I would like to designate MyFile.potx as the default PowerPoint template. How do I do this? I am using the version that comes with Office 365, and the instructions I found online for other PowerPoint versions (2013, 2016) don't seem to work. I am using Windows 10 and am not an administrator of the Office 365 setup, just a user.

For example, when creating a New presentation, there is no 'Personal' or 'Custom' choice in my version of PowerPoint:

(Here is what I see when I follow @harrymc's suggestion in his answer. It is the bottom of the dropdown menu under the left pane under Design. 'Browse for Themes' is at the end.)

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4 Answers

When creating a New presentation, there is no 'Personal' or 'Custom' choice in my version of PowerPoint

This was the problem that brought me to this question. Using PowerPoint for Office 365, I had a provided potx file and placed it correctly into C:\Users\<UserName>\Documents\Custom Office Templates\, but could not get the option for Personal templates to show where the documentation and screenshots in this thread said it should be showing.

The fix was to open the template file itself and re-save it with my Office 365 version of PowerPoint. The template was likely created with a previous version of PowerPoint.

After re-saving and making sure the newly saved version is in the Custom Office Templates folder, I was able to see a Personal section when creating a New file.

The Microsoftdocumentationseems to be incomplete.

To set your template as a default option:

• Copy the template (.potx) file to the Templates folder at:

  C:\Users\<UserName>\Documents\Custom Office Templates\ 

• Open the presentation

• Use Ctrl+A to select all slides
• On the ribbon, position to the Design pane
• Click the lower down-arrow icon on the right of the leftmost pane
• You should see your theme under "Custom"
• Right-click the theme and select "Set as Default Theme"

2

Start PPT, let it create a new presentation (anything, even Blank will do).

Go to the Design tab, open the gallery of designs, find the one you want to use, right-click it and choose "Set as Default Theme".

Now when you start PPT or do File | New, your new Default Theme should be the first option you see.

5

Open your .potx file in powerpoint. File--->Open

Save as Template ---> File --> Save as Template (Alternatively you can copy paste the .potx file into the Templates folder

Navigate to Design on the menu and click the arrow below the design samples.

In the resulting window, you will see the design of your template.

At the bottom of the window, you will see a Save Current Theme. Select your template design and Save Current Theme. Give it a name and save it into the themes folder.

Now select your custom design theme. (Design menu --> bottom arrow) Right click and select default theme.

Every time you start a new presentation, the design theme in your potx file will default

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