Checking Spelling & Using Comments
Learn how to run a spell check, use the built-in thesaurus, add and review comments, and use Track Changes tools to collaborate and polish your presentation before delivery.
Lesson Notes
Read through the key concepts before you try the challenge.
Why Review Before You Present?
Spelling errors and unclear slide content can undermine your credibility with an audience. A final review ensures your presentation is polished, accurate, and ready to deliver.
PowerPoint's Review tab contains all the tools you need to check spelling, look up synonyms, and collaborate with colleagues using comments.
Running Spell Check
PowerPoint checks spelling as you type, marking errors with a red wavy underline. You can also run a full spell check when you're ready to review everything at once.
Go to the Review tab and click Spelling. PowerPoint will scan your entire presentation and stop at each error.
The Spelling pane shows the flagged word along with suggested corrections. You can choose to change the word, ignore it once, or ignore all occurrences.
Using the Thesaurus
The Thesaurus helps you find more precise or varied word choices for your slide content.
Select a word on your slide, then click Thesaurus on the Review tab. The Thesaurus pane opens with a list of synonyms.
Hover over a synonym and click the arrow to insert it directly as a replacement for the selected word.
Adding Comments
Comments let you add notes to specific parts of a slide without affecting the slide content itself. This is useful for your own reminders or for collaborating with a colleague.
To add a comment, select the object or text you want to comment on, go to the Review tab, and click New Comment.
A comments pane opens where you can type your note. A small comment icon appears on the slide near the object you commented on.
Reviewing and Replying to Comments
To read all comments in a presentation, open the Comments pane from the Review tab. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate between comments.
You can reply to any comment by clicking inside it and typing your response. This creates a threaded conversation visible to anyone who opens the file.
Resolving and Deleting Comments
Once a comment has been addressed, you can resolve it to mark it as done without deleting it, or delete it entirely.
To delete a comment, select it in the Comments pane and click Delete on the Review tab. To delete all comments in the presentation, use the Delete All Comments in Presentation option.
Comparing Presentations
If a colleague has sent back a revised version of your file, the Compare tool lets you merge their changes into your version and review each one.
Click Compare on the Review tab, select the revised file, and PowerPoint highlights every difference between the two versions.
Use the Revisions pane to accept or reject individual changes, then click End Review when finished.
Knowledge Check
What should you do with all comments before presenting to a live audience?
Practice File
Download this file and follow along with the lesson.
Challenge
Apply what you've learned in this lesson.
Open the practice presentation and complete the following tasks:
- Run a full Spell Check from the Review tab and correct any errors found.
- On slide 2, select the word in the title and use the Thesaurus to find and apply a stronger synonym.
- Add a comment to slide 3 noting that the chart data needs to be updated.
- Navigate to slide 4 and reply to the existing comment with a short confirmation.
- Delete all comments from the presentation so it is ready to present.