Templates

A template is a type of presentation that controls the overall look and feel of your slides.
Using a template to create new presentations will guarantee a certain amount of consistent formatting.
A PowerPoint template has the file extension (".pot")
It is possible to save a regular presentation as a template so it can be used again.
PowerPoint comes with 40 templates as standard which look professional and come with their own colour schemes.

What does a template include ?

When you create a template (*.pot) file the following information is saved within the file:
Master Slides with AutoLayouts (every presentation must contain at least one Slide Master)
Colour schemes (usually more than one).
Slide orientation, size and printer settings
Fonts can also be embedded
Additonal Slides - Any slide your include in the presentation when you save it as a template will become part of any new presentation (based on that template) but will not be added when you apply the template to an existing presentation.

What are Master Slides ?

Templates contain predefined slide layouts which are called master slides.
It is easy to override this format if you want to change the appearance of any individual slides.
The Master slides are the slides that control the default appearance of any new slides.
They specify the exact formatting and location of the text placeholders.
There are four master slides that control the overall look and feel of a presentation:
Slide Master - Controls the format of your slides. Every presentation must have at least one of these.
Title Master - Optional. Controls the format for the title slide. This allows you to have a title slide that is slightly different from the other slides. A presentation does not have to include a Title Master although most do.
Handout Master - Optional. Controls the look of your printed handouts.
Notes Master - Optional. Controls the look of your printed speaker notes.

What is an AutoLayout ?

An AutoLayout provides a placeholder for the main text items on a slide (i.e. slide title and slide bullets).
The advantage of using the AutoLayouts is that it makes it easier to change the layout of a slide at a later date.
Using the AutoLayouts will prevent you from manually repositioning all the text boxes.
To find out more about how AutoLayouts affect the slide layout, please refer to the Slide Layouts section.

Options

(Edit tab, Multiple masters) - Disables multiple masters. Presentations with multiple masters can cause problems when opened in earlier versions of PowerPoint.

What is a Design Template ?

A Design Template is a type of template that contains pre-formatted master slides that correspond to a particular design.
The overall design of a presentation can be quickly changed by applying a different design template to a presentation.
When you apply a design template to a presentation the existing master slides are replaced with the new ones.
You can choose a design template when you create a new presentation or you can apply a design template to an existing presentation.
PowerPoint comes with 44 different design templates as standard and these can be found in the following locations:
PowerPoint 365 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\Presentation Designs\
PowerPoint 2019 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\Presentation Designs\
PowerPoint 2016 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\Presentation Designs\
PowerPoint 2013 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\Presentation Designs\
You can also get additional design templates from the Microsoft website and from other websites.

What is a Presentation Template ?

A Presentation Template (or Content Template) is a type of template that does not only contain pre-formatted master slides but also contains actual slides with sample content.

PowerPoint comes with 20 different presentation templates as standard and these can be found in the following locations:
PowerPoint 365 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033\
PowerPoint 2019 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033\
PowerPoint 2016 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033\
PowerPoint 2013 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033\
You can also get additional presentation templates from the Microsoft website and from other websites.
The AutoContent Wizard provides an easy way to access your Presentation Templates.
For more information about the AutoContent, please refer to ??

They can also contain background images you want to appear on every slide.

Important

Every presentation must have at least one Slide Master.
A presentation does not have to include a Title Master, although most do.
All slides will automatically be updated with any changes made to the Master Slides.
Because a template is just a presentation you can open it and make changes very easily.
You can always use a blank presentation initially and then apply a design template afterwards.