There may come a time when you want to shuffle slides in PowerPoint randomly. This is great for someone who wants to surprise viewers during a presentation, for example, students. Now, we should note that PowerPoint does not have a shuffle feature, which means we will have to use VBA macros. Let us see how to randomize slides in PowerPoint.
How to randomly shuffle PowerPoint slides manually
There is a way to manually shuffle slides in a PowerPoint presentation to display them in random order. To get this done, we will make use of a tool known as Slide Sorter, and while it is not as random when compared to using macros, it is the easiest method.
- Open a presentation in PowerPoint.
- Click on the View tab to access the View menu.
- From this menu, go to Presentation Views, and choose Slide Sorter.
- Your presentation will now be switched over to the Slide Sorter view where all slides are visible as thumbnails.
- From within the Slide Sorter view, please click on a slide and drag it to a random area.
Do the same with other slides to have your slides manually shuffled.
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How to randomize slides in PowerPoint using Macros
If you want to ensure your slides in PowerPoint are playing in a truly random manner, you must use a VBA code, so let us explain what needs to be done here.
Open a presentation, then click on the Developer tab.
When the Ribbon reveals additional information, you must select Macros.
A pop-up menu should appear right away. From this menu, you will be required to insert a new Macro. Choose a name for this Macro, then click on the Create button.
The next step is to copy the following VBA code:
Sub Shuffleslides() FirstSlide = 2 LastSlide = 5 Randomize ‘generate a random no between first slide and last slide’ GRN: RSN = Int((LastSlide – FirstSlide + 1) * Rnd + FirstSlide) If RSN = ActivePresentation.SlideShowWindow.View.Slide.SlideIndex Then GoTo GRN ActivePresentation.SlideShowWindow.View.GotoSlide (RSN) End Sub
After the code has been pasted in, you will notice the default setting for shuffling your slides is set to 2 through 5.
This may not be ideal for users with more than 5 slides, so let us customize the code.
From within the VBA editor, you must adjust the slide numbers to make the relevant changes. For example, look for FirstSlide and LastSlide, then change the associated numbers for both.
When you’re done making the changes, click on the Save button.
Finally, we need to add action buttons to each slide.
To do this, click the Insert tab, then select the Shape you wish to add.
From there, go to Insert > Action > Run Macro.
Choose the recently created Macro, and this will engage the shuffling of your slides when in Slide Show mode.
Now, when saving a PowerPoint file with macros, you should use PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Presentation.
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Is there a way to shuffle slides in PowerPoint?
This feature does not exist in Microsoft PowerPoint, but there are workarounds that are known to help. For example, you can use a VBA code to make shuffling automatically an extremely easy task.
READ: How to Display a Black or White Slide in PowerPoint
Where is the Slide Sorter view in PowerPoint?
The Slide Sorter feature has a straightforward way to sort slides. Simply press the ALT + V or ALT + D to quickly adjust the order of the slides in your presentation.
