Making mistakes is part of the creative process when designing presentations in PowerPoint. However, excessive mistakes can kill your productivity if you have to redo work or revert to previously saved versions.
That’s why the undo feature is so invaluable in PowerPoint. It allows you to quickly reverse actions with a click of a button instead of having to manually fix errors.
The problem is that PowerPoint 2010 only allows up to 20 levels of undo by default. For complex presentations with lots of editing, 20 undos may not be enough.
Fortunately, there is a simple way to increase the maximum undos that PowerPoint 2010 remembers. By tweaking one setting, you can boost the number of undos to up to 150.
Why You Should Increase the Number of Undos
Having more undos enables you to experiment more freely without worry of making irreversible mistakes.
Some advantages of increasing undos include:
- Fix mistakes long after they occur instead of having to manually rebuild work
- Test out design options, knowing you can revert back if they don’t work out
- Iterate through ideas quickly since you can undo large chunks of work
- Avoid frustration when you run out of undos and cannot revert back far enough
Ultimately, more undos makes you more productive because you can focus on creating instead of worrying about mistakes.
How to Change the Number of Undos in PowerPoint 2010
Increasing the maximum undos is simple:
- Open PowerPoint 2010 and select the File tab
- Click Options then select the Advanced tab
- Under Editing options, change the Maximum number of undos setting
- Enter a number between 3 and 150 based on your needs
- Click OK to save the changes
And that’s it! The next time you use PowerPoint 2010, you’ll have more levels of undo to utilize.
PowerPoint 2010 Undo Options
Tips for Using Undos Efficiently
While having more undos is useful, keep these tips in mind:
Save frequently – Saving often lets you revert to previous versions if you ever exceed the undo limit.
Don’t overdo it – Setting undos too high can consume system memory and hurt performance. Find the right balance for your needs.
Delete old slides – Keep your presentation file size small by deleting unused slides instead of just undoing.
Clear undo history – If undo stops working properly, close and reopen the PowerPoint file to clear the undo memory.
Use redo too – If you undo something by accident, use the redo command to reverse the undo.
Conclusion
The creative process can get messy while designing PowerPoint presentations. By increasing the number of undos, you give yourself more room to experiment freely without losing productivity to mistakes.
Boosting undos is a quick setting change that can pay dividends in time savings and reduced frustration. Use the steps in this article to improve your PowerPoint 2010 workflow today!
