Research Tools in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows

Creating a slide deck, and you suddenly want to authenticate a figure or double-check a fact? Well, there's no need to open a web browser or even access a conventional dictionary. The Research Task pane is no longer directly accessible in PowerPoint 2016, but you can still do everything possible in previous versions of PowerPoint, as we explain on this page.

Follow these steps to research content in PowerPoint 2016 Windows:

1. Open an existing presentation and select a word on your slide. Now access the Review tab of the Ribbon. Locate the Proofing group and click the Translate button, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 1. This action will bring up a drop-down, as shown again in Figure 1. Click the Translate Selected Text option as shown in the drop-down.
2. 
   Figure 1: Access Translate to bring up the Research Task Pane
2. This action opens the Research Task Pane on the right side of the PowerPoint 2016 interface (highlighted in red within Figure 2).
3. 
   Figure 2: Research Task Pane
3. Now click the drop-down list highlighted in blue within Figure 2, above. This action will show a drop-down list of reference sources, as shown in Figure 3, below. Within this list, you will find all the reference books, research sites, and business/financial sites. You can add more sites for free or on a paid subscription basis. Also, some research options like the thesaurus work locally but for access to online resources like search engines and stock quotes, you need to be connected to the Internet.
4. 
   Figure 3: List of reference, research, and business/financial sites
5. Here are the descriptions of the research services within the drop-down list:

All Reference Books

Encarta Dictionary

6. Provides word definitions from the Microsoft Network's online dictionaries in English (North America).

Thesaurus English

7. This provides alternate words in English. Learn more in our Thesaurus in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows tutorial.

Thesaurus French

8. This provides alternate words in French.

Thesaurus Spanish

9. This provides alternate words in Spanish.

Translation

10. Provides translations from one language to another. Learn more in our Translation in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows tutorial.

All Research Sites

Bing

11. Provides results from the Microsoft Network's search engine.

Factiva iWorks™

12. This service is promoted by Dow Jones and Reuters that allows you to search over 9000 global news and content sources on a paid subscription basis. This service requires an internet connection.

HighBeam™ Research

13. This is an extensive eLibrary service which provides Newspaper and magazine articles (you must be a paid subscriber). This service requires an internet connection.