Knowledge base KB0153

I cannot change the indent level of text in think-cell labels

Problem

It is not possible to change the indent level (promote or demote) of text, e.g., in the activity label of a Gantt chart, when using a slide master created in PowerPoint 2003 in later versions of PowerPoint.

A slide master that was created with PowerPoint 2003 became broken due to issues in earlier releases of the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats (included in Office 2007 and later).

Solution

It is generally advisable to create a slide master for use in Office 2007 and later from scratch, instead of continuing to use a slide master created with PowerPoint 2003 or earlier.

If that is not possible, it may help to round-trip the affected file through the most recent release of the .ppt/.pptx converter:

  1. In a fully-updated Office 2007 or later, save the file in .ppt (PowerPoint 97-2003) format.
  2. Reopen the .ppt file.
  3. Save the file in .pptx (PowerPoint 2007-2010) format again.

Share