Using regular text to create your slides is fine in most cases.
But for something that requires more organization, you might want to try a table instead.
This will let you enter your text in columns and rows, instead of lines or paragraphs.
To create a table, go to the Insert tab… click the Table command… then mouse over
the grid to select the number of cells you want.
My table's going to be pretty big: 6 rows… by 6 columns.
Now click… and that's all it takes.
You might need to move your table to get it in the right place on the slide.
You can also resize it if you need to.
Just place your cursor on the edge… click, hold, and drag… and then let go.
To change the size, use the sizing handles here.
Now we can enter some of our text.
All you have to do is click the cell you want… then go ahead and start typing.
You can also use the tab key or the arrow keys to navigate.
Right now, I'm using the down arrow to make my way down this first column.
Adding more columns or rows to a table is easy.
I'd like to try inserting one under the row that starts with Mystery.
To do this, go up to the Layout tab… then look to the options in the Rows & Columns
group.
Here you can insert a row above or below your current position, or a column to the left
or the right.
To delete a row or column, the steps are fairly similar.
First, place your cursor in one of your cells… then click the command that says Delete.
In this example, we're going to delete the row.
Let's fast forward to the finished table.
Now that the data's filled in, I thought we'd take a closer look at the Layout tab, which
appears anytime you have your table selected.
The first thing I'd like to do is make the table a little bigger.
But instead of relying on the sizing handles, I'm going to adjust the height of my current
cell here… then click Distribute Rows to make the rows even again.
Next, we're going to click the edge of the table to select the entire thing… and then
change the text alignment using the commands in the Alignment group.
I think centered looks the best.
Finally, I'd like to combine these two cells into one, also known as merging.
This option is useful if your table has data that spans several different columns or rows.
All you have to do is select the cells you want… then click the Merge Cells command.
So this is looking pretty good.
I think I'd like to change some of the formatting now, including the colors and the borders.
We can do that using the options on the Design tab.
Notice how the table has a yellow color scheme that matches the text on the slide?
That's no accident.
Basically, the table is already using a table style that's designed to go with our current
theme.
To check out the other styles, open the drop-down menu… then mouse over the thumbnails for
a preview.
I'm looking for something with a nice contrasting color scheme.
You can also customize the way your table is laid out using the Table Style Options
here.
These let you control things like special formatting in the first column… and also
the header row.
These will all have a different effect depending on your current table style, so you might
need to experiment to get the look you want.
You may have noticed that this table doesn't have borders between most of the cells.
To add or change the border, just select the cells you want to modify… then look to the
Draw Borders group.
Here you can select a line style… line weight… and also a color for your border.
When you're ready, click the drop-down arrow next to the Borders command… then choose
where you want the border to go.
I want mine to go on the inside, which will place the border between the cells.
As you can see, there are lots of ways to use and customize tables in PowerPoint.
They can make your data easier to understand, and also add a little extra something to your
presentation.