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Synchronize changes while you are presenting

Feature deep dive
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Hi, I’m Lishan Yu, a Program Manager on the PowerPoint team. I’m excited to share a new capability that will give you confidence you’re sharing the latest information when presenting.

For years, PowerPoint didn’t allow changes made to slides by others to be displayed while presenting. This ensured that the presenter was in full control of the content being shared. No one could revise slides, either accidentally or maliciously. It also ensured that all of your computer resources were used for slideshow rendering. A concern that is especially important if you are running on a low-end machine.

However, while some presenters may still desire this original design, we’ve heard from others that they are seeking more flexibility. With an increased focus on collaboration and real-time updates, we’re excited to make available the ability to synchronize changes whenever they are made, even when the presentation is in Slide Show mode.

How it works

You can synchronize changes in two ways: automatically or manually.

Automatically update slide content

 1. Select the Keep Slide Updated check box on the Slide Show tab on the ribbon.

PowerPoint 2. Start the presentation by selecting the appropriate button on the Slide Show tab.

Synchronize changes

 3. Whenever an update to a slide is made and detected, the content is automatically updated and visible in the slide show being presented.

Manually update slide content

 1. Clear the Keep Slide Updated check box on the Slide Show tab on the ribbon.

Synchronize changes

2. Start the presentation by selecting the appropriate button on the Slide Show tab.

3. Whenever an update to a slide is made and detected, an Update Slides button appears at the top of Presenter View.

Synchronize changes

4. Click the Update Slides button to manually synchronize the slide content.

Scenarios to try

  • During a slide show with multiple presenters, fix a typo or make couple edits to your slides while others are presenting.
  • When you are driving a collaborative meeting, ask your audience to add their questions directly on your Q&A slide, and have a more open, engaging, and interactive presentation.

Availability

This feature is available to presenters running Insider Fast builds on Windows and Mac.

  • Windows: Version 2004 Build 16.0.12728.20000 or later.
  • Mac: Version 16.35 Build 20022603 or later. Mac presenters can only manually update slide content at the moment. Stay tuned for when auto-update is available.

Your presentation must be stored in OneDrive for Business or SharePoint to use this feature.

We typically release features over some time to ensure that things are working smoothly. This is true for Insiders as well. We highlight features that you may not have because they’re slowly releasing to larger numbers of Insiders. Sometimes we remove elements to further improve them based on your feedback. Though this is rare, we also reserve the option to pull a feature entirely out of the product, even if you, as Insiders, have had the opportunity to try them.

Feedback

Give it a try and let us know how your feel – do you need it? Do you like it? Are you worried about losing control? Do you think social norm is strong enough to keep it sane?

Submit your comments and concerns using the Help Improve Office button in the top right corner or click Help > Feedback. Include #SlideshowSync in your feedback to make sure we see it. 

Learn what other information you should include in your feedback to ensure  it’s actionable and reaches the right people. We’re excited to hear from you! 

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