Troubleshoot PowerPoint views

How do I display the old slide view?

In normal view, if you close the Outline and Slides tabs, you will get slide view. Do one of the following:

• To close the tabs, click the Close box to the right of the tabs. To return to normal view, click Normal View (Restore Panes) in the lower left corner of the Microsoft PowerPoint window.
• To hide the tabs, drag the vertical splitter bar, on the right side of the tabs, all the way to the left of the window. To show the tabs again, just drag the bar back to the right.

How can I get Microsoft PowerPoint to always open to the view I want?

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the View tab.
2. Under General, select the view in which you want PowerPoint to always open. 

I want to create a command or button for a view that I use a lot or for an earlier view in Microsoft PowerPoint that I still want.

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Commands tab.
2. In the Categories list, click View.
3. Drag the command for the view you want (Slide, Outline, or Slide Miniature, for instance) from the Commands list to the menu or toolbar you want to add it to.

   When you point to an area that's within a toolbar or on a menu or the menu bar, a plus sign shows as part of the pointer. Menus display when you point; a black line (horizontal for menus, vertical for toolbars) shows you where the command or button will be inserted.

The tabs in normal view look different than they did before.

The Outline and Slides tabs have two states, one with the labels spelled out, the other showing just icons for the tabs. The words switch to icons when you drag the splitter bar to narrow the tabs.

  When you  narrow the pane, the tab names turn into icons.

How can I make the slide thumbnails on the Slides tab bigger?

• Drag the vertical splitter bar, on the right of the tabs, to the right. As the Slides tab gets wider, the thumbnails enlarge.

• On the Standard toolbar, increase the Zoom .

I want to change the sizes of panes in normal view.

• Drag the splitter bars that border the panes. 

Why aren't my slides showing in color in Print Preview?

If you are printing to a grayscale printer, your slides will preview in grayscale.

When I print-preview my slide in grayscale, the slide background shows as white instead of a shade that reflects a color background.

Microsoft PowerPoint shows you a preview of the printed slide in a modified grayscale because sometimes that produces a more readable printed version than you would get with color printed in true grayscale. For example, if your slide background is a dark color, it will print black or dark gray on a grayscale printer, and text on top of it might not be easily readable. The Grayscale mode shows you how it would look with some of the background switched to white. To preview the slide in true grayscale, on the Print Preview toolbar, click Color/Grayscale , and then click the Color option.