Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101 Logo:Jegsworks Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101

Note: This site will be taken down July 1, 2024.



Home > Jan's CompLit 101 > Working with Presentations > Basics > Interface > Views > Slide Sorter
Icon: Arrow - Previous pagePrevious    NextIcon: Arrow - Next page

Jan's Working with Presentations

   Basics: Interface: Views: Slide Sorter

The Slide Sorter View shows numbered thumbnails of the slides, in order going across the window. The current slide has an extra border, gold or orange, depending on the version of PowerPoint.

View: Slide Sorter (PowerPoint 2010)

View: Slide Sorter (PowerPoint 2016)

What can you do in Slide Sorter View?

  • Change the order of slides by dragging the thumbnails or by using cut and paste.
  • Select multiple slides at once.
  • Delete a slide or a group of slides.
  • Add a new slide.
  • Copy and paste a slide or slides.
  • Run the transition or animation effect on the slide's thumbnail.

The Slide Sorter View is the best view when you need to move, copy, or delete a lot of slides.

What can't you do in Slide Sorter View?

  • Edit contents of slides.
       (Use Normal view.)
  • Add or edit notes.
       (Use Notes Page View or Notes Pane in Normal view)

TipIcon for animation/transition: The icon Icon: Animation (2002/03) below a slide thumbnail in Slide Sorter view means that the slide has a slide transition or animation. Clicking the icon will run the effect on the thumbnail. Handy dandy!


Icon Step-by-Step 

Step-by-Step: Slide Sorter

 Icon Step-by-Step

What you will learn: to switch to Slide Sorter view
to run animation in this view
to select slides
to copy slides
to move slides with cut and paste
to move slides by dragging
to delete slides

Start with:Icon: Class flash drive, issues3-Lastname-Firstname.pptx from your Class disk

Switch to Slide Sorter View

  1. Click on Button: Slide Sorter Button: Slide Sorter (PowerPoint 2013) Button: Slide Sorter (PowerPoint 2016) the Slide Sorter button on the Views bar.
     Views Bar: Slide Sorter selected (PowerPoint 2010)

    Views Bar: Slide Sorter selected (PowerPoint 2013)

    Views Bar: Slide Sorter selected (PowerPoint 2016)

    Slide Sorter - initialThe window changes to the Slide Sorter view with thumbnails of the slides running across the pane.

    Alternate method: Ribbon:  View  > Presentation Views > Slide Sorter
     


Slide Sorter View: Run Animations

A slide that has an animation effects has an animation icon below the slide thumbnail. Clicking the icon runs the animation on the slide right there in Slide Sorter view. So tiny, but so cute!

  1. Still in Slide Sorter view, click on Icon: AnimationIcon: Animation (PowerPoint 2013), the animation icon below the Slide 1 thumbnail.
    Any transition and animations play on the slide thumbnail without your needing to click to advance each one. When you select an transition or animation, you can choose whether or not a mouse click is needed for the effect to play.

    A transition brings the next slide into view. You might see only a background until the slide's animations run.
    An animation brings a part of the slide into view.

  2. Repeat for each of the other slides.
    This presentation is not an example of 'best practices. It uses too many different transitions and animations. Of course a presentation might not have any transitions or animations at all.

Slide Sorter View: Select Slides

You can use the same methods to select multiple slides that you use in Windows Explorer/File Explorer to select multiple files. Slides that are selected have a thick, colored border.

Methods:

  • Adjacent slides: Click the first slide. While holding SHIFT down, click the last slide. All slides in between are selected.
  • Non-adjacent slides: Click the first slide. While holding CTRL down, click on each of the other slides you want to select.
  1. Slide Sorter view: all 5 slides selected (PowerPoint 2010)Select adjacent slides:
    Click
    on the Slide #1 at the top left. Hold SHIFT key down and click on Slide #5. All slides are selected.
  2. Deselect slides: Click in a blank area to unselect all slides. 
  3. Slide Sorter view: slides 2 and 4 selected (PowerPoint 2010)Select non-adjacent slides: Click on slide #2. Hold down the CTRL key and click on slide #4. Those two slides are selected but not slide #3.
  4. Deselect slides: Click in a blank area to deselect the slides.  
     

Slide Sorter View: Copy Slides

You can duplicate existing slides instead of having to set the same features all over again. You will practice with duplicates of the current 5 slides. This is probably most useful when you have created a complex layout that you want to use in several slides. Turning that layout into a new Master is a better approach if you will use it on many slides.

  1. Icon: Keyboard Select all of the slides with the key combo CTRL + A.
    (This notation means to hold the CTRL key down while you press A, then release both keys.)
    This method is very useful when you need to select more slides than show on the screen right now!
  2. Ribbon: Home > Clipboard tab group > Copy (PowerPoint 2010)Click Button: Copy (PowerPoint 2010) the Copy button on the Home tab.
    OR
    Icon: Keyboard Use the key combo CTRL + C.  
  3. Slide Sorter view with vertical cursorClick to the right of the last slide. A vertical bar appears, showing where a new or pasted slide will go.
  4. Paste by clicking Button: Paste (PowerPoint 2010) the Paste button on the Home tab.
    OR
    Icon: Keyboard Use the key combo CTRL + V.

    Duplicates of all 5 slides appear.

    Button: Copy > Duplicate (PowerPoint 2010)Alternate method: Duplicate
    Instead of just Copy & Paste, after selecting the slides, click the arrow by the Copy button and click on Duplicate in the menu.

  5. Slide Sorter view - 25 slides (PowerPoint 2010)Paste three more times.
    You now have 25 slides. (Check the slide numbers below the slides or the Status bar.)
    This should be too many to fit in the window.
  6. Scroll to see all of the slides.
    The length of the scroll bar gives you a clue as to how many rows are out of sight. 
  7. Slide Sorter: Zoom to show all 25 slides at once (PowerPoint 2010)Change the Zoom on the bottom right of the PowerPoint window until you can see all 25 slides at once. 

    Your arrangement will depend on the size of your PowerPoint window and may not look like the illustration.
     


Slide Sorter View: Move Slides with Cut and Paste

  1. Title slides selected in Slide Sorter view (PowerPoint 2010)Hold the CTRL  key down and click on the Title slides, #1,6,11,16,21. (These are all of the Title slides.)
     
    Scroll if necessary to see all of the slides. Be sure to that the CTRL key is pressed down when you click on a slide or you will be starting a new selection instead of adding to the selection.
  2. Cut the slides by clicking Button: Cut (PowerPoint 2010) the Cut button on the Home ribbon tab.
    The selected slides vanish.
    OR
    Icon: Keyboard Use the key combo CTRL + X. 
     
  3. Slide Sorter View: 5 Title slides groupedClick to the left of the new Slide #1 and paste.
    All 5 Title slides appear.
  4. Slide Sorter - duplicate slides groupedRepeat the procedure for the Security and Privacy slides to place the duplicate slides next to each other, keeping the original order of slides: Title, Security, Privacy
     
    You will move the other duplicates with the drag method.
     

Slide Sorter: Move Slides by Dragging

You may want to reduce the Zoom so you can see better where to drop the slides as you drag.

  1. Spam and Ethics slides alternate after the others were moved Scroll until you can see the Slide #16, the first slide Unethical: Spam.

    The duplicates of Unethical: Spam and Discussion: Ethics are alternating since you moved the duplicates of the other slides.  

  2. Dragging a slide: vertical bar shows where slide will dropDrag Slide #18, a duplicate of Unethical: Spam,  to the left until the vertical bar or the slide thumbnail (2013, 2016) is between slides 16 and 17.
  3. Drop.
    The slide is moved.
  4. Repeat for the other copies of Unethical: Spam.
    Now all the slides are grouped with their duplicates.
     
    You did not have to do anything to the slides  Discussion: Ethics. They got grouped by being left behind!

Slide Sorter View: Delete Slides

Enough is enough. It's time to get rid of all these duplicate slides. The DELETE key makes this easy!

  1. Selected title slides deletedSelect any 4 of the 5 title slides and press the DELETE key.
    The selected slides vanish.   
     
  2. Slide Sorter View: 5 slides just like you started withRepeat for the other duplicate slides until you are back to one copy of each of the 5 slides.

    No need to save this time as you should be back to the original arrangement.