Tab key not working to demote bullets in powerpoint

Just a basic point of clarification first: In order for Tab to demote an item the insertion point must be at the very beginning of the line, whereas the Indent More button will demote regardless of where on the line the insertion point sits. The same is true of Shift+Tab to promote a line. Could this be an explanation?

If not, please indicate your present update level of Office 2016 as well as your version of OS X. Also, specify the exact steps you're taking & whether this occurs in one specific file or whether it occurs in all, including new presentations.

FWIW, I'm running v15.27 on OS X 10.10.5 without seeing that behavior, nor have I seen any similar reports in the Community.

The tab key trick requires a bullet for each level. Otherwise it just acts as a normal tab key. You could try creating a bullet that matches the background color on the second level.

Bob,

I want to use my company template for my slides.

For testing purposes, I see the problem if I simply modify the default PPT template- the template you get if you get if you go  File >> New Presentation (not selecting any custom template).

From the new presentation, the tab key works fine.

If I modify the slide master of the new presentation the tab key stops working correctly, which means it tabs out, but bullets no longer precede the insertion point like they should.

In modifying the template  i go to view slide master, and specifcally have removed the bullet from the second level, and changed the third level bullet color to red (I don't think this matters but this is how I've been testing) in the big Office Theme Slide Master, not in the layout below it.  (I can see my change propagate into the Title and Content layout below).

Now I go to normal view, add a new slide, type some text at level 1, hit return then tab two times to start a new line at level 3.  I don't get my red bullet, nor any bullets even if I tab out to level 4 and beyond.

I tried this on another mac and see the same issue.

thanks

Exactly what are you customizing?... A placeholder on a slide or are you customizing a Slide or Layout Master?

Please enumerate the exact steps you're taking & include specific examples of what changes you're making.

Bob,

the insertion point is at the very beginning of the line.  Im running V 15.27 on 10.10.5

the following are my troubleshooting steps:

I open a new presentation (default template)-  there is no problem, tab key demotes (tabs out, and font and bullets get smaller as defined in the default template) each time you hit it

If it customize the default template and save it as a custom template the tab key function "breaks" after making at least two changes to the default indent levels.  Specifically I removed the bullet at level 2, and changed the color of the bullet at level 3.  With these changes from the default template, the tab key just tabs out, but all bullets are gone.  If I use the indent more button the behavior is normal and I see bullets as defined in the new template.  

this applies to all templates I have created on the mac.  I just opened a presentation which i made on a windows PC, and was surprised that if I added a new bullet point, and hit the tab key to demote it, it works correctly.   Hmmmm.  Maybe I need to make my new template on the PC and then use it on the mac (I use a mac now)