Clever Clogs tip # 670
2 September 2021


Remove all speaker notes in one go (Microsoft PowerPoint) *

Do you use speaker notes in slides? Perhaps you use them so you can create a handout, as described in tip 616? Or to remind yourself or colleagues what to say when you present a particular slide.

If so, there might be times that you want to delete the notes. Perhaps you want to send the presentation to a client. Or use some of the slides as a base for a different topic.

You can obviously delete the notes one by one, but this will be cumbersome and time-consuming. So you might be pleased to know there is a way to remove them all in one go.

Here's how:

  1. On the File tab, click Info.
  2. Click Check for Issues and click Inspect Document.
  3. Press ENTER or click Yes if you want to save your file.
  4. Press ENTER or click Inspect. (No need to untick anything.)
  5. Scroll to the bottom of the dialog box and click Remove All.
  6. Close the dialog box, as normal. (My preferred way is to press the Esc key.)

For those of you who prefer to keep your hands on the keyboard step 1 and 2 can be replaced by pressing ALT, f, i followed by ENTER. If you keep an eye on what happens when you do this and think of File (F), Info (i), Issues (i) it's an intuitive shortcut that you might like to get under your belt.

Related tips

  1. Export a presentation to Word to use as a handout (Microsoft PowerPoint) - tip_616.php
  2. Attach a copy or a PDF version of an active document to an email message (Word, Excel and PowerPoint) - tip_661.php
  3. Inspect your document for tracked changes (Word 2007-2010) - tip_385.php
  4. Make reviewer names anonymous (Microsoft Word) - tip_449.php

PS One of you lovely tip subscribers emailed to say that she couldn't find the Suggest a Feature or Feedback button as described in last week's tip. (Thanks for letting me know, Helen!) OK, she was using version 2016 and my tips are written for Microsoft 365 desktop apps and Windows 10 users, but Microsoft claims there should be a Feedback button on the File tab. So I've sent this missing feature as feedback to Microsoft.


* Unless stated otherwise this tip is written for Microsoft 365 desktop apps and Windows 10 users, but might also be useful in Office 2010, 2013 and 2016.