How to create a custom picture placeholder in Microsoft PowerPoint

If you don’t want the same rectangular pictures for your Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow, create a custom picture placeholder and make it available for the presentation via a layout slide.

Microsoft PowerPoint is all about consistency: from one slide to the next, you want things to look like they belong together. That’s where the slide master feature comes in. You can format layout slides so that the formatting is the same for each slide. You can also create a layout slide with image placeholders. By default, image placeholders are rectangular, but you can use just about any shape you want.

In this article, I’ll show you how to create a custom image placeholder and add it to a layout slide so you can use it over and over in your presentation.

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I’m using Microsoft 365 desktop on a Windows 10 64-bit system, but you can use earlier versions. You can download the demonstration .pptx and .ppt files† PowerPoint for the web doesn’t allow you to create a layout slide, but it does support an existing one.

Add a layout slide in PowerPoint

When you open a new PowerPoint presentation file, you start with a set of standard layout slides. You can change that set by choosing a built-in design or by designing your own. To add a custom image placeholder: Add a new layout slide in the Slide Master section. That way, the layout slide with the custom image placeholder is always available.

You can work with a new PowerPoint presentation or modify an existing one, but I’m working with a new, blank presentation.

The first step is to open the Slide Master section of PowerPoint by clicking the View tab and then clicking Slide Master in the Master Views group. The default presentation layout slides are in the left pane. The selected slide is in the center of the screen – you should already know this because Normal View uses the same configuration.

Click Insert Layout in the Edit Master group. PowerPoint adds a layout slide to the bottom of the list.

Delete the title text box. You will also see footer elements that are predefined for the default layout at the bottom. Don’t dwell on it for now, but you may want to if you apply this technique to your own work.

At this point you have a blank layout slide, as shown in Image A† Now it’s time to add the image placeholder.

Image A

Add a picture placeholder in PowerPoint

PowerPoint offers several placeholders, but we’ll work with the image placeholder.

With the new blank layout slide selected, click Insert Placeholder in the Master Layout group. Choose Image from the drop-down list that appears in Figure B†

Figure B

Then drag to size. As you can see in Figure Cthe default image placeholder is a rectangular shape.

Figure C

You can make the Microsoft placeholder big or small, and you can add more than one to the same layout slide — it’s all up to you. We keep it simple by working with one large image placeholder.

Now it’s time to customize the image placeholder.

Change the placeholder shape in PowerPoint

The default picture placeholder in PowerPoint is a rectangle, but you’re not stuck with that. You can change the shape to almost any shape you like, but you have to be reasonable. With the image placeholder selected, do the following to change the shape:

1. Click Edit in the Insert Shapes group.
2. From the drop-down list, choose Change Shape.
3. Choose a shape from the shape gallery, as shown in Figure D†

Figure D

If PowerPoint’s placeholder doesn’t change shape, hover over one of the yellow dots (edit points) to see the new shape, as shown in Figure E† With the custom placeholder for images in a layout slide, you’re ready to use it. Click Close Slide Master to return to Normal view, or click Normal on the View menu.

Figure E

Using the custom picture placeholder in PowerPoint

After you add a custom picture placeholder layout slide, you can use it in the current PowerPoint presentation. In Normal view, click New Slide in the Slides group. Thumbs down until you see the new image placeholder in Figure Fand click it to insert the new layout slide shown in Figure G†

Figure F

Figure G

You insert an image as you normally would:

1. Select the placeholder for a custom image.
2. Click the Insert tab.
3. In the Images group, click Image, and then choose Stock Images from the drop-down list.
4. Click an image and click Insert.

Back on the slide, run the PowerPoint presentation to see the custom picture placeholder displayed in figure H† It’s not the normal rectangle, but the difference is subtle. When choosing a shape, don’t pick something outlandish unless you have a reason to do so. It’s fine to have a single image with something unique, but you’re not likely to need to create a layout slide for a one-time use.

figure H

By using a custom PowerPoint slide with image layout, your images will all be uniform in shape and position on each slide.

Maybe make your placeholder smaller and move it to the side. Maybe add two or three to the slide. It’s up to you, and you can create more than one layout slide, so don’t be stingy with your imagination. But work more efficiently by creating the layout slides first.