When using Normal view you cannot hide the left pane that shows the thumbnails

Problem

You know you created a slide -- you can see it in the thumbnails in the navigation and slide panes -- but in slide show view, it disappears.

Possible causes and solutions

There are several reasons why this might happen. Courtesy of PowerPoint MVP Sandy Johnson, here they are:

The slide is hidden.

In the animation pane or slide sorter view each slide thumbnail is numbered. If the number is covered with a gray box, then it is
hidden. To fix (in all versions of PowerPoint)

• Right click on the thumbnail (or select all affected thumbnails, then right click)
• Click Hide Slide on the pop-up menu to remove the checkmark next to it.

Set up Show Settings are causing the problem.

Go to Slide Show | Set up Slide Show.
In the Show Slides section, choose All. The other options will cause PowerPoint to display just a range of slides or a custom show.

Slide(s) set at zero second auto transition

If the slide is set to advance automatically after a very short time, PowerPoint won't have enough time to display it at all.

• In PowerPoint 2003 and previous choose Slide Show|Slide Transition
• In PowerPoint 2007 choose Animations | Transition To This Slide
• Set Transition to occur on click or set auto transition to allow enough time for slide to be viewed before it advances to the next slide automatically.

Invisible Monitor Problem.

The slide show might be set up to display on a second monitor. If you don't have a second monitor attached to your computer, the slide show will be very difficult to see.

Go to Slide Show | Set Up Show and choose Show on | Primary Monitor.

For more details on the Invisible Monitor Problem, see:

• Can't run slideshow / screen show won't start; Icon appears on task bar
• PowerPoint MVP, John Wilson's site

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Hide or Unhide Slides in PowerPoint in Normal, Slide Sorter, or Slide Show View

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated September 29, 2021

Applies to: Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)

You can hide slides in PowerPoint presentations so that they do not appear during a slide show unless you want to display them. Typically, you hide slides in Normal View or Slide Sorter View and then run your slide show. During a slide show, you can unhide slides or you can return to Normal View or Slide Sorter View and unhide them.

Recommended article: How to Print a PowerPoint Presentation with Notes

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Most users will right-click to hide and unhide slides in PowerPoint. However, instead of right-clicking, you can also press Shift + F10 or press the Context button at the bottom of your keyboard (which appears as a box with lines if you have it) to display the context menu. The Hide Slide command also appears on the Slide Show tab in the Ribbon.

Hiding slides in Normal View

To hide slides in Normal View:

1. If necessary, click the View tab in the Ribbon and select Normal in the Presentation Views group.
2. In the Navigation pane on the left, right-click the slide that you want to hide. A drop-down menu appears.
3. Click Hide Slide. In the Navigation pane on the left, the slide appears in grey and the slide number appears with a slash through it.
4. Repeat for other slides.

Below is Hide Slide in the context menu in Normal View in a PowerPoint presentation:

To use a keyboard shortcut to hide slides in Normal View:

1. If necessary, click the View tab in the Ribbon and select Normal in the Presentation Views group.
2. Display the slide you want to hide.
3. Press Alt > S (Alt and then S) to access the Slide Show tab in the Ribbon.
4. Press H to select Hide Slide.
5. Repeat for other slides.

Unhiding slides in Normal View

To unhide or show hidden slides in Normal View:

1. If necessary, click the View tab in the Ribbon and select Normal in the Presentation Views group.
2. In the Navigation pane on the left, right-click the slide that you want to unhide. A drop-down menu appears.
3. Click Hide Slide.
4. Repeat for other slides.

To use a keyboard shortcut to unhide slides in Normal View:

1. If necessary, click the View tab in the Ribbon and select Normal in the Presentation Views group.
2. Display the slide you want to unhide.
3. Press Alt > S (Alt and then S) to access the Slide Show tab in the Ribbon.
4. Press H to select Hide Slide (which will unhide a hidden slide).
5. Repeat for other slides.

Hiding slides in Slide Sorter View

To hide slides in Slide Sorter View:

1. If necessary, click the View tab in the Ribbon and select Slide Sorter in the Presentation Views group.
2. Click a slide thumbnail. You can also Ctrl-click multiple slide thumbnails if you want to hide multiple slides.
3. Right-click the slide (or one of the selected slides) that you want to hide. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click Hide Slide. The slide(s) appear in grey and the slide number(s) appear with a slash through it.

Below is Hide Slide in the context menu in Slide Sorter View in a PowerPoint presentation:

To use a keyboard shortcut to hide slides in Slide Sorter View:

1. If necessary, click the View tab in the Ribbon and select Slide Sorter in the Presentation Views group.
2. Click a slide thumbnail. You can also Ctrl-click multiple slide thumbnails if you want to hide multiple slides.
3. Press Alt > S (Alt and then S) to access the Slide Show tab in the Ribbon.
4. Press H to select Hide Slide.

Unhiding slides in Slide Sorter View

To unhide one or multiple hidden slides in Slide Sorter View:

1. If necessary, click the View tab in the Ribbon and select Slide Sorter in the Presentation Views group.
2. Click a slide thumbnail (hidden slides appear in grey with a line through the slide number). You can also Ctrl-click multiple hidden slide thumbnails if you want to unhide multiple slides.
3. Right-click the slide (or one of the selected slides) that you want to unhide. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click Hide Slide.

To use a keyboard shortcut to unhide one or multiple hidden slides in Slide Sorter View:

1. If necessary, click the View tab in the Ribbon and select Slide Sorter in the Presentation Views group.
2. Click a slide thumbnail of a hidden slide. You can also Ctrl-click multiple slide thumbnails if you want to unhide multiple slides.
3. Press Alt > S (Alt and then S) to access the Slide Show tab in the Ribbon.
4. Press H to select Hide Slide which will unhide the selected hidden slides.

Showing a hidden slide during a slide show using See All Slides

If you are running a slide show (typically by clicking the Slide Show button on the bottom right of the screen) and you want to unhide a slide:

1. In Slide Show View, right-click the current slide. A drop-down menu appears.
2. Select See All Slides. The screen displays thumbnails of all the slides in the presentation.
3. Click the hidden slide you want to show. The selected slide is shown full-screen and the slide show resumes.

If you are using Presenter View, the audience won't see thumbnails before you select the slide. They will only see the slide you selected.

Below are slide thumbnails in a PowerPoint presentation when the user has selected Show All Slides:

Showing a hidden slide during a slide show using a keyboard shortcut (2 shortcuts)

You can also use keyboard shortcuts to show hidden slides during a slide show.

To unhide a slide during a slide show using your keyboard (method 1):

1. In Slide Show View, navigate to the slide after which there is a hidden slide. For example, navigate to slide 4 if you want to unhide slide 5.
2. Press H on your keyboard.

To unhide a slide during a slide show using your keyboard (method 2):

1. In Slide Show View, type the slide number of the hidden slide you want to display.
2. Press Enter.

These shortcuts will temporarily unhide the slide and display it in Slide Show View. It does not unhide the slide in Normal View or Slide Sorter View.

Hidden slides can be great to display optional content when needed. You can also hyperlink to hidden slides.

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More resources

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What is a pane where you can see the thumbnails of your slides?

When using normal view you can hide the Notes pane true or false quizlet?

Which tab displays the thumbnails of the presentation in normal view?

What is a normal view?