Add text

To replace placeholder text on a slide, double-click the text and type your own. If you want to add other text to the slide, apart from one of the existing placeholders, you add a new text box then replace its placeholder text.

The text box itself is an object that can be modified like most other objects; you can rotate it, change its border, fill it with a color, layer it, and more. There are text-specific controls for changing the appearance of text within the box—including its font, color, size, and alignment.

You can also add and edit text in a shape or table cell and format it like any other text.

Create a new text box

Click in the toolbar.
A text box is added to your slide (you can change how the text looks later).
Type your own text to replace the placeholder text.
Resize the text box, if necessary, by selecting it and dragging any selection handle (white square).
Drag the text box to where you want it on the slide.

To delete a text box, select it, then press Delete.

Copy and paste text

To quickly reuse a selection of text, copy and paste it.

Select text, then choose Edit > Copy (from the Edit menu at the top of your screen).
Click where you want to paste the text, then choose Edit > Paste.

If you copy text and want it to match the style of the text where you’re pasting it, choose Edit > Paste and Match Style.

Copy and paste a text style

You can copy just the style of selected text and apply that style to other text.

Select text, then choose Format > Copy Style (from the Format menu at the top of your screen).
Select other text to apply the style to, then choose Format > Paste Style.

Enter special characters and symbols

You can insert special characters in text, such as mathematical symbols; letters with accent marks; arrows and emoticons; Japanese, Chinese, and Korean characters; and more.

Click where you want the character or symbol to appear.
Choose Edit > Special Characters (from the Edit menu at the top of your screen).
The Characters window opens.
Click an icon at the bottom of the Characters window to choose a category of characters. (Click the left or right arrows to see more categories.)
Click the character you want to insert.

For information about using keyboards and input methods for other languages, click the desktop to switch to the Finder, choose Help > Mac Help (from the Help menu at the top of your screen), and search for “Input menu.”