A PowerPoint template saves the reusable parts of a deck: theme, fonts, colors, slide layouts, placeholders, logos, and background choices. It opens as a fresh presentation later, so you do not have to copy an old deck and delete its content.
Does this affect you?
Use this for PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint 2021, and PowerPoint 2019 on Windows or Mac when you have a branded or well-designed deck you want to reuse as a starting point.
Save the current presentation as a template
Clean the deck first so the template does not carry old project content.
- Open the presentation you want to turn into a template.
- Remove slide-specific text, images, client data, and other content that should not appear in future decks.
- Keep the layouts, placeholders, logos, backgrounds, fonts, and colors you want reused.
- On Windows, choose File > Save As. On Mac, choose File > Save As Template.
- Set the file type or format to PowerPoint Template (*.potx).
- Save it in PowerPoint’s suggested Custom Office Templates location and give it a clear name.
To use it later, open File > New and choose the Personal, Custom, or equivalent template area. PowerPoint creates a new unsaved deck based on the template.
Make the template appear in File > New
PowerPoint looks in a specific local template folder.
- On Windows, confirm the .potx file is in DocumentsCustom Office Templates or the folder listed under File > Options > Save > Default personal templates location.
- If needed, update that location to point to your custom template folder.
- Restart PowerPoint.
- Open File > New and check the Personal tab.
- On Mac, save to the default template location so it appears under Custom in the new-presentation window.
More control
Use Slide Master
Open View > Slide Master to edit the master slide and layouts. Fonts, colors, logo placement, and recurring design elements set there apply consistently across the template.
Share with others
A .potx file can be emailed or placed in OneDrive or SharePoint. Each person may still need to place it in their own local custom templates folder for it to appear in File > New.
Update a template
Open the .potx file directly from its folder, make changes, and save it again as the same template file. Opening through File > New creates a presentation, not an edit of the template itself.
Keep a backup
Templates are harder to damage during normal use, but keep a backup copy in case someone opens the .potx file directly and overwrites it.
Sources
- Microsoft Support – Create and save a PowerPoint template (2025)
- Microsoft Support – Use a custom template to create a new presentation (2025)
- Microsoft Support – Apply a template to an existing presentation (2025)