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Home » Get rid of a template

Get rid of a template

May 8, 2002 by Ellen Finkelstein 43 Comments

READ LATER - DOWNLOAD THIS POST AS PDF >> CLICK HERE <<

Have you ever wanted to redesign an existing PowerPoint template from scratch? And get rid of that awful template?

One solution is to design your own template and apply that to the presentation. I provide steps for creating a template in another tip.

But what if you don’t want any template at all? You just want to start with white space? Many presenters don’t use templates these days. Instead, they use a lot of white space, add a small amount of text and perhaps an image. It’s a minimalist style, sometimes called the Takahashi or Lessig Method, after two presenters that used this style. One or two words per slide, keep the pictures simple.

So, how do you start from scratch? Simply attach the Blank template. In PowerPoint 2002 and 2003, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Format > Slide Design to open the Design task pane.
  2. Under the Available for Use section, choose Default Design.pot.

Note: Even though the tooltip says Default Design.pot, the name of the file is blank.pot.

In PowerPoint 2007, choose the blank slide from the Themes group of the Design tab. Its tooltip is Office Theme.

To remove the current template for one slide in PowerPoint 2002 or 2003, select the slide in the left pane, and then open the Design task pane. Instead of clicking the image of Default Design.pot, click its down arrow and choose Apply to Selected Slides. In PowerPoint 2007, right-click the Office Theme image and choose Apply to Selected Slides.

Unfortunately, PowerPoint hides the actual file, which is called blank.pot in 2003. If you look in the default location for templates, you won’t find this file! The default location in Windows XP is c:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates. In Vista, it’s c:\Users\[username]\ AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates.

Earlier versions used blank presentation.pot. In PowerPoint 2003, the default template must be named blank.pot.

If for some reason you can’t find it in the Design task pane, you can probably open a new template based on it, as follows:

  1. Start a new presentation .
  2. In the New Presentation task pane, under New Presentation, choose Blank Presentation. In 2007, use the Design tab and choose Office Theme.
  3. You can change this any way you like.
  4. Save the file.
  5. In the Save As dialog box, choose Design Template (*.pot) from the Save as Type drop-down list. (In 2007, choose PowerPoint Template (*.potx). When you do this, the folder automatically changes to the default Templates folder.
  6. Type blank in the File Name text box. (The file name extension is added automatically.)
  7. Click Save.
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READ LATER - DOWNLOAD THIS POST AS PDF >> CLICK HERE <<

Related posts:

  1. Create your own template
  2. Quickly get rid of bullets
  3. Create a custom layout
  4. Control movies with buttons

Filed Under: Downloads Tagged With: PowerPoint, presentations, slides, template

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rozmusic
rozmusic
8 years ago

hey i have a question from you …
how can i change the color in power point themes ?

0
Ellen Finkelstein
Ellen Finkelstein
8 years ago
Reply to  rozmusic

The exact steps depend on your version. In 2016, go into Slide Master view and choose Colors. This might help: http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/pptblog/create-a-theme-in-powerpoint-2007-that-changes-colors/

0
Pankaj
Pankaj
8 years ago

Hi Ellen, how to remove the existing layouts.
If we right click –> layout we are able to view old layouts also.

My requirement:
Remove all existing templates and add new template to existing presentation using powershell.

I am able to apply new template but not able to delete the existing template.

Thanks

0
Ellen Finkelstein
Ellen Finkelstein
8 years ago
Reply to  Pankaj

I don’t know powershell. In PowerPoint, you should be able to Go to View, Slide Master. Click the top, larger thumbnail of any template or theme, right-click it, and choose Delete Master. If that’s not available, it’s possible that the theme/template was “Preserved.” Try right-clicking and choosing Preserve Master again to “un-preserve” it. Usually you can delete a template even if slides are using it, but you might try resetting those slides to another template first.

1
tanaz
tanaz
8 years ago

Hello, what’s the best color in power point themes?
thanks

0
Ellen Finkelstein
Ellen Finkelstein
8 years ago
Reply to  tanaz

There’s no best color. It depends on your topic, your audience, and what you like. Trying going to https://color.adobe.com/create/color-wheel/ and play around with color sets. Then try them on shapes on a slide with text on top and see if they work together and with the text.

0
nexvan
nexvan
8 years ago

It was useful thank you

0
russia
russia
8 years ago

thanks ellen nice guide

0
newmusicfa
newmusicfa
8 years ago

very good thank you

0
music
music
7 years ago

tanck you for this

0
ankaracelikkapi
ankaracelikkapi
7 years ago

very good

0
Taranak
Taranak
7 years ago

Hi, Thank you

0
kala
kala
7 years ago

gooood
tanx
very good

0
shabara
shabara
7 years ago

The article was good and useful

0
Ivana
Ivana
7 years ago

very good, thanks

0
mina
mina
7 years ago

It was useful thank you

0
azturkmusic
azturkmusic
7 years ago

hey i have a question
can i change the color in powerpoint themes? how?

0
Ellen Finkelstein
Ellen Finkelstein
7 years ago
Reply to  azturkmusic

In the latest version, go to View, Slide Master, and click Colors, Customize Colors.

0
mehrab
mehrab
7 years ago

very good, thanks

0
taylor
taylor
7 years ago

Hi
Good job!
Thank you for sharing

0
katrin
katrin
7 years ago

like, very good

0
melody98
melody98
7 years ago

Thanks for website.
Good luck.

0
sara
sara
6 years ago

thank you
http://www.ju.edu.jo

0
sultan
sultan
6 years ago

thanks a lot
Thank you for sharing

0
Aradmusic
Aradmusic
6 years ago

these tips are really useful
thanks for Taking the time

0
lordroid
lordroid
6 years ago

hey i have a question from you …
how can i change the color in power point themes ?

0
lordroid
lordroid
6 years ago

thanks very good

0
Ellen Finkelstein
Ellen Finkelstein
6 years ago
Reply to  lordroid

You can go into the Slide Master (View, Slide Master) and scroll up to the top layout (the bigger one) and you can edit that by changing the colors of objects or the background. You can also change the theme colors-look on the Slide Master tab For the Colors drop-down list.

These posts might also help:
https://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/pptblog/create-a-theme-in-powerpoint-2007-that-changes-colors/
https://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/pptblog/find-colors-for-your-powerpoint-color-scheme-theme-colors-with-adobe-kuler/

0
sam
sam
6 years ago

Your site is awesome. I visit your site every day and enjoy your favorite content

0
foxmusics
foxmusics
6 years ago

Your site is awesome

0
foxmusics
foxmusics
6 years ago

thanks very good

0
newsong
newsong
6 years ago

thank you

0
Song
Song
5 years ago

It was useful thank you .

0
amin
amin
5 years ago

Amazing Thanks For Sharing.

0
emili
emili
4 years ago

hi thanks a lot ellen nice guide i hope you successfull

0
Mehrad Jam
Mehrad Jam
3 years ago

Hello. It was very interesting and useful in my opinion

0
liomusic
liomusic
2 years ago

Thank you for such a good site

0
baghestannews
baghestannews
2 years ago

Hello, what’s the best color in power point themes?
thanks

0
behta
behta
2 years ago

the best template for me

0
Songs disslove
Songs disslove
2 years ago

Hello
The content was useful and excellent
Good luck and win

0
salonisho
salonisho
1 year ago

Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon every day.
It’s always interesting to read articles from other
authors and practice a little something from other sites.

0
tehradio
tehradio
1 year ago

awsome such helpfull article its really usefull thanks a lot

0
botmusic
botmusic
1 year ago

hey i have a question from you …
how can i change the color in power point themes ?

0
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