient effects inside the word Soccer)

 Text in placeholders (placeholders: Boxes with dotted or hatch-marked borders that are part of most slide layouts. These boxes hold title and body text or objects such as charts, tables, and pictures.) that prompt people to enter specific information, such as Player's name, Name of coach, Date of presentation, and any variable, such as the year (2007)

 Top of Page

Templates are different from design templates

Do not mistake PowerPoint 2007 templates with the design templates used only in earlier versions of PowerPoint.

In PowerPoint 2007, themes (theme: A combination of theme colors, theme fonts, and theme effects. A theme may be applied to a file as a single selection.) replace design templates. To learn the difference between PowerPoint 2007 themes and PowerPoint 2003 and earlier design templates, and how to add design elements to your PowerPoint 2007 presentation by using colors, fonts, effects, and background effects, see the demo Add colors, fonts, and effects with PowerPoint 2007 themes.

 Top of Page

Reuse and apply a template

You can reuse and apply existing templates to give you a jump-start on your next presentation or other document. There are many ways that you might come across a template that you like and want to reuse. You can find free templates on Office Online, or perhaps you or a co-worker created a template that you want to reuse.

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click New.
2. In the New Presentation dialog box, do one of the following:
   • Under Templates, do one of the following:
     • To apply a template that you've recently used, click Blank and recent, click the template that you want, and then click Create.
     • To apply a template that you've installed to your local hard drive, click Installed Templates, and then click Create.
     • To create (and apply) a new template based on another template that installed on your local hard drive, click New from existing, and then click Create New.
     • To apply a template that you've saved to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\, click My templates, select a custom template, and then click OK.
     • To download and apply a template from Office Online, under Microsoft Office Online, click a template category, select a template, and then click Download.

 Top of Page

Watch the demo: Download and apply a template from Office Online

Show me

 Top of Page