How to Turn Off AutoFit in PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint’s AutoFit feature automatically resizes text to fit within text boxes and placeholders as you add or edit content. While convenient in some cases, AutoFit can cause formatting headaches when you want precise control over text sizes. Fortunately, turning off AutoFit is simple once you know how.

What Is AutoFit in PowerPoint?

When enabled, AutoFit dynamically resizes text to fit the boundaries of a text box or placeholder as you type or edit. For example:

• If you add more text than will fit, AutoFit shrinks the text size.
• If you delete text, AutoFit enlarges the remaining text to fill the box.

AutoFit prevents text overflow and avoids the need to manually format. However, it can result in text that is too small and difficult to read.

Why Turn Off AutoFit in PowerPoint?

Here are some key reasons you may want to disable AutoFit:

Prevent Text Size Changes

With AutoFit enabled, adding or removing even a few words can significantly resize text. This makes it tough to maintain a consistent style. Turning AutoFit off locks text at the size you specify.

Allow Text Overflow

Sometimes it’s preferable for text to overflow rather than shrink to an unreadable size. Disabling AutoFit lets overflow text extend beyond the shape’s boundaries.

Customize Formatting

Manual text formatting gives you greater creative freedom compared to AutoFit’s automatic resizing. Fine-tune font sizes, alignment, line spacing, and other attributes.

Improve Performance

AutoFit recalculates text formatting on-the-fly as you edit slides. Turning it off can boost editing performance by eliminating these background calculations.

How to Turn Off AutoFit in PowerPoint

You can disable AutoFit for individual text boxes, for the current presentation, or by default for all new PowerPoint documents.

Turn Off AutoFit for a Text Box or Shape

To disable AutoFit for a specific text box or shape:

1. Click the border of the text box or shape to select it.
2. Under Shape Format, click Text Options.
3. In the Text Box section, change AutoFit to Do Not Autofit.

This turns AutoFit off only for the selected object, leaving it enabled for other text boxes.

Turn Off AutoFit for the Current Presentation

To turn off AutoFit for all text boxes in the current PowerPoint presentation:

1. Go to the File tab and click Options.
2. Click Proofing.
3. Under AutoCorrect Options, click AutoCorrect Options.
4. On the AutoFormat As You Type tab, uncheck the AutoFit Title Text to Placeholder and AutoFit Body Text to Placeholder options.
5. Click OK to apply the changes.

This disables AutoFit throughout the current presentation without affecting default settings.

Turn Off AutoFit by Default for New Presentations

To permanently turn off AutoFit for all new PowerPoint presentations:

1. On the File tab, click Options > Save.
2. Under Save files, check the Save PowerPoint files as box and choose the PowerPoint Presentation (.pptx) file type.
3. Click OK to set .pptx as the default format for new presentations.
4. Repeat steps 1-4 above to turn off AutoFit via Proofing settings.

Saving new presentations as .pptx rather than .ppt ensures AutoFit remains off by default each time you create a new slide deck.

Conclusion

While AutoFit provides a convenient way to automatically resize text, it can create formatting headaches in PowerPoint. Turning off this feature gives you precise control over text box sizes.

Use the techniques outlined to easily disable AutoFit for individual boxes, throughout a presentation, or by default for all new documents. With AutoFit out of the way, you’ll enjoy greater creative freedom when crafting your slides.