Inserting a Text Box in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows

In PowerPoint there are some differences between text placeholders and text boxes. As far as formatting for text placeholders and text boxes is concerned, almost everything else does work in the same way. However, there is one more vital difference between a text placeholder and a text box:

• You cannot insert text placeholders on a slide since they are part of the layout for your slide.
• Text boxes on the other hand need to be inserted manually.

Follow these steps to learn how you can insert a text box in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows:

1. Opens a new presentation, containing one slide, as shown in Figure 1, below.
2. 
   Figure 1: PowerPoint 2013 interface
   Tip:

   If you want to learn more about the PowerPoint 2013 interface, check our PowerPoint 2013 Interface tutorial.

2. Select the Insert tab of the Ribbon and click the Text Box button, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2, below.
3. 
   Figure 2: Text Box button
3. This changes the cursor into a vertical line, highlighted in red within Figure 3, below.
4. 
   Figure 3: Cursor changed into a vertical line
4. Now, you have two options:

   i. To create a text box which automatically enlarges as you type more text, click once where you want the text to start, and begin typing.

   ii. To create a text box with a width specified, and that automatically wraps text to the next line and grows in height, click and drag to draw a box where you want the text box to be. The height drawn may snap back to a single text line height. However it will grow in height as you type more text into it.

5. Figure 4, below, shows text typed within the text box. In subsequent tutorials, you will learn how you can work with text boxes, and format them. Also, a text box is just another shape in PowerPoint. So, any of the tutorials on using shapes in PowerPoint are relevant to working with text boxes.
6. 
   Figure 4: Text typed within the text box