Adding slide numbers, date, and time to your PowerPoint presentations can make them more organized, professional, and easier to navigate. This article will provide a step-by-step guide on how to add these elements to your slides using PowerPoint’s built-in features.

Why Add Slide Numbers, Date and Time

Here are some of the key reasons why you should consider adding slide numbers, date and time to your PowerPoint presentations:

Navigation – Slide numbers allow presenters and audience members to easily reference specific slides. This is especially helpful for longer presentations.

Organization – Including the date and time helps the presenter track changes and updates to the presentation. It also helps keep things organized for the audience.
Professionalism – Slide numbers, date and time make a presentation look more polished and complete. It shows attention to detail.
Timing – Adding a date/time element allows presenters to keep better track of time and pace themselves appropriately.

Add Slide Numbers in PowerPoint

Adding slide numbers in PowerPoint only takes a few quick steps:

Select the slide(s) you want to number. To number all slides, do not select a specific slide.
Go to the “Insert” tab and click the “Slide Number” button.

In the “Header and Footer” dialog box, check the box next to “Slide number.”
Click “Apply to All” if numbering all slides. Otherwise, click “Apply.”

You can format the slide numbers by clicking the “Format Slide Number” button in this dialog box. This allows you to change font style, size, color and position on the slide.

Insert Date and Time

To add the date and time to PowerPoint slides:

Select the slide(s) you want to add the elements to.
Go to the “Insert” tab and click the “Date & Time” button.

In the dialog box, select the date and time format you want from the options.
Check the box next to “Update automatically” if you want the date/time to update each time the presentation is opened.
Click “Apply to All” or “Apply.”

You can format the date and time by selecting it on the slide and changing the text formatting options on the “Home” tab.

Start Slide Numbers at Specific Number

By default, slide numbering starts at one. To change the starting number:

Follow steps 1-3 above for adding slide numbers.

In the “Start at:” field, enter the number you want to start with.
Click “Apply to All” or “Apply.”

Add Slide Numbers to Master Slide

For a consistent look and to format slide numbers across all slides at once, add them to the master slide:

Go to the “View” tab and click “Master Slide” in the Master Views group.
Select the top master slide and add the slide number placeholder by clicking “Insert Slide Number.”
Format the slide number as desired.

Click “Close Master View.” Slide numbers will now appear on all slides using the master format.

Set Numbering Format

You can choose numeric, alphabetic or other numbering formats like Roman numerals when adding slide numbers:

Follow steps 1-3 in the slide number section above.

In the dialog box, click the dropdown next to “Number slides with:” to view options.
Select the format you want and click “Apply.”

And that covers the basics of adding slide numbers, date and time in PowerPoint! Use these simple steps to make your next presentation more organized and professional. Let me know if you have any other questions!