How to Make Just One PowerPoint Slide Portrait or Landscape

When creating a PowerPoint presentation, you may need a slide that requires a different slide orientation – for example, a graph or image.

On PowerPoint, it is not possible to change the orientation for one single slide. When a slide orientation is changed, it applies to the entire presentation. However, there are creative workarounds that can help you make just one slide with a different orientation from the rest of the presentation.

Method #1: Link to a slide from another presentation

This option allows you to open a slide from another document during a presentation. The external slide can have a unique orientation. This method is suitable if you have audio or an animated object on the slide. Follow these steps:

Set slide orientation

Create a slide in a new presentation with the desired orientation

1.  Go to the Design tab and click Slide Size. Select Custom Slide Size… from the dropdown list.

   

2. Select either Portrait or Landscape, then click OK.

   

Hyperlink the slide

1. Open your presentation and select an object (e.g. text) to hyperlink to the other slide created.

   

2. Link the new slide to your presentation. Go to Insert and select Action. 

   

3. Select the Mouse Click tab and select the option Hyperlink to:

   

4. In the Hyperlink to: dropdown, select Other PowerPoint Presentation… 

   

5. Windows explorer will launch. Locate the new presentation, select it, then click Open. 

   

6. If you created more than one slide in the new PowerPoint document, a “Hyperlink to Slide” dialog box appears. It contains a list of slides from the new document. Select the slide you want to import, then click OK.

   

7. Click OK again.

   

8. During your presentation, click the hyperlink to open the slide from the other presentation.

   

9. The slide opens with the orientation applied. Close the hyperlinked slide by pressing ESC to return to your presentation. Your presentation will resume from the slide with the hyperlinked text or object.

   

Method #2: Insert an image

In this method, you will paste a slide with a different orientation into your presentation as an image. It is a faster way of changing the orientation of one slide. However, since the pasted slide will be an image, the contents of the slide cannot be animated or edited. Follow these steps:

Create a slide

1. Open a new PowerPoint document and create a slide with a different orientation than your presentation. When done, right-click the slide in the slides section and select Copy. 

   

2. Open your presentation. On the Home tab, select New Slide. 

   

3. Go to the Insert tab, click Shapes, then select Rectangle.

   

4. Click and drag the cursor over the entire slide to cover it with the rectangle. The rectangle will act as the background for the slide.

   

5. While the rectangle is still selected, select Shape Fill and click the Black color.

   

Paste the slide

1. Right-click on the slide and select the paste option Picture (U).

   

2. The pasted image (slide) will have a different orientation than other slides in the presentation. The slide will not need to be resized. Check the slide section to compare the slide to other slides in the presentation.

   

3. You can view the slide with the different orientation.