Using Multiple PowerPoint Templates and Masters

Imagine a painter handed a single canvas and told to fit an entire exhibition onto it. Frustrating, right? That's roughly how early PowerPoint users felt when they wanted more than one background design in a single presentation, and the software simply said no. This page looks at working with multiple templates (and masters) across different versions of PowerPoint.

Eventually, the demand for more visual variety became impossible to ignore. Users wanted more than one background, more than one layout, more freedom to tell different parts of a story differently. Microsoft listened, and PowerPoint 2002 (also sometimes known as PowerPoint XP) introduced the ability to use multiple templates within a single presentation. Here's a fun fact: PowerPoint 2002 was also the first version to introduce the Slide Design task pane, which is the direct ancestor of the design tools many of us now take for granted.

That said, some workflows still limit you to a single design per presentation, whether due to older file formats, strict template policies, or tools that simply were not built with flexibility in mind. It's a bit like being given one paint color when the rest of the world has a full palette. The good news is that limitation does not have to be the final word. There are workarounds, and we're about to walk through them.

PowerPoint 2002 and 2003

Both versions, along with their Mac counterparts, support multiple templates, and there are several ways to apply different templates to individual slides within the same presentation.

Here is the step-by-step procedure:

1. Switch to Normal view and select the Slides tab in the left pane to display thumbnails.
2. Select the relevant thumbnails using Ctrl-click or Shift-click.
3. Open the Format menu and choose Slide Design. Doing so activates the Slide Design task pane on the right.
4. Select the desired template from the previews, click the arrow beside it, and choose Apply to Selected Slides.
5. If this does not work, Multiple Masters has likely been disabled. Go to Tools, then Options, then Edit, and clear the check-box labeled Disable New Features.

PowerPoint 97 and 2000

The simplest approach is to insert backgrounds as pictures, scale them to fill the entire slide, and send them behind all other content. Note that even when positioned behind the slide content, the inserted graphic still covers the template's original design.