How to Create a New Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation from the Backstage view

When creating a new Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, you can choose between creating a blank presentation and creating a presentation from an existing template. A template is a predesigned PowerPoint presentation that you can change to suit your needs. We've outlined the steps for each process below.

This feature works the same in all modern versions of Microsoft PowerPoint: 2010, 2013, and 2016.

To start a new blank PowerPoint presentation:

1. From the File menu, select New. (In Microsoft 2007, select the Microsoft Office button and click New.)
2. Click Blank Presentation.

To create a new PowerPoint presentation from a template:

1. From the File menu, select New. (In Microsoft 2007, select the Microsoft Office button and click New.)
2. Click one of the templates or search for a template in the Search text box.
3. Click on a template to preview it.
4. Click Create to download and open the template (in Word 2007/2010, click Download).