The PowerPoint® Blog

I work with PowerPoint on a daily basis and I am very honored to be a Microsoft PowerPoint MVP. We have a talented team of presentation designers at TLC Creative Services and ThePowerPointBlog is our area to highlight PowerPoint tips, tricks, examples and tutorials. Enjoy! Troy Chollar

New Podcast Episode: e257 Papercut Improvements and the Renaissance of PowerPoint

AI may dominate the technology conversation, but many of the improvements that matter most to PowerPoint users happen one small workflow at a time. In this episode of The Presentation Podcast, Microsoft’s Vice President and General Manager of the PowerPoint Product Group, Derek Johnson, joins Troy Chollar, Sandra Johnson, and Nolan Haims for a behind-the-scenes look at the team’s investment in PowerPoint fundamentals.

Some of the details are amazing. The PowerPoint development team measures file-opening performance at millisecond-level precision, and testing copy-and-paste improvements involves thousands of scenarios. The team is also tackling Franken-decks by reducing unnecessary layouts and formatting complications, while improving everyday workflows with updates to text boxes, SmartArt, and table editing.

There is more coming, including filmstrip navigation for Windows Presenter View. Just as important, PowerPoint users really are being heard. In-product feedback and Reddit discussions help the PowerPoint team identify the papercuts that need attention and where to focus next. It is all part of what Derek Johnson calls “the Renaissance era of PowerPoint.”

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

Troy @ TLC

By |2026-10-31T15:29:03-07:00November 3rd, 2026|Resource/Misc|

New Podcast Episode, #256, AND A Reusable Framework for PowerPoint Interactive Slides

New episode of The Presentation Podcast now available! Microsoft’s new Interactive Slides feature brings dashboards, simulations, and app-like experiences directly into PowerPoint – all on a single slide. For episode 256, Troy Chollar of TLC Creative Services talks about what he found impressive and limiting. Listen to his review unfold into the conclusion that Interactive Slides aren’t any easy fit in traditional presentations, but they are a new tool for audience interaction, or standalone kiosk environments. Listen on your favorite podcast app, or at The Presentation Podcast site here.

Here is the 5-sentence reusable framework Troy uses to build PowerPoint Interactive Slides. In PowerPoint, with a Copilot Premium license, click INSERT > INTERACTIVE SLIDE:

  1. Create a new interactive slide based on [source].
  2. Audience: [audience]. Purpose: [decision, explanation, exploration, training, comparison].
  3. Allow the user to [filter, click, expand, drill down, adjust, reveal].
  4. Include [KPIs, charts, filters, tabs, tooltips, reset button].
  5. Match the presentation theme, preserve the source slide, and make the initial state useful as a static image.

Click Here to Download (.pptx, 250K) and experiment with this Interactive slide created from this prompt:

“Create a new interactive slide based on this slide’s template. Audience: podcast listeners learning about PowerPoint interactive slides. Purpose: is to showcase interactive slide functionality and design. Allow the user to click buttons to pick their favorite host (Troy, Nolan, Sandra), and use a slider to emphasize their favorite podcast conversation type (PowerPoint design skills, the business of presentation, speaker skills, guest episodes). Include the Presentation Podcast logo (attached), charts, filters, tooltips, and a reset button. Make the initial state useful as a static image.

After opening the presentation, read the Presenter Notes and click, drag the slider, experience an interactive slide!

– Troy @ TLC

By |2026-10-20T09:03:42-07:00October 20th, 2026|PowerPoint, Resource/Misc|

New Podcast Episode Available! “The Ask vs The Offer”

In this episode, Troy, Nolan, Sandy, and former design recruiter Stephanie Hogan review real Presentation Designer job postings and break down the details. They compare qualifications, responsibilities, salary ranges, and the fine print behind the listings. Along the way, they found job postings for everything from a part-time freelance 5–20 hours a week gig, to full-time corporate positions. Plus they explore how AI resume filters are eliminating qualified candidates from ever reaching hiring managers.

Listen in for an honest look at today’s presentation design job market, from your favorite podcast app, or at The Presentation Podcast site.

By |2026-10-04T08:20:58-07:00October 6th, 2026|Resource/Misc|

Brightslide’s Selection Pane Hide & Show All

Brightslide has some great features. Many already exist in PowerPoint, but now are faster to use. As example, a faster way to use PowerPoint’s Selection Pane features of hiding objects and showing all objects.

Here are the 2 webpages for Brightslide. The first is where you can download the installer, and the second is an info page that covers almost 80 of the features.

Troy @ TLC

By |2026-09-30T16:18:10-07:00October 1st, 2026|Software/Add-Ins|

BrightSlide: Match Size

Brightslide has soooo many features, and I use many of them almost daily. This is just one feature that fills a gap in PowerPoint’s formatting features, and has some really nifty hidden functionality.

Here are the 2 webpages for Brightslide. The first is where you can download the installer, and the second is an info page that covers almost 80 of the features.

And, Brightslide is one of the few productivity PowerPoint add-ins that has both Windows and Mac versions!

-Troy @ TLC

By |2026-09-30T16:28:13-07:00September 29th, 2026|Software/Add-Ins|

NXPowerlite to the (PowerPoint) Rescue!

At the 2026 Presentation Summit last week, completely unplanned, Lori demonstrated the NXPowerlite PowerPoint add-in during her speaking session. Troy also demonstrated the NXPowerlite PowerPoint add-in during one of his speaking sessions! Here’s a demo of NXPowerlite in use:

  • NXPowerlite is from the super-talented code team at neuxpower. The same developers that brought us Slidewise!
  • Running NXPowerlite compresses all images in a presentation to the resolution profile selected. This is my #1 go-to for optimizing presentation files that are too big; clients ask me to “shrink the file”. It can also optimize PDF, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, JPEG, PNG & TIFF files.
    • NOTE: This is a Windows PowerPoint add-in (no Mac version).
  • Approximately $60 USD.
  • More details and download here: https://neuxpower.com/nxpowerlite-desktop

– Troy @ TLC Creative Services, Inc.

By |2026-09-17T08:27:25-07:00September 24th, 2026|Software/Add-Ins|

New Podcast Episode Available! “Confessions of a Reluctant AI Presentation Designer”

New episode of The Presentation Podcast now available!

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a futuristic buzzword. AI is a practical, transformative force in business workflows, AND, for the world of presentation design, AI has become part of our workflows. Troy Chollar (TLC Creative Services) and Nolan Haims (Nolan Haims Creative) share their firsthand experiences and insights on how AI tools like Microsoft Copilot, Claude, ChatGPT, and standalone image AI Tools like Adobe Firefly and others are reshaping the way professionals are now approaching presentations and daily operations. Listen on your favorite podcast app, or at The Presentation Podcast site here.

By |2026-09-21T17:12:21-07:00September 22nd, 2026|Resource/Misc|

You Need Thor’s Hammer (for your PowerPoint formatting)!

This free add-in for Windows PowerPoint is something everyone (that works in PowerPoint, on a Windows computer) should have! It accomplishes a simple thing – and it’s something the developers of PowerPoint overlooked. It’s also something I use 10-20x a day… sometimes up to 300 times a day while formatting slides!

The long and short of it is that it picks up and memorizes the position of any item on a slide.  You can use Thor’s Hammer to place any other item in that exact same location.

The position is held in memory, until you pickup and memorize a new location. Use it on different slides throughout the deck. Use it to position things into that position on OTHER decks!

This is one of those things that you cannot believe you worked in PowerPoint without it, once you have it!

Download this PowerPoint add-in from PPTools here: https://www.pptools.com/free/FAQ00002-THOR-The-Hammer.htm

– Troy @ TLC Creative Services, Inc.

By |2026-09-17T19:28:52-07:00September 17th, 2026|Software/Add-Ins|

Free PowerPoint QAT Profile!

The PowerPoint Quick Access Toolbar, or QAT, is the #1 native PowerPoint feature everyone should be using to improve their productivity!

  • Included with PowerPoint
  • PowerPoint for Mac QAT has limited options (hopefully something the PowerPoint dev team will update to match the Windows PowerPoint QAT!)
  • The tedious process of setting up the QAT layout with buttons is super easy by importing a saved profile!
  • note: if the buttons on the QAT are words and not icons, go to this earlier post with the steps to change things back to icons (My QAT is All Words! Give Me Back My Icons, Dec 26, 2204)
  • Note: all of the examples, and the downloadable preset QAT profile, are all for Windows PowerPoint

FIRST

  • The default setup for the QAT is to be above the Ribbon.
  • Move it to under the ribbon.

DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL

  • Download the TLC Creative QAT (CLICK TO DOWNLOAD)
  • Open Microsoft PowerPoint.
  • Go to File > Options > Quick Access Toolbar (or Customize Ribbon).
  • Click Import/Export
  • Select Import Customization File.
  • Choose either a QAT you have saved, or the downloaded “TLC Creative Custom QAT_PowerPoint Customizations.exportedUI”

THE TLC CREATIVE PRESET QAT

  • This version of the QAT is all native PowerPoint functions (search “QAT” for previous blog posts where I talk about add-in functions I also have on my design computer).
  • 44 formatting functions always available!

Hoping this makes your work time in PowerPoint faster and more efficient!

-Troy @ TLC

By |2026-09-14T16:13:23-07:00September 15th, 2026|PowerPoint, Resource/Misc, Software/Add-Ins|
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