2.1The slide master
The essentials in 30 seconds
- Any element repeated on each slide (logo, background, footer) is placed in the MASK, never by hand.
- The main mask spreads; each arrangement can then be specialized.
- Edit Master updates existing AND future slides.
Spun mini-case — The slide master
Amel makes the company model more reliable: logo, footer, fonts and layouts. It places common elements in the master so that each new slide remains consistent.
Continuation of the common theme: the Blida agri-food SME is preparing its market launch.
1. The mask: the factory behind the slides
View → Slide Master: the master layer that defines layouts, fonts, bullets, footers, logo. Change the master once, all slides follow. It's the opposite of DIY slide by slide: we industrialize coherence.
2. Hierarchy: mask → layouts → slides
The main mask (at the very top) bears the logo and fonts; each disposition inherits and adjusts; the slides fill. Modifying a provision only affects it; changing the mask touches everything. Hence the rule: never manual format on a slide when the mask can carry it.
3. The pitfalls of the legacy mask
Old files accumulate ghost masks (unused duplicates): Mask → left pane, delete any mask without slides. Check with Redo: A mask-resistant slide contains manual formats to clean up.
🔎 Concrete example — Concrete example — Logo + foot on 50 slides in 2 minutes
1. View → Slide Master
2. On the main mask: logo at the top right, foot “2026 Review — p. <#>
3. Close the mask → check in Sorter: everything is there
4. Remove ghost masks without slidesReading: 50 slides updated without touching them.
Lesson: the footer with number can be reread in a meeting (“slide 12”).
Section vocabulary
- Slide master
- View → Slide Master: the “mold” that all slides inherit. Modify the mask = modify the entire presentation.
Simple example: Amel mobilizes “Mask of Slides” in preparing for the launch.
What it is not: treat “Slide Master” as a detail unrelated to the message.
Reflex: Does this choice make the presentation clearer for the audience?
- Main mask
- The large thumbnail at the top of the pane: its settings (fonts, background, logo) are propagated to all layouts.
Simple example: Amel mobilizes “Mask principal” in preparing for the launch.
What it is not: treat “Main Mask” as a detail unrelated to the message.
Reflex: Does this choice make the presentation clearer for the audience?
- Slide Master layouts
- Layouts available under the Slide Master: they define placeholders and are inherited by slides.
Simple example: Amel uses “Slide Master layouts” while preparing the launch.
What it is not: Treat “Slide Master layouts” as a detail unrelated to the message.
Reflex: Does this choice make the presentation clearer for the audience?
- Placeholder (in mask)
- The areas you position in the master become the pre-fillable areas of the slides.
Simple example: Amel mobilizes “Reserved space (in the mask)” in preparation for the launch.
What it is not: treat “Placeholder (in mask)” as a detail unrelated to the message.
Reflex: Does this choice make the presentation clearer for the audience?
- Close Mask mode
- The red button on the Mask tab: returns to normal editing — your changes are applied everywhere.
Simple example: Amel mobilizes “Close Mask mode” in preparation for the launch.
What it is not: Treat “Close Mask Mode” as a detail unrelated to the message.
Reflex: Does this choice make the presentation clearer for the audience?
In practice — Your brand on all slides at once
- View → Slide Master: Click the LARGE thumbnail (main master).
- Insert your logo (or a shape that replaces it) at the top right, and change the font of the titles via the Mask → Fonts tab.
- Go down to the “Title and Content” layout: add a colored bar at the bottom — only it will have it.
- Close the mask: ALL slides have the logo and font; those in “Title and content” also have the bar. Add a new slide: she is born already dressed.
Script ready to say — The slide master (25 sec)
“Edit the master to apply logo, fonts and layouts to the entire presentation at once. Concretely, I check this point before projecting: any element repeated on each slide (logo, background, foot) is placed in the mask, never by hand. »
Short wording, to be adapted to the audience and the context of the meeting.
Copy and paste template — “The slide master” checklist
CHECKLIST — The slide master
1. Any element repeated on each slide (logo, background, footer) is placed in the MASK, never by hand.
2. The main mask propagates; each arrangement can then be specialized.
3. Edit Master updates existing AND future slides.
4. An element that is impossible to select on a slide is probably in the master: that's where it is edited.
EXPECTED RESULT: Visual identity applied everywhere — present AND future — in a single intervention.Express version
Apply only the essentials and the first key point, then check the rendering in projection.
Remote
Share the file and check fonts, contrasts and text size before the video conference.
As a team
Lock in the common model and document choices to keep colleagues consistent.
Printed version
Keep the message titles and the text outline; remove animations that are no longer needed.
✓ Best practices
- Anything that repeats goes into the mask.
- Purge ghost masks from old files.
- Test by Restore: what resists is manual.
✗ Common pitfalls
- Format slide by slide (50 corrections).
- Paste the logo floating on each slide.
- Accumulate duplicate masks.
Key takeaways
- Any element repeated on each slide (logo, background, footer) is placed in the MASK, never by hand.
- The main mask spreads; each arrangement can then be specialized.
- Edit Master updates existing AND future slides.
- An element that is impossible to select on a slide is probably in the master: that's where it is edited.
48 hour challenge — apply tomorrow
Rebrand yourself on all slides at once on the Amel launch presentation: View → Slide master: click on the LARGE thumbnail (main master).. Time 20 minutes and note what has changed for the audience.
- I can explain and apply: Any element repeated on each slide (logo, background, foot) is placed in the MASK, never by hand.
- I can explain and apply: The main mask spreads; each arrangement can then be specialized.
- I can explain and apply: Editing the master updates existing AND future slides.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my master logo not appearing on some slides?
Their layout has "Hide Background Graphics" enabled (right-click → Format Background), or a background laid over top in the layout. Check the relevant layout in the mask.
Mask or .potx model: what’s the difference?
The mask is THE internal configuration of a presentation; the .potx is a FILE which embeds a ready-to-use mask to create new presentations (next section).
Where to place the logo so that it appears everywhere?