Add notes directly below each slide in PowerPoint
PowerPoint has a built-in Notes pane where you can type reminders, talking points, or full scripts for each slide without the audience seeing them. This pane sits below your slide in edit mode and stays hidden during presentations. You can add notes to as many or as few slides as you need.
The notes appear only on your screen when you present — they do not show on the projector or in the slideshow view unless you specifically print them or export them. This makes them ideal for speaker reminders, pronunciation guides, citations, or anything else you want to reference while presenting but keep private.
Key Takeaways
- The Notes pane is a text box below each slide in edit mode where you can type anything you want to remember while presenting.
- Notes stay hidden during a slideshow and appear only on your screen, not on the audience's display.
- You can view notes while presenting by using Presenter View, which shows your notes, the current slide, and the next slide on your monitor only.
- Notes can be printed as handouts or exported as a document if you need to share them separately from the slides.
- If the Notes pane is not visible, you can open it from the View menu or by dragging the divider between the slide and the bottom of the screen.
Open the Notes pane in edit mode
When you open a PowerPoint file, you are in Normal view by default. The Notes pane should be visible at the bottom of your screen below the slide preview. If you do not see it, click the View tab at the top of the ribbon, then click Notes. This switches to Notes Page view, which shows one slide per page with a large text area below it for your notes.
If you prefer to stay in Normal view and just want the Notes pane visible at the bottom, make sure the divider between the slide and the notes area is not collapsed. You can drag the divider upward to make the Notes pane larger, or downward to make it smaller. The pane will stay at whatever size you set it until you change it again.
Type notes for a single slide
Click inside the Notes pane below the slide you want to add notes to. Start typing. There is no character limit, so you can write as much or as little as you need — a single word, a full paragraph, or multiple paragraphs. Use line breaks and formatting to keep your notes organized and easy to scan during a presentation.
Notes are tied to the specific slide they appear below. If you move or delete a slide, its notes move or delete with it. If you copy a slide, the notes copy too. Each slide has its own separate notes section, so you can add different notes to different slides without affecting the others.
Use Presenter View to see notes while presenting
When you start a slideshow, your notes stay hidden from the audience. To see them yourself, use Presenter View. This feature shows your notes, the current slide, and a preview of the next slide on your monitor only, while the audience sees only the current slide on the projector or external display.
To turn on Presenter View, start your slideshow and press Alt + F5 on Windows or Command + Option + P on Mac. If that does not work, check your PowerPoint settings: click File, then Options (Windows) or Preferences (Mac), find Presenter Tools or Slide Show, and make sure Presenter View is enabled. Some versions of PowerPoint turn it on automatically when you connect an external display.
Print or export notes as a separate document
If you want to share your notes with someone else or print them for reference, PowerPoint can output them as a document. Click File, then Print. In the print settings, look for a dropdown that says Full Page Slides or Print Layout. Click it and select Notes Pages. This will print one slide per page with its notes below it.
To save notes as a separate file instead of printing, click File, then Export As or Save As. Choose a format like PDF or Word document. Some versions of PowerPoint do not have a direct "export notes only" option, so you may need to print to PDF instead: select Print, choose Print to PDF from the printer dropdown, and select Notes Pages before saving.
Move between slides and edit notes quickly
In Normal view with the Notes pane visible, click on any slide in the slide panel on the left to jump to that slide and its notes. The Notes pane updates instantly to show the notes for the slide you selected. You can then click in the Notes pane and edit those notes without leaving Normal view.
If you are in Notes Page view and want to move to the next or previous slide, use the arrow keys or scroll with your mouse. You can also click on a slide in the slide panel on the left to jump directly to it. Notes Page view is useful if you want a larger text area for writing detailed notes, but Normal view is faster if you are switching between many slides.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the audience see my notes during the presentation?
No. Notes are hidden by default during a slideshow. Only you see them on your monitor if you use Presenter View. The projector and any external displays show only the slide itself, not the notes below it.
Can I format text in the Notes pane?
Yes. You can use bold, italic, underline, and different font sizes in the Notes pane just as you would in a text document. Highlight the text you want to format and use the formatting buttons in the ribbon, or use keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl+B for bold.
What happens to notes if I delete a slide?
The notes are deleted along with the slide. If you think you might need them later, copy the text from the Notes pane and paste it into a separate document before deleting the slide.
Can I add notes on a Mac version of PowerPoint?
Yes. The process is the same: click the View tab, select Notes, and type in the text area below the slide. Presenter View on Mac uses Command+Option+P instead of Alt+F5.
Can I print just the notes without the slides?
PowerPoint does not have a built-in option to print notes alone. You can copy all your notes into a Word document or text file and print that instead, or print Notes Pages and then remove the slide images if you only need the text.