Monthly Archives: July 2025

Why You Can’t Start a Bullet List at Zero (and What You Can Do)

If you’ve ever tried to create a numbered list in PowerPoint and wanted to start it at “0”, you’ve likely run into a small (and slightly frustrating) limitation: PowerPoint lets you change the starting number of a numbered list—but only if that number is 1 or higher. Starting at “0”? That’s not allowed!

How to Change the Starting Number in PowerPoint 

1. Highlight the numbered list

2. Right-click and choose “Bullets and Numbering”

3. In the Numbered tab, change the “Start at” value

4. Enter any whole number except “0”

Yep, if you try to enter “0,” the field will snap back to “1”

But Larger Numbers Are Allowed

Side note: a numbered list can start at any number (larger than 0) and will continue the auto numbering from there. For example, PowerPoint makes it easy to update this number list to start at the number 8. 

1. Right-click and choose “Bullets and Numbering”

2. Go to the Numbered tab

3. Change the “Start at” value from “1” to “8”

4. Click OK

Why No Zero?

PowerPoint follows the more traditional formatting logic found in word processing and presentation tools, where lists begin with “1” by default. Unlike coding languages or spreadsheets that often treat “0” as a valid starting index, PowerPoint assumes that users are building lists meant for human consumption, where “1” is the standard starting point. This is disappointing because we have slides that start with “0” occasionally. 

A Workaround, if You Really Want to Start With a Zero

If starting your list with “0” is needed (such as when showing steps in a programming sequence or a timeline), here’s a simple workaround. This workaround does not use PowerPoint’s auto numbering, but it will look exactly the same. 

Manually add bullet/number spacing: 

1. Go to the “Home” tab, then the “Paragraph” section, click on the “Line Spacing” icon, then go to the “Line Spacing Options”… at the bottom of the menu open the “Paragraph” dialog 

2. On the “Indents and Spacing” tab, go to the “Indentation” area 

3. Change the “Before Text” to “0.38”  

4. Change the “Special” section to be “Hanging” and by “0.38” 

5. Click OK 

These settings will mimic the spacing and alignment of a bullet/number list.  

Now start the first line by typing “0”, then hit tab and continue (manually) numbering the full list. The result is a numbered list starting at “0”! 

Depending on the font used and the text size, you may need to adjust the “Before Text” and “Special” settings to space the numbers and text appropriately – just make sure the numbers used in these 2 settings are the same. 

Final Thoughts

While this method does not produce a true numbered list, it does visually replicate one, allowing you to start at “0” without disrupting the layout. It’s a small quirk, but it’s good to know these limitations when you’re trying to get your slides just right. PowerPoint’s list formatting features are powerful, but sometimes a manual tweak is the key to getting the result you need. 

-The TLC Creative Design Team 

By |2025-07-10T05:47:00-07:00July 14th, 2025|PowerPoint, Tutorial|

A Look Back to Stylizing Text with a “Fire & Ice” Gradient Fill

Back in 2020, we wrote this post about gradient text. We picked this topic today because PowerPoint users are still sticking to basic solid colors in their text! So, if you weren’t hanging out with us here at the blog in 2020, allow us to add another design tool to your toolbox. 

Looking at this tutorial five years later, we see that it’s still just as relevant today. PowerPoint’s gradient fill process is exactly the same (not necessarily great, but consistent), and it can be used to create great visual styling and visually dynamic designs – all directly within PowerPoint.  

Creating a Gradient Text Fill 

We used a simple two-word phrase as our example. We transformed this: 

Into this: 

Here’s how we did it: 

  • Select the text 
  • Go to (A) SHAPE FORMAT > (B) TEXT FILL > (C) GRADIENT > (D) VARIATIONS > pick a preset gradient style, or  
  • If you want more control and options, click (F) MORE GRADIENTS to open the Format Shape pane 

Customizing Your Gradient 

Now, let’s refine the gradient in the Format Shape pane where we get creative control of the gradient styling: 

A. Preset Gradients: Ready-made styles based on your theme colors 

B. Type: Let’s you choose from a number of gradients: 

  • Linear (meaning the gradient is horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) 
  • Radial (a circular gradient starting from the center, or from any of the 4 corners) 
  • Rectangular (similar to the circular gradient, but rectangular) 
  • Path (a gradient in the shape of the object it is filling) 

C. Direction: Adjust what direction the colors blend 

D. Angle: Adjust the angle at which the colors are blended 

E. Gradient Stops: Add, remove, and customize colors along the gradient – you can also add or remove gradient stops (points along the line) to really make it your own 

F. Color: Select the color for your gradient stop 

G. Position: Change the position of the gradient stop 

H. Transparency: Alter the opacity of the gradient 

I. Brightness: Fine-tune the brightness of the gradient  

For our example, the fire gradient effect is a 5-color stop gradient (E), each with the default Transparency (0%, or solid), default brightness (0%, or the color as selected), but a custom angle of 45 degrees (D). This all combines to create a dramatic, glowing look. 

Want to see it in action? Download the FIRE & ICE gradient fill sample slide here! 

-The TLC Creative Design Team 

By |2025-06-09T14:38:24-07:00July 11th, 2025|PowerPoint|

Morph Bullet List to Number List

This month we are focusing on typography and how small design choices like text animations can make a big impact in PowerPoint. One tool to explore with text in mind is the Morph animation…err transition…we mean the Morph Effect! Morph is the easiest way in PowerPoint to create smooth, visually engaging movement between slides without needing complex animations. For example, let’s start with 2 slides. Slide 1 is a typical, left-aligned bullet list. Slide 2 is the same list, but center aligned with different colors, font sizing, and bolding applied.  

No animations have been added to either slide, just a Morph transition has been added to slide 2. FYI, applying a Morph transition to slide 1 does nothing – the transition to slide 1 looks like a Fade transition (tip: the Morph transition is applied to the “end result” slide).

Morph transitions have 3 variations: Objects, Words, Characters. 

Let’s demonstrate each variation using text only slides. The above example is the Morph transition set to its default “Object” option. The Object mode moves and animates everything as single entities.   

What makes Morph especially useful is its flexibility. Beyond the default “Object” option, it offers more granular options for the transition effects. You can choose to animate “by word” or even “by character,” giving you more control and variety over how the content appears and animates.  

By updating Morph to use the “Words” option, the text is moved by each word, not as a single block or object. So, our three words on slide one move independent of each other, on their own path to the slide 2 end position.

And the final option, “Characters,” can create complex and interesting motion effects. Every letter is now morphed independently to the slide 2 end position. Any letters on the first slide not on the second slide fade out (no motion), and letters on the second slide not on the first slide fade in (again, no motion). One of the interesting frustrations is that the association of letters from one slide to the next cannot be controlled. As example, the first letter in “One” on the first slide, connects to the first letter of “Once” on the second slide. Looks great, which is good, because there is no option to tell Morph we want the letter “O” on the first slide to associate with the “o” in “upon” or “options”.  

Note that it can take some tinkering to get the desired effect, but with some clever thinking and experimentation, you can create some visually stunning effects with text in PowerPoint! 

-The TLC Creative Design Team 

By |2025-06-29T15:38:27-07:00July 7th, 2025|Tutorial|

A Look Back to Celebrating the U.S. 4th of July with a Free PowerPoint template!

Fourteen years ago, we created this custom 4th of July-themed PowerPoint template and made it available for anyone to use (for personal use), free! Now, a decade and a half later, we still think it’s a great design to use!

This full-featured PowerPoint template is perfect for PowerPoint presentations and holiday event notices. Whether you’re prepping slides for a festive gathering, a company event, or just want to add some flair to your next presentation, this FREE template has you covered! 

What’s included in this template: 

  • 16:9 aspect ratio 
  • Uses Microsoft Cloud fonts 
  • 1 Master Slide with theme, title, and content layouts (along with all standard Microsoft  layouts)

Download the template here and get a head start on next year’s 4th of July! Speaking of, Happy 4th of July from the team at TLC Creative Services!  

– Troy @ TLC 

By |2025-06-13T13:22:49-07:00July 4th, 2025|PowerPoint|

New Podcast Episode Available! “Fonts, Spacing, and Alignment: The Typography Toolkit for PowerPoint”

New episode of The Presentation Podcast now available!

Our latest episode of The Presentation Podcast dives deep into the role of typography in PowerPoint presentations. The hosts discuss font selection, line and paragraph spacing, alignment, visual hierarchy and more. Plenty of practical tips and frustrations of typography formatting within PowerPoint are shared, along with comparing PowerPoint’s features to other advanced design and desktop publishing tools. Solutions to common text formatting challenges in PowerPoint are also a big part of the conversation…because effective typography is essential for clear, professional, and engaging presentations.

Listen on your favorite podcast app, or at The Presentation Podcast site here.

By |2025-06-28T09:31:42-07:00July 2nd, 2025|Resource/Misc|
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