4 Ways to Delete a Slide in PowerPoint

PowerPoint presentations often require editing and revisions to create the most effective slide deck. One of the most common tasks is deleting slides that are no longer needed or relevant. Fortunately, PowerPoint makes it easy to remove slides, whether deleting a single slide or multiple slides at once. This article will walk through four simple methods for deleting slides in PowerPoint.

Prerequisites

Before deleting slides, it is wise to save a backup copy of your presentation in case you later wish to retrieve the deleted slides. PowerPoint’s AutoRecover and AutoSave features can also help restore deleted content if enabled.

You will need PowerPoint installed on your Windows or Mac computer. The steps below use PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 but also apply to PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013 and 2010.

1. Delete Slide via Right-Click Menu

The easiest way to delete a PowerPoint slide is by right-clicking its thumbnail in the left pane:

1. Open your PowerPoint presentation and select Normal view to show thumbnails of all slides in the left pane.
2. Right-click on the thumbnail of the slide you want to delete.
3. Select Delete Slide from the context menu.

The selected slide is immediately removed from your presentation. This method also lets you delete multiple slides at once by holding Ctrl while clicking thumbnails to select them before right-clicking to delete.

2. Delete Slide via Keyboard Shortcut

You can also quickly delete slides using keyboard shortcuts:

1. Click on the slide you want to delete to select it. The selected slide will have an orange border around its thumbnail.
2. Press the Delete key or Backspace key on your keyboard.
3. The selected slide is removed right away.

Again, you can delete multiple slides by holding Ctrl to multi-select slides before pressing Delete.

3. Delete Slides in Slide Sorter View

The Slide Sorter view in PowerPoint displays all slides as thumbnails so you can manage them visually:

1. Go to the View tab and click Slide Sorter.
2. Click a slide to select it, then press Delete to remove it immediately.
3. Use Ctrl+Click or Shift+Click to multi-select slides to remove multiple at once.

This view makes it easy to see the overall flow of your slides while deleting ones that disrupt your presentation.

4. Delete Slide from Playback Ribbon

The Playback ribbon tab lets you manage slides while rehearsing your presentation:

1. Go to the Slide Show tab and click From Beginning to start a slideshow from the first slide.
2. When hovering over a slide during playback, the Playback Tools ribbon appears. Click the Delete icon in this ribbon to remove the current slide.
3. The slide is deleted instantly and the next slide appears automatically.

Use this method to delete a slide on the fly during a presentation rehearsal.

Conclusion

Knowing how to properly delete slides gives you better control over the contents and flow of your PowerPoint presentations. Whether removing a single slide using the right-click menu, multiple slides with keyboard shortcuts, managing slides in Slide Sorter view, or deleting a slide during rehearsal playback, PowerPoint makes it quick and easy to delete any slides you don’t need.

With a few simple clicks, you can refine your slide decks by getting rid of distracting, outdated or irrelevant slides. Master these four methods for deleting slides, and you can instantly improve the focus and effectiveness of your presentations.