Adding and Renaming Sections in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac

Presentations with a large number of slides may be a challenge for managing unless they are logically divided into sections. Even presentations that do not have a large number of slides can benefit from sections. However, just dividing slides into sections will not achieve much unless you create and name these sections in a proper manner to represent what slides within each section contain. In this tutorial, let us learn how to add sections, and also how to rename them.

Adding/Creating Sections

Follow these steps to add a new section to your presentation in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac:

1. Open your presentation and navigate to the slide within the Slides Pane. This typically is the slide that will be the first within the new section you are going to create. As shown in Figure 1, below, we selected slide 18, but your slide number may differ.
2. 
   Figure 1: Slide selected within the Slides pane

Sections and PowerPoint File Types

The Section option only works within PPTX file saved in PowerPoint 2008 and later versions.
2. Now, create a new section using any of these three ways:
1. Click on the selected slide. Next, access the Home tab of the Ribbon, as shown shown highlighted in red within Figure 2, below. Then, click the Section button, as shown highlighted in blue within Figure 2. Doing so opens a drop-down menu, within this drop-down menu, select the Add Section option, as shown in Figure 2.
2. 
   Figure 2: Add Section option within the section drop-down menu
2. Right-click (or Ctrl + click) the selected slide, and from the resultant contextual menu, select the Add Section option, as shown in Figure 3, below.
3. 
   Figure 3: Add Section option within the right-click contextual menu
3. Right-click (or Ctrl + click) within the empty space above the slide where you want to insert a section, and from the resultant contextual menu, select the Add Section option, as shown in Figure 4, below. As you can see, we right clicked between slides 17 and 18.
4. 
   Figure 4: Add Section via right-click contextual menu
3. Either way, you will add a new section with the default name Untitled Section, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 5, below. Additionally, this step also opens the Rename Section window, as shown highlighted in blue within Figure 5.
4. 
   Figure 5: New section added
4. Clicking the Cancel button within the Rename Section window will close this window, leaving the newly created section with the uninspiring name Untitled Section. However, the reason why we divide our presentation slides into sections is to make them easily manageable. Renaming your sections can make this objective more achievable. So, within the Rename Section window overwrite the default name with the name of your choice and click the Rename button, as shown in Figure 6, below.
5. 
   Figure 6: New name typed within the Rename Section dialog box
5. This action renames the newly added section, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 7, below.
6. 
   Figure 7: Section renamed
7. At this point:
1. Note that, as of now all slides from 18 onwards are part of this new section.
2. The remaining slides, i.e. slides 1 to 17 which were not sectioned so far will also be included in a new section that may be called Default Section, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 8, below.
3. 
   Figure 8: Another section was also created

Sections All The Way

You may wonder why two sections were created when you expressly created only one. This action happened because PowerPoint logically insists on placing all slides within any presentation within sections, you can thus have all slides in a presentation placed within sections or no sections at all. There's no option to place just a few slides within a section and leave the remaining slides not within any section.
6. At this point in time, you will be left with two sections, one with a proper name pertaining to the slides contained within, and another that has an uninspiring name Default Section. You must rename it, as per the process explained next.

Renaming Sections

PowerPoint 2011 provides you with an option to give a suitable name to your section at the time when you create a new section. But at the same time if there are un-sectioned slides in the presentation, it may also create another section with the name Default Section, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 8, above. This section should be given a proper name to represent the slides contained within. Other than this, there may be a scenario where you need to change the name of an existing section. Whatever may be your reason to change the section name

Follow these steps to rename a section:

1. Click the heading of the section that you want to rename and follow any of the three ways explained below:
1. Select the Home tab of the Ribbon, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 9, below, and click the Section button, as shown highlighted in blue within Figure 9. Doing so opens a drop-down menu. Within this drop-down menu, select the Rename Section option, as shown in Figure 9.
2. 
   Figure 9: Rename Section option within the section drop-down menu
2. Right-click (or Ctrl + click) the selected section heading, from the contextual menu, select the Rename Section option, as shown selected in Figure 10, below.
3. 
   Figure 10: Rename Section option within the right-click contextual menu
3. Double-click the selected section heading.
2. Either way, you will bring up the Rename Section dialog box, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 11, below.
3. 
   Figure 11: Rename Section dialog box
3. Within the Rename Section dialog box, type the suitable name for the selected section, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 12, below, and click the Rename button, as shown highlighted in blue within Figure 12.
4. 
   Figure 12: New section name typed in
4. This action renames the selected section, as shown in Figure 13, below.
5. 
   Figure 13: Section name changed
5. Save your presentation often.