How to Print Multiple Slides on One Handout Page Using PowerPoint 2002&2003

Applies to Microsoft Office PowerPoint® 2003 & Microsoft PowerPoint 2002

This article discusses options for handouts in Microsoft PowerPoint®: how to print handouts from print preview; how to change the handout master; and the layout alternatives available to you, such as printing handouts in Microsoft Word.

Setting handout options

In PowerPoint, you can set handout options for printing in either of the following ways:

Through the Print dialog box (File menu, Print command)
In print preview (Print Preview button on the Standard toolbar)

Some advantages of print preview are that you see how the layout you choose looks, and you can add or change header and footer text in this view.

Example layouts

Choose from six different layout options for handouts according to the number of slides you want per page; choose 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, or 9.

One-slide-per-page layout with a horizontal orientation and headers and footers, which are optional. Note that headers and footers on handouts are separate from those you add to the slide itself.

Three-slides-per-page layout. This option has a vertical orientation and comes with blank lines for audience notes. In the example, the headers and footers are centered. You can position, size, and format headers and footers on the handout master.

A handout with six slides per page, oriented horizontally. For four or more slides per page, choose between a horizontal (read across) or vertical (read down) order.

Print handouts from print preview

Open the presentation that you want to print.
On the Standard toolbar, click Print Preview.
In the Print What box on the toolbar, click one of the handout options.
To choose the page orientation, click the Portrait or Landscape button.
To select color or black and white, click the arrow on the Options button, point to Color/Grayscale, and then select one of the three color options.
- Color or Color (On Black and White Printer) If you print to a color printer, this option prints the handouts in color. If you print to a black and white printer, this option prints with all colors shown in grayscale.
- Grayscale Prints the handout in grayscale with some colors, such as background fill, shown in white to heighten legibility. (Sometimes, this looks the same as Pure Black and White.)
- Pure Black and White Prints the handout with no gray fills.
To add or change header and footer text, click the arrow on the Options button, and then click Header and Footer.
When printing handouts with four or more slides per page, click the arrow on the Options button, point to Printing Order, and select either Horizontal or Vertical.
Click Print, select any additional options in the Print dialog box, and click OK.

More options in the Print dialog box In the Print dialog box, you can make other printing selections as well as review or alter what you've selected in print preview. Some options included here but not in print preview are:

Print range If you only want to print the current handout page, you can select Current slide. (Note, though, that this prints your page as page 1, regardless of its order in the full handout. To avoid this, turn off page numbering in the Header and Footer dialog box before you print the handout page.)
Number of copies Make multiple copies if you want.

Change the look or position of headers and footers

If you want headers and footers on a handout to be sized or positioned differently, or you want to change the font, make the change on the handout master. Header and footer changes you make to the handout master carry over to a printed outline.

In print preview, in the Print What box, select the type of handout you want, then click the Close button.
In normal view, on the View menu, point to Master, then click Handout Master.
Do any of the following:
- To move a header or footer placeholder, point to it, and when the pointer becomes a four-headed arrow, drag the placeholder to a new position.
- To resize a header or footer placeholder, select it, point to a sizing handle, and when the pointer becomes a two-headed arrow, drag the handle.
- To change a header or footer font, select the placeholder, and then on the Format menu, click Format, and select options in the Font dialog box.
- To add or change a fill color or border for a placeholder, select the placeholder, and then on the Format menu, click Format, click the Colors and Lines tab, and select options under Fill and Line.
To see how the changes look on the handout with your header and footer text, click the Print Preview button on the Standard toolbar. If you just want to close the handout master, on the Handout Master View toolbar, click Close Master View.

Note If you delete a placeholder on the handout master, you can reapply the placeholder in handout master view. On the Format menu, click Handout Master Layout, select the check box for the placeholder you want, and click OK.

Alternative layouts

If you want a layout type that PowerPoint doesn't include, create more handouts in Word.

On the File menu, point to Send To, click Microsoft Word, and then select a layout option.

For example, if you want to print three slides per page but do not want lines for audience notes, send the handout to Word and choose the Blank lines next to slides option, then delete the lines in Word. Or, for another notes option in Word, select Blank lines below slides, which includes blank lines for audience notes with only one slide per page, in a vertical format.

If you want the option of printing single handout pages while keeping the correct page numbering, send the presentation to Word using one of the available formats; use the headers and footers in Word to number the pages; and if you need to print a single page, select the page you want to print.

For more information about handouts or troubleshooting handout issues, see Microsoft PowerPoint Help.

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