Task Pane in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows

Introducing the Task Pane
How the Task Pane works

Introducing the Task Pane

The Task Pane is a docked window within the PowerPoint 2013 interface that provides more options than dialog boxes, also unlike most dialog boxes which cover the Slide Area, you can view both the active slide(s) and the Task Pane at the same time, thus the Task Pane provides a more streamlined experience. In fact, all the options within the Format dialog boxes from older versions of PowerPoint are now available within the new Format Task Panes in PowerPoint 2013.

In the newest version of PowerPoint, the Task Pane works exactly in the same way as it would in earlier versions of PowerPoint, additionally, many dialog boxes from the previous versions now open as Task Panes. Note that you can have more than one Task Pane visible at the same time within your PowerPoint interface. Usually, the Task Pane is not visible all the time, it appears only if you select Task Pane options like Research, Selection Pane, Animation Pane, etc. And when these options are selected, the related Task Pane appears docked on the right side of PowerPoint interface.

In Figure 1 below you can see the PowerPoint 2013 interface without any Task Pane. Later in this page, we'll show you how you can summon the Task Pane.

Figure 1: PowerPoint 2013 interface without Task Pane

How the Task Pane Works

To make the Task Pane visible, follow these steps:

1. Open any presentation in PowerPoint 2013 and navigate to Review tab of the Ribbon and then click the Research button, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2.
2. 
   Figure 2: Research button
2. This brings up the Research Task Pane that you can see in Figure 3 (highlighted in red), on the right side of the PowerPoint interface.
3. 
   Figure 3: Research Task Pane
4. While making edits and choosing options, you will see many options that now show up within Task Panes.