Adding a text box takes three clicks
Open the slide where you want the text box. Go to the Insert tab at the top of PowerPoint. Click Text Box — it sits in the ribbon near the left side, usually grouped with shapes and other drawing tools.
Your cursor will change to a crosshair. Click and drag on the slide to draw the box to the size you want. You can make it small or stretch it across half the slide — the exact dimensions do not matter yet. Once you release the mouse, the text box appears with a blinking cursor inside, ready for you to type.
Start typing. PowerPoint will not automatically wrap your text to fit, so if you type a long line, it will run past the edge of the box. You can resize the box later by clicking its border and dragging the corner handles outward.
Key Takeaways
- Text boxes are added through Insert > Text Box, then drawn by clicking and dragging on the slide.
- You can move a text box by clicking its border and dragging it anywhere on the slide.
- Resize a text box by grabbing the small squares at its corners and edges and pulling outward or inward.
- Format text inside a text box using the Home tab — font, size, color, and alignment work the same as in Word.
- Text boxes stay where you place them and do not move when you add or delete other content on the slide.
Moving and resizing a text box
Once the text box exists, you can reposition it. Click the border of the text box (not the text inside) — you should see a thin outline with small squares at the corners and edges. Click and drag the border itself to move the entire box to a new location on the slide.
To change the size, grab one of those small squares and drag it. Dragging a corner square resizes both the width and height at once. Dragging a square on the middle of an edge (top, bottom, left, or right) resizes only that dimension. If you want the box to be much smaller or much larger, corner dragging is usually faster.
If the text inside no longer fits after you resize, PowerPoint will not automatically shrink the font — the text will either overflow outside the box or hide. You can fix this by making the box larger, reducing the font size, or deleting some text.
Formatting text inside the box
Click inside the text box to place your cursor in the text. Select the text you want to format by clicking and dragging across it, or press Ctrl+A to select all text in that box. The Home tab at the top will show formatting options: font name, font size, bold, italic, underline, and text color.
These work exactly as they do in Word. Click the font dropdown to change from Calibri to Arial or any other installed font. Click the size dropdown (usually showing "18" or "28") to make text larger or smaller. Click the A with a colored underline to change text color. Click B for bold, I for italic, or U for underline.
You can also right-click the selected text to see a smaller menu with the most common formatting options. This is often faster than hunting for the button in the ribbon.
Aligning text within the box
With text selected, look for alignment buttons in the Home tab — they usually show as lines stacked left, center, right, or justified. Click the one you want. Left alignment is the default and is easiest to read. Center alignment works well for titles. Right alignment is rarely used in presentations.
These buttons align the text within the box itself, not the box on the slide. If you want the entire text box to move to the right side of the slide, you move the box itself, not the text inside it.
Layering text boxes and other objects
If you add multiple text boxes or place a text box over an image, PowerPoint stacks them in layers. The last object you added sits on top. If a text box is hiding something you want to see, right-click the text box and look for Arrange or Send to Back. This moves the text box behind other objects.
You can also select multiple objects at once by holding Shift and clicking each one. This is useful if you want to move or resize several text boxes together as a group, or if you want to align them all to the left or center.
Removing borders and backgrounds from text boxes
By default, text boxes have no visible border or background — just the text. If you want to add a border (a line around the box) or a colored background, right-click the text box border and select Format Shape or Shape Outline. A panel will open on the right side with options for line color, line thickness, and fill color.
If a text box already has a border or background and you want to remove it, right-click the border, go to Shape Outline, and select No Outline. For the background, go to Shape Fill and select No Fill. Most presentation text boxes look cleaner without borders, so you will rarely need to add them.
Text boxes versus title and content placeholders
PowerPoint slides come with built-in areas for titles and bullet points — these are called placeholders. They are pre-formatted and positioned, and they move predictably when you change the slide layout. Text boxes are different: they stay exactly where you put them, and they do not follow any automatic formatting rules.
Use the built-in title and content areas for standard content like slide titles and bullet lists. Use text boxes when you need text in an unusual location — a caption next to an image, a label on a diagram, or text positioned freely anywhere on the slide. Text boxes give you complete control but require you to handle all the formatting yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make a text box transparent so you can see through it to the slide behind?
Yes. Right-click the text box border, select Format Shape, and look for Fill options. Set the fill to No Fill or adjust the transparency slider. The text will remain visible while the background becomes see-through.
What if I want text to wrap automatically inside the box?
Text wraps automatically by default — if you type past the right edge of the box, it moves to the next line. If text is running off the bottom instead, the box is too narrow or too short. Make the box wider or taller by dragging its edges.
Can I rotate a text box so the text reads at an angle?
Yes. Click the text box border to select it (not the text inside). A small circular arrow handle appears above the box. Click and drag that handle to rotate the entire box. You can also right-click the border, select Format Shape, and enter an exact rotation angle in degrees.
How do I delete a text box?
Click the border of the text box to select it, then press Delete. Make sure you click the border, not inside the text — if you click inside and press Delete, you will only delete the text, not the box itself.
Can I copy a text box to another slide?
Yes. Click the text box border to select it, press Ctrl+C to copy, go to the other slide, and press Ctrl+V to paste. The text box will appear in the same position on the new slide. You can then move it or edit the text as needed.