Section Numbering, Two Masters, and Custom Shows in a Reused Training Deck
A 62-slide training deck is delivered three ways: a 45-minute live class, a 20-minute executive briefing, and a self-paced handout. Fourteen slides are hidden for the executive version. Slide numbers were added with Header & Footer, but after slides were moved into four sections the footer reads "Slide 7" on what presenters call "Section 2, slide 1," and one newly inserted slide shows no number at all. The deck was assembled by pasting slides from an acquired company's template, so it now has two slide masters; fonts and section colors change unexpectedly when slides are reordered. A custom show exists for the executive briefing, but last week the presenter started the main show and clicked into the hidden deep-dive slides. The handout must exclude hidden slides and show notes.
1. The presenters want numbering to restart in each section, like "Section 2, slide 1 of 12." Explain what PowerPoint can and cannot do and how you would fix the missing number on the new slide.
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PowerPoint does not restart slide numbering per section. The slide-number field is one continuous sequence across the presentation, and hidden slides still consume numbers, so "Slide 7" on the second section is expected behavior. There is no section-aware numbering field comparable to Word's restart options.
For the missing number, the field normally comes from the master or layout placeholder. Check Insert > Header & Footer > Slide number applied to all, then open View > Slide Master and confirm the number placeholder exists on the layout that slide uses. A new slide can lose the number if the placeholder was deleted on the slide, if the layout omits it, or if the slide was pasted with formatting from a different master.
If per-section numbering is a hard requirement, the realistic options are separate files per section using "Slide x of y," or manual text boxes, which are unmaintainable and inaccessible. Better: keep continuous numbering and add the section name to the footer per section, so the audience gets orientation without a false count.
2. Why do fonts and section colors change when slides are reordered, and what would you do about the second slide master?
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The deck has two masters because slides pasted with Keep Source Formatting bring the source theme and master with them. Reordering does not change a slide's master, but it changes which slides sit next to each other, making the mismatch obvious: each slide renders according to its own master and layout, and placeholders reset to that layout's fonts and colors.
First decide whether the acquired brand must survive. If yes, keep two masters, rename them clearly in Slide Master view, and assign each slide intentionally; then document which sections use which. If no, normalize to one master: apply the retained theme and layouts, use Replace Fonts to standardize type, reassign slides to the correct layouts, then delete the unused master. Use Reset on slides whose placeholders have drifted.
When pasting in future, use Use Destination Theme rather than Keep Source Formatting. Test by switching to Slide Sorter: if section colors still clash, a slide is on the wrong master or layout, not merely in the wrong position.
3. How would you run the executive briefing and produce the handout without letting hidden content leak or reappear?
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Separate the two problems: delivery and document output.
For delivery, hidden slides are skipped only when the main show runs normally. The failure was human: the presenter launched the main show instead of the custom show. Use Slide Show > Custom Slide Show and launch the executive show explicitly, or put a hyperlink on the opening slide that starts it. Brief presenters on which entry point to use, and test on the room machine. Hidden slides also remain in the file and are not a security control; if deep-dive content is confidential, move it to a separate deck.
For the handout, use File > Print and clear Print hidden slides, or export a PDF of visible slides only. If notes must appear, print Notes Pages, which still respects the hidden-slide setting. Because three outputs now come from one source, add a release checklist: verify the custom show, verify numbering, confirm hidden slides are excluded, and check the PDF with a screen reader before distribution.