How-To

How to Print a PowerPoint Slideshow With and Without Notes

By Sandy Writtenhouse

Last Updated on June 8, 2021

You can print a Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow with notes or without. This gives you the flexibility to print only what you need.

When you use speaker notes in Microsoft PowerPoint, you have the option to display those notes while you’re presenting. This is helpful for having your talking points right on the screen for only you to see.

But what if you want to print your slideshow with those presentation notes? You might want to review your notes on the go or hand them to a coworker to look over. Luckily, Microsoft has thought of this and lets you print your PowerPoint slideshow with or without speaker notes.

Print a PowerPoint Slideshow With Speaker Notes

While similar, the steps differ slightly when it comes to printing a PowerPoint slideshow on Windows versus Mac. And for each platform, there is only one way to print the presentation notes.

How to Print Presentation Notes on Windows

1. Click File > Print from the menu.
2. Below Settings, click the drop-down box that displays Full Page Slides.
3. Select Notes Pages.
4. You’ll see a preview of the printout on the right. This displays each slide with the presentation notes beneath. Use the arrows on the bottom to review each page if you wish.

Make any changes you need to and print as normal.

How to Print Presentation Notes on Mac

1. Click File > Print from the menu bar.
2. Expand the print window by clicking Show Details.
3. Go down to the Layout drop-down box and choose Notes.
4. You’ll see a preview of the printout on the left side. This will display notes for slides containing them. You can use the arrows at the top to view each slide if you like.

Make any other adjustments as needed and print as you normally would.

Print a PowerPoint Slideshow Without Notes

Currently, all other printing options for PowerPoint on both Windows and Mac will print without notes.

On Windows, follow the same steps as earlier and pick Full Pages Slides, Outline, or one of the Handouts available in the Full Page Slides drop-down box.

On Mac, follow the instructions above and pick Slides, Outline, or one of the Handout layouts available in the Layout drop-down box.

Print What You Need in PowerPoint

With the various printing options in Microsoft PowerPoint, you can print with notes, without notes, an outline, or a handout quite easily.

Remember that PowerPoint is an app that is part of the Microsoft 365 suite (formerly Office 365) of apps that gives you Word, Outlook, Excel, and others. Plus, 1 TB of OneDrive storage space for users.

For more help with PowerPoint, take a look at how to add slide numbers or find your presentation word count.

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