Hiding a slide in Microsoft PowerPoint allows you to customize your presentation by removing slides that are irrelevant or unnecessary for your current audience. However, hidden slides remain in the presentation file so you can unhide them later if needed.
Why You May Want to Hide Slides
Here are some common reasons for hiding slides in PowerPoint:
- Tailor the presentation to a specific audience – You can hide slides with confidential data or advanced details that only apply to certain audiences.
- Shorten the length of the presentation – Hide less important slides to focus on key information and avoid losing the audience’s interest.
- Add suspense or humor – Hide a slide and then reveal it at an opportune moment for dramatic or comedic effect.
- Create backup slides – Hide extra slides you may or may not end up using rather than deleting them permanently.
- Protect sensitive information – Secure confidential slides so they do not appear during the presentation.
How to Hide Slides
There are several straightforward ways to hide slides in PowerPoint:
Use Normal View
- Open your PowerPoint presentation and select Normal View.
- In the thumbnail pane on the left, click the slide you want to hide.
- Right-click the slide thumbnail and select Hide Slide.
The slide will now appear hidden with a diagonal line through the slide number. Repeat steps 2-3 to hide additional slides.
Use Slide Sorter View
- Switch to Slide Sorter View to see slide thumbnails in a grid layout.
- Click to select the slides you want to hide.
- Right-click a selected slide and choose Hide Slide.
Use Keyboard Shortcuts
- Hide the active slide: Press Alt + S + H
- Unhide a slide: Press Alt + S + U
Identify Hidden Slides
- In Normal View or Slide Sorter View, hidden slides appear dimmed with a diagonal slash through the slide number.
- In Slide Show View, hidden slides will not appear when you advance through the presentation.
- When printing slides, hidden slides do not print by default but can be enabled through settings.
Show Hidden Slides During Presentations
To show a hidden slide while presenting:
- Right-click the current slide and select See All Slides. Locate and click the hidden slide to jump to it.
- On Windows, press the slide number on your keyboard to jump to that slide during the show.
- On Mac, press H on the slide right before the hidden slide and it will appear.
Tips for Using Hidden Slides
- Be judicious about hiding slides to avoid confusing your audience with an inconsistent flow.
- To hide multiple slides at once, use Ctrl/Cmd + Click to multi-select slides before hiding.
- If sharing your presentation with others, verify that hidden slides containing sensitive information are not easily viewable.
- To hide slide titles or other text per slide, modify the Slide Master.
- Print a separate presenter version of your slides to view all hidden slide content.
Hiding slides is a useful PowerPoint skill that can help you adapt presentations on the fly or store slides for future use. Experiment with hiding various slides to see if it helps you better connect with your audiences.
Step-by-Step Tutorial
Follow along with these visual guides to hide a slide in PowerPoint:
Hide a Slide in Normal View
- Select the slide thumbnail: Select slide thumbnail
- Right-click and choose Hide Slide: Right-click menu with Hide Slide
- Slide appears hidden: Hidden slide
Unhide the Slide
- Select the hidden slide thumbnail: Select hidden slide
- Right-click and choose Unhide Slide: Right-click menu with Unhide Slide
- Slide is visible again: Unhidden slide
Hide Multiple Slides from Slide Sorter View
- Switch to Slide Sorter View: Slide sorter view
- Ctrl + Click slides to select them: Multiple slides selected
- Right-click and choose Hide Slide: Hide multiple slides
- Selected slides are now hidden: Multiple hidden slides
This covers the basics of hiding slides in PowerPoint using the Hide Slide feature. With some practice it becomes very quick and easy to toggle the visibility of slides on the fly.
