How to print PowerPoint speaker notes

If you take advantage of the built-in speaker notes feature of Microsoft PowerPoint, there may come a time when you want to print those notes you’ve added.

You might want to review your notes away from the computer screen, show them to a coworker to get their input, or simply save a hard copy. We’ll show you how to print PowerPoint notes in various ways from Windows, Mac, and the web.

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Print speaker notes in PowerPoint on Windows

By printing your notes in PowerPoint on Windows, you have the flexibility to print the notes with or without the slide thumbnails. If convenient, you can also export the slideshow to Microsoft Word for printing from that application.

Print speaker notes with slides

To print your notes with the slide thumbnails, follow the steps below.

1. Open your presentation, select the File tab, and choose Print.
2. Pick your printer at the top and then choose the slides you want to print, whether all, selected, current, or a custom range.
3. Open the Full Page Slides drop-down menu and select Notes Page.
4. Optionally adjust the remaining print settings and click Print at the top when you finish.

Print speaker without slides

Instead of printing your notes with the images of the slides, you can choose to only print the notes.

1. Open your presentation, select the View tab, and choose Notes Page.
2. You’ll see each slide thumbnail at the top of the page with the notes text box beneath.

3. Select the slide thumbnail and press your Delete key. This does not delete the slide from your presentation, it only removes the slide image from the notes page.

4. Continue this process for each page you want to print.
5. Follow the steps in the previous section to print the Notes Pages for your slideshow.

Print speaker notes by exporting to Word

Maybe you want to manipulate your PowerPoint notes with some of the features in Microsoft Word. You can export your presentation, make whatever edits you like, and print the notes with slides from that application.

1. Open your presentation, select the File tab, and choose Export.
2. Choose Create Handouts.
3. You’ll see a brief explanation to the right. Click Create Handouts.

4. In the pop-up window, pick either Notes next to slides or Notes below slides and click OK.

5. When Word opens, you’ll see your slides and notes in the spot you selected.

6. After you make your changes, select File > Print to adjust the printer settings and print the PowerPoint notes.

Tip: Have a Word document that you want to transform into a presentation? Learn how to convert text to PowerPoint.

Print speaker notes in PowerPoint on Mac

If you use PowerPoint on Mac, you can print your presentation notes easily and also save the notes pages as a PDF file for printing.

To print the notes directly, follow the steps below.

1. Open your presentation and select File > Print in the menu bar.
2. In the pop-up window, choose your printer at the top and optionally adjust the number of copies and other settings.
3. Expand PowerPoint if it’s hidden and pick the slides you want to print, whether all, selected, current, or a custom range.
4. Next to Layout, select Notes.
5. Adjust any remaining settings and click Print at the bottom when you’re ready.

Print speaker notes by exporting to PDF

Along with printing your slide notes from PowerPoint, you can save the presentation as a PDF file and print it from your PDF reader or default tool.

1. Follow the same Steps 1 through 4 above.
2. Open the PDF menu at the bottom and choose Save as PDF.

3. Select a location for the file and click Save.

You can then open the file using your preferred PDF application or Preview on Mac to print the pages.

Tip: Have a PDF that would give you a jumpstart on your presentation? Look at how to convert a PDF to PowerPoint.

Print speaker notes in PowerPoint on the web

While you can’t print directly from PowerPoint on the web, you can choose to download the notes as a PDF and then print it using your PDF application.

1. Visit PowerPoint on the web, sign in, and open your presentation.
2. Select the File tab, move to Print, and pick Print slides with notes in the pop-out menu.

3. Click Open PDF in the pop-up window.

4. You’ll see the PDF of the presentation open in a new browser tab. From there, you can use the floating toolbar at the bottom or your browser menu to download the file.

When you download the file, you’ll see it open in your default PDF application and can then print the pages.

Enhance the appearance of your slides with Plus AI

With Plus AI for PowerPoint, you can get help enhancing the appearance of your slides before printing them. This is ideal if you’re struggling for the right look and feel or would like some ideas for improving the slide layouts.

Open the Plus AI add-on, click Edit presentation, and choose Remix a slide. You can pick a different template if you like and then simply select the layout you want. Hit Remix Slide and you’ll see the new layout in seconds.

For additional help with your PowerPoint slideshow, you can insert a new slide or rewrite slide content with Plus AI. And, you can create entire presentations with the tool as well. Start with an eye-catching template, enter a prompt for the type of slideshow you want, and you’re ready to go!

Visit the Plus AI website for the full feature list, helpful tips and examples, a gallery of templates, and to begin your free trial.

Conclusion

For reviewing your notes ahead of time or sharing them with a coworker, you can print your PowerPoint notes in different ways and on various devices. And with the help of Plus AI, you can improve your slide layouts along with your content in just a few clicks.

FAQs

How do you print a PowerPoint presentation with comments?

If you and your collaborators add comments when you work on the slideshow together, you can include those comments when you print in PowerPoint.

Go to File > Print and open the Full Page Slides drop-down menu. Pick the layout you want to print and click Print Comments. This places a checkmark next to that option to print the comments with your slides.

How do you view how your notes will print in PowerPoint?

While you can see a preview when you head to the Print menu, you can also see a preview beforehand. Go to the View tab and choose Notes Pages. You’ll then see how your notes pages will look when you print them.

How to print presentations with notes in Google Slides?

Printing a presentation with notes in Google Slides is just as easy as in PowerPoint and you can also adjust the print settings. Check out our complete walk-through for how to print Google Slides with notes for all the details.