Slide Sorter View in PowerPoint 2019 for Windows

Most of the time, you may work on a single slide in your PowerPoint presentation, but there are times when you want to copy, duplicate, reorder, or even delete a bunch of slides. It's in scenarios like these that you will encounter PowerPoint 2019's Slide Sorter view. Among the various views available in PowerPoint 2019 for Windows to play and edit your presentations, we have already covered both Normal view and Outline view. Although Slide Sorter view does not let you edit individual slide objects, it does let you work with whole slides. Any edits made will influence one or more slides, depending on your selection.

Within Slide Sorter view, you will see thumbnail sized representations of all slides in your presentation, as shown in Figure 1, below. The best use of this view is when you have to select multiple slides, as you can quickly reorder, delete, or duplicate your slides. In addition, this view also clearly displays hidden slides.

Figure 1: Slide Sorter view in PowerPoint 2019

Change to Slide Sorter View

To access Slide Sorter view, you can choose either of these options:

1. Click the Slide Sorter button on the Status Bar, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 1, above.
2. Access the View tab of the Ribbon, and click the Slide Sorter button, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2, below.
3. 
   Figure 2: Slide Sorter button within the Presentation Views group

Selecting Slides in Slide Sorter View

Here are some guidelines for selecting slides in Slide Sorter view:

• To select a single slide, just click on the slide.
• To select a range of slides, hold down the primary mouse button and drag across and over the slides like a marquee. Try to drag in a diagonal direction if you have more than one line of slides lined up.
• To select a contiguous range of slides, click the first slide, hold the Shift key on the keyboard and then click the last slide.
• To select multiple, noncontiguous slides, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and then click the slides you want to select.
• To select all the slides in the presentation press the Ctrl + A keyboard shortcut.
• To select all but a few slides, first select all slides, and then Ctrl + click on the slides you want to deselect.

Tasks Suited for Slide Sorter View

Slide Sorter view works best when you have to select multiple slides (sequential or non-sequential slides) and perform tasks such as:

• Organize and reorder slides by dragging them in the proper sequence.
• Group slides into separate Sections.
• Easily copy, paste, or delete slides.
• Duplicate slides.
• Hide and show selected slides.
• Control transition effects that play when the presentation advances from one slide to the next.
• Set and adjust the slide timing of these transitions.

Rearrange Slides in Slide Sorter View

To change the slide order:

• Select the slide(s) you want to reorder, and drag them to a position where you want to place them.

Insert Slides in Slide Sorter View

To insert a new slide within Slide Sorter view, choose any of these three approaches:

1. Use the Ribbon:
1. Place the cursor where you want to insert a new slide.
2. Select the Home tab of the Ribbon, and locate the Slides group.
3. Click the New Slide button.
2. Place the cursor where you want to insert a new slide, right-click and from the resultant menu choose New Slide option.
3. Place the cursor where you want to insert a new slide and press the Ctrl + M shortcut key combination.

PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts

Do you want more keyboard shortcuts?

Explore our PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts and Sequences Ebook that is updated for all PowerPoint versions.

To copy, paste, and delete slides in Slide Sorter view, follow these guidelines:

• Copy: Select the slide(s) and press Ctrl + C shortcut key combination, or click the Copy button on the Home tab of the Ribbon.
• Paste: To paste copied and cut slide(s), click at the desired insertion point and then press Ctrl + V shortcut key combination, or click the Paste button on the Home tab of the Ribbon.
• Cut: Select the slide(s) and press Ctrl + X shortcut key combination, or click the Cut button on the Home tab of the Ribbon.
• Delete: To delete a slide (or slides), select and press the Delete key on your keyboard.