How to Add Sub-Bullets to a PowerPoint Presentation

Techwalla may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. Learn more about our affiliate and product review process here.
You can indent a line as many times as you want.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Just like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint 2013 can create bulleted lists with multiple list levels. Unlike Word, however, PowerPoint won't automatically change the bullet icons based on the list level and doesn't offer as many options for designing lists. To customize multi-tier lists in PowerPoint, pick bullet icons from the Home tab and adjust indents using the ruler.

Advertisement

Step 1

Open the Text Box drop-down if you want a vertical text box.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Insert a text box on the slide, if you don't already have one, by clicking Text Box on the Insert tab and dragging on the slide to place the box.

Advertisement

Video of the Day

Step 2

To stop adding bullets to new lines, press **Enter** twice.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Click the Bullets button on the Home tab to add a bulleted list to the text box. Separate each bullet by pressing Enter. PowerPoint automatically adds a bullet on each new line.

Advertisement

Step 3

Subsequent new lines retain the last-used list level.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Press Tab on a new line to move to the next level of the list and place a sub-bullet. You can also click the Increase List Level icon on the Home tab for the same effect.

Advertisement

To move back to the main level of the list, click Decrease List Level or press Shift-Tab with the cursor at the beginning of a line.

Advertisement

Step 4

To select multiple non-sequential lines, hold Ctrl and select each line in turn.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Open the drop-down menu next to the Bullets button to pick a new bullet style. Unlike Word, PowerPoint does not automatically use different bullets for different list levels. To use a different bullet style for indented lines, select the lines and pick a style.

Advertisement

To change other bullet settings, click Bullets and Numbering.

Step 5

The dialog box also offers options to resize or recolor bullets.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Click the Picture or Customize button on the Bullets and Numbering dialog box to use an image or symbol, respectively, for your bullets.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Step 6

Select several lines to adjust their positioning simultaneously.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Microsoft

Enable the Ruler on the View tab if you want to manually adjust the positioning of items in your list. Drag the upper arrow on the ruler to position the bullet, or drag the lower arrow to position the line's text. Drag the rectangle beneath the lower arrow to move both parts simultaneously.

Video of the Day

Advertisement

Advertisement

references & resources