Set up your PowerPoint for a productive 2026

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Happy new year, and welcome to the first Behind the slides of 2026.

We’re kicking off the year by looking at how you can set yourself up for success by… setting up your PowerPoint environment for more productivity. We’ll run through three things you can do that only take a few minutes, but that will compound into hours saved every week.

Enjoy the read!

tl;dr

1. Add commands to your Quick Access Toolbar that you don’t use your keyboard for.
2. Customize your PowerPoint ribbon tabs to match your workflow.
3. Add your folders to your thinkcell Library to save time on every presentation: Check it out

1. Set up your Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) appears above the PowerPoint ribbon and makes commands available at all times. But if you always use CTRL+S to save and CTRL+Z to undo, then do you really need to give valuable screen space to buttons you’re never going to click?

Take a minute to think about which commands you use frequently, but that you can’t easily perform with a keyboard shortcut. Typically, this will include alignment and distribution commands that are otherwise hidden away in menus, but there may also be other tools you use time and time again.

To set up your QAT, you can right-click it and select Customize Quick Access Toolbar from the context menu. Here, you can choose which commands to include, as well as their order, and whether to show the Quick Access Toolbar above or below the ribbon.

If you place the QAT below the ribbon, PowerPoint can also display the command labels. The labels take up space, but they might make it easier for you to recognize what’s what.

See which position works best for you, and don’t forget you can also use Alt followed by number keys to run the commands on your Quick Access Toolbar even faster.

2. Customize your PowerPoint ribbon

The Quick Access Toolbar only has limited space, but your PowerPoint ribbon can have as many tabs and command groups as you like. The default ribbon is designed for all kinds of PowerPoint users, so it’s definitely worth optimizing it to make the tools you need for business presentations more accessible.

Right-click the ribbon and choose Customize the Ribbon. This opens the menu where you can add and remove commands, sort everything how you need it, and even create your own tabs or groups.

If you have thinkcell, we give you the thinkcell tab that has all the most important commands needed for business presentations. This is a great place to start, but, of course, you can customize your thinkcell tab, too.

3. Add your folders to your thinkcell Library

Thoughtful use of the QAT and ribbon will help you work more quickly once you start building your slides, but you can also set up your PowerPoint environment so that you get to the building stage faster.

If you’re a thinkcell user, adding your own folders to your library will save you time on every presentation. You can add slides, images, and templates from local and shared folders, giving you instant access to your assets, either for yourself or for your entire team.

To get you started, we’ve created an interactive demo that shows you how to add your folders to the library in less than 5 minutes. Do it once and your folders will be indexed and automatically updated whenever there’s a file change, letting you always find the slides and presentation assets you need.

Try it out now

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Here's to a successful start to 2026. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss an update, and if you’re not doing so, you can also follow our LinkedIn page for more news, company updates and PowerPoint tips.