Notes Master View in PowerPoint 365 for Windows

Imagine you’re giving a speech and each slide in your deck is like a stage cue. Now, wouldn’t it be helpful to have a cheat sheet in your hand? That’s exactly what slide notes in PowerPoint are—little private reminders just for you, tucked neatly into the Notes Pane below each slide.

But here’s the twist: you can actually print these notes out! Not just scribbled on the side like doodles, but in a clean, polished format called a Notes Page. Think of it like printing a movie script—with the visual scene (the slide) on top, and your secret narrator’s notes below.

Surprisingly, most folks don’t know this feature even exists—it's like the hidden drawer in your kitchen that nobody checks but always has something useful inside. Whether you're practicing for a big presentation or creating handouts for your audience, Notes Pages are your behind-the-scenes heroes.

So next time you're about to hit Print, pause and explore the Notes Page option. Your future self (and your audience) will thank you!

About those Notes pages you can print — with the slide up top and speaker notes below—most folks print them "as-is," never realizing they can customize that layout, font, position, and more. It’s kind of like ordering takeout and not realizing you could’ve added extra toppings... for free! This customization can be achieved within the Notes Master, one of ten views available in PowerPoint 365 for Windows. Tweak stuff here, and your printed Notes pages get a stylish makeover. Adjust the layout, change the font size, slap on a logo — go wild!

These edits won’t affect the Notes Pane in Normal view (that little text box under the slide you type into). That part’s like the rehearsal notes — it's for your eyes, not the audience.

You can access Notes Master view in PowerPoint 365 for Windows by selecting the View tab of the Ribbon, and then clicking the Notes Master button, as highlighted in red within Figure 1, below.

Figure 1: Notes Master button

Doing so opens the Notes Master view, as shown in Figure 2, below.

Figure 2: Notes Master view in PowerPoint 365

The Notes Master contains several placeholders, plus also the background area that can be modified as required. These are all explained below, as marked in Figure 2, above:

1. The Slide itself
2. The Notes area. These are the same notes that you see in the Notes Pane within Normal view.
3. The Header placeholder
4. The Date placeholder
5. The Footer placeholder
6. The Number placeholder
7. Notes Page Background. This is not a placeholder! You can apply a picture background or change the colors as per your company branding. Additionally, you can also place a company logo or any other element within the background area (this is explained in the next section).

You can do the following tasks within the Notes Master:

• Select any placeholder and delete it by pressing the Delete key on your keyboard.
• Reposition placeholders by dragging them to a new position.
• Resize placeholders.
• Format placeholders by using the tools on the Ribbon or menus.
• Add pictures, SmartArt, clip art, or any other kind of slide objects that you want to display in the Notes view, or when Notes are printed. Do note that these slide objects (anything you insert other than the placeholders that were already available in the Notes Master) will not be editable for individual slides. Make sure that any individual objects you add are sent behind all placeholders. To do so, select the object you inserted, then right-click and choose the Send to Back | Send to Back option in the resultant contextual menu, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 3, below.
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  Figure 3: Send to Back option

Make the changes as required, and choose any of these options to get back to Normal view:

• Access the Notes Master tab on the Ribbon, highlighted in blue within Figure 2, shown previously on this page, and click the Close Master View button, highlighted in red within Figure 2, shown previously on this page.
• Access the View tab of the Ribbon, and click the Normal button.
• You can also click the Normal button located on the Status Bar, highlighted in green within Figure 2, shown previously on this page.