How to Track Changes in Microsoft PowerPoint

While most individuals and businesses are looking for flexible ways of working, productivity tools built into collaboration features are in high demand. Microsoft 365 occupies 41.59% of the productivity market, with over a million people relying on Microsoft Office.

Features like track changes in Microsoft Word and Excel are handy for collaboration. However, Microsoft PowerPoint, with over 120 million users, does not have this feature. S What do you do when you need to keep track of the changes?

Track changes to an offline Microsoft PowerPoint presentation

On Microsoft PowerPoint, there is no track changes option. However, you can compare two PowerPoint presentations to track the changes made.

To compare the changes, you must have two files. The first file should be the original presentation, while the second file should have changed. When you have these two files, follow the steps below to compare the changes:

Step 1: Launch the original PowerPoint file.

2nd step: On the ribbon, select the Review tab.

Step 3: Click the Compare option. This option allows you to select a file to compare with the original.

Step 4: In the file library, select the file to compare with the original and click Merge.

Step 5: When the file is merged, verify that a review pane is also visible on the PowerPoint.

Step 6: In the Reviews pane, to the right of your PowerPoint, select Details.

Step 7: Using the scroll bar in the Revisions pane, read the presentation comments to identify any changes to the slide content or presentation.

Step 8: In the Slide edits or Presentation edits pane, select one of the edits and all of the details should clear.

Step 9: Check the changes and select Accept to save the changes or Reject to remove the changes.

Step 10: When the review is complete, select End Review to apply all changes.

Track changes to a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation online

Another way to keep track of changes to a document is to work on it online. For example, you can choose to use Microsoft OneDrive or Microsoft SharePoint to collaborate with others on your file. Here’s how to track these changes:

Checking for changes on OneDrive or SharePoint

Here’s how to track changes to files hosted on OneDrive or SharePoint:

Step 1: Launch the shared presentation on OneDrive or SharePoint.

2nd step: You should see a notification telling you that changes have been made to your shared file. Select Show detailed changes.

Step 3: The presentation thumbnails pane should have some slides highlighted in turquoise (slides with edits are highlighted in this color). Also look for a tooltip that says Slide has unread changes.

Step 4: Click on the highlighted thumbnail to open the slide. All new changes will be highlighted in turquoise. There is also a log with information of who affected the change and when they did it.

To note: Sometimes you might notice that a slide has been highlighted in the review pane. However, when you click on it, there is no information. This happens when the changes you make are for removing shapes, adding comments, making animation changes, or making changes in the notes pane.

Checking version history on OneDrive or SharePoint

If your PowerPoint is hosted on OneDrive or SharePoint, Office 365 keeps all versions of the presentation. You can use previous versions to track changes. Here’s how to access the previous version:

Step 1: At the top of your presentation, click the file name.

2nd step: Select Version history from the drop-down list.

Step 3: Previous versions of your file should be displayed in a pane. Click on the version of the file to view.

Step 4: Select Save a copy if you want to compare the changes or select Restore if you want to revert to the old presentation.

Step 5: After uploading the old file, compare it to the new file to see any changes made.

Alternatives to Microsoft PowerPoint

Tracking changes on Microsoft PowerPoint is not as easy as what you have on Microsoft Word and Excel with Track Changes. However, in PowerPoint, tracking changes relies on the old version of a presentation or working online. If you need a more convenient way to keep track of changes, you can try looking for alternatives to PowerPoint.