Change default slide layout in Powerpoint

Question

How can I change the default layout for a new slide in Powerpoint?

When I go to View -> Slide Master, I can edit and add new layouts (sometimes I can also delete a layout, but not always, which is odd), but I don't see an option to make a particular layout the default one.

The version I am using is Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010

Answer 1

This approach is great if you create new PowerPoint files with Right-click -> New -> Microsoft Office PowerPoint Presentation (which is what I always use to create new .pptx files).

• Create a blank presentation with all your default themes/options, and save it
• Go to the location: C:\Windows\ShellNew
  • This is the location where the default PowerPoint is pulled from
• Overwrite the default PowerPoint file with the one you just saved (with the same name). In my case this is PWRPNT12

• Go to your desktop and refresh it a few times
• Right-click -> New -> Microsoft Office PowerPoint Presentation

You should have just created your default PowerPoint file on your desktop. Open it and see that it looks right, and this can be used to place the default file in any location. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

I could have sworn there was an easy way to do this in Powerpoint, but I don't use it anymore and Googling the issue seems to indicate that there isn't a proper in-program way to do it. This Powerpoint add-in ought to be the solution.

Note: I didn't actually test that, I run LibreOffice now. But it does appear to have a good rep on teh interwebz.