How to Hide and Unhide a Slide in Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint allows you to hide slides in your presentation so that you can skip over them during the actual presentation if needed, while still keeping them available in your slide deck to unhide later if desired. Hiding slides allows you to keep additional information or backup slides easily accessible but out of view of your audience.

Follow this simple, step-by-step guide to learn how to hide and unhide slides in Microsoft PowerPoint.

Why Hide Slides in PowerPoint?

Here are some common reasons you may want to hide PowerPoint slides:

• Skip over slides for certain audiences – Hide slides not relevant for particular presentations or audiences. Keep all slides in one master deck rather than having multiple versions.
• Keep slides with additional information – Hide slides you may want to use only for reference or to answer audience questions. Keep extra details hidden from your core presentation.
• Hide unfinished slides – If you haven’t finished working on a slide but want to keep your place, hide it while you work on other slides rather than deleting it.
• Hide backup slides – Keep alternative slide designs, images, or information hidden but handy in your presentation if needed.
• Hide slides with speaker notes – Hide slides you use only for your own presentation notes or reference.

How to Hide Slides in PowerPoint

Hiding a PowerPoint slide is very simple:

1. Open your PowerPoint presentation and navigate to the slide you want to hide.
2. Select the slide by clicking on it in the left side slide thumbnail pane.
3. Click the “Hide Slide” icon in the Slides group on the Ribbon. This icon looks like a solid white square with a diagonal line across it. Hide Slide Icon
4. The slide will now be hidden in your presentation. In the thumbnail pane you’ll see it grayed out with the word “Hidden” underneath. Your slide count will decrease by one.

You can hide multiple slides at once by selecting them together before clicking the Hide Slide button.

How to Unhide Slides in PowerPoint

Unhiding hidden PowerPoint slides is just as easy:

1. In the left thumbnail pane, click on any hidden slide to select it. Hidden slides are grayed out with the word “Hidden” underneath them.
2. Click the “Unhide Slide” icon in the Slides group on the Ribbon. This icon looks like a white square with a diagonal line and a dot in the middle. Unhide Slide Icon
3. The selected slides will now be unhidden in your presentation. They will appear normal brightness in the thumbnail pane and your slide count will increase.

To unhide multiple slides at once, use Shift+Click or Ctrl+Click to select them together first before clicking the Unhide Slide button.

PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts

For quicker access, use these keyboard shortcuts instead of the Ribbon icons:

• Hide a slide: Select slide(s) and press Ctrl+M
• Unhide a slide: Select hidden slide(s) and press Ctrl+Shift+M

Hide Slides in Slide Sorter View

You can also easily hide and unhide slides in Slide Sorter view:

1. Click the “Slide Sorter” button on the status bar at the bottom-right to enter Slide Sorter view.
2. Right-click the slide(s) you want to hide.
3. Select “Hide Slide” on the context menu. The slides will be hidden.
4. To unhide, right-click the hidden slides and choose “Unhide Slide”.

In Slide Sorter view you can also click and drag to select multiple slides before right-click hiding or unhiding them.

Permanently Deleting Hidden Slides

To permanently remove hidden slides from your presentation:

1. In the thumbnail pane, right-click on any hidden slides.
2. Choose Delete Slide to remove them from your presentation.

Deleted slides cannot be recovered. Unlike hiding, deleting permanently removes the slides and their content.

Recap and Tips

Now you know how to easily hide and unhide slides in Microsoft PowerPoint:

• Use the Hide Slide and Unhide Slide buttons on the Ribbon
• Select single or multiple slides first before hiding/unhiding
• Keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+M and Ctrl+Shift+M
• Right-click hide/unhide in Slide Sorter view
• Delete hidden slides completely if desired

Pro PowerPoint Tip: Want to disable slide navigation to certain hidden slides? Right click on them while hidden and choose “Disable Slide Navigation”. This will prevent accidental navigation to those slides during presentation even if unhidden.