PowerPoint toolbar

Although many recent versions of PowerPoint look completely different from previous versions, the commands and functions you are familiar with are still here. All commands and functions are in the ribbon, which is a menu form that helps to organize commands and functions in a visual way.

Let's see how the ribbon works, then learn how to find the features you want to use.

How do you work with ribbon?

When you open a PowerPoint document, the ribbon appears as a sequence of labels that we call tabs.

When you get to a tab, the ribbon for that tab opens and you can see the tools and functions that were previously in the menu and the toolbar in earlier versions of PowerPoint.

When you see a feature with an arrow You can click it for more information or options.

You can also notice the boot tool in the corner of some groups on the ribbon - like the Clipboard group and Fonts. Click these start tools to open a dialog box that corresponds to that feature - for example, the launcher on the Fonts group will open the Font dialog, where you can set effects like tiles horizontal text, upper index or word spacing.

What is on the tabs in the ribbon?

The tabs in the group of tools and features come together based on their purpose. For example, to make your slide look better, look for options on the Design tab. The tools you use to create animation effects for the slide will be in the Animation tab.

This is the image you will see in each tab on a PowerPoint ribbon.

1. House

The Home tab keeps the Cut and Paste features , Font and Paragraph options as well as the features you need to add and organize slides.

2. Insert

Click Insert to add something and a slide. It can be photos, shapes, charts, links, text boxes, videos and more.

3. Design

On the Design tab, you can add a theme or color scheme, or you can format the slide's background.

4. Forward

You can set up how to switch from one slide to another on the Forward tab. Look for a collection of transitions in the Forward to This Slide group - click See more on the side of the collection to see all types of transitions.

5. Animation

Use the Animation tab to frame the movement of objects on the slide. Note that you can view many types of animation available in the Animation group gallery and see more animation styles by clicking See more .

6. Presentation

On the Slideshow tab, you can set up how to present your presentation to others.

7. Review

The Review tab allows you to add comments, spell-check or compare this presentation to another presentation (such as the previous version).

8. View

The View tab allows you to view your presentation in many different ways, depending on which stage you are in the creation or presentation process.

9. File

At one end of the ribbon is the File tab, you can use for backstage work of a file, such as opening, saving, sharing, exporting, printing, and managing your presentation. Click the File tab to open a new view called Backstage.

Click the item you want to do in the list at the edge, such as clicking File to find options and settings for printing your presentation. Click Back to return to the presentation you are working on.

10. Tool tab

When you click on some parts of a slide, such as a photo, shape, SmartArt or text box, you may see a new tab with colors appear.

In the example above, the Drawing Tools tab appears when you click on a shape or text box. When you click on the image, the Photo Tools tab will appear. Other tabs include SmartArt Tools, Chart Tools, Table Tools and Video Tools. These tabs will disappear or change when you click on another object in the presentation.