A text box, or text placeholder, is an area on a PowerPoint slide where you can type text. Text boxes are outlined by a thin dotted box; initially the text in them says something like “Click to add title” or “Click to add text.” Each time you add a slide to your presentation, text boxes will be arranged on the slide according to the slide autolayout you selected. Here is an example:

How do I
enter text?

To enter text into a text box, click once within the boundaries of the box. A thicker outline will appear around the text box and the blinking insertion bar will appear:

You can then begin to type. If you are entering bulleted points, a new bullet will automatically appear each time you press Enter. The text box will automatically increase in size if necessary.

Once text is entered into a text box and the box is deselected, the text box outline is no longer visible. However, you can always edit the text you’ve entered. To change the text, simply click on it. The text box outline and blinking insertion bar will reappear, and you can then edit the text just as you would in a word processor.

You may occasionally wish to add a text box to a slide. To do this:

1) Pull down the Insert menu and choose Text Box:

You can easily move or resize a text box.

1) First, click once anywhere within the text box in order to select it.

2) To move the box, drag it by the border to its new location. Be careful not to grab one of the handles on the border.

3) To resize the box, drag the handles on the border of the box.

Copyright © 2002, Bloomsburg University Virtual Training Help Center.
All rights reserved. This material may not be used without written permission.
Contact Dr. Mary Nicholson at mjnich@bloomu.edu