PPT slides don't show up when I want to save notes view in PDF

Hi mgp321,

Thank you for your reply. If you have checked the option “Slide Image” in Notes Master and some slides didn’t show up in Notes page view, I think the slide images in these notes pages were deleted before.

In PowerPoint Windows platform, we can easily bring back the slide images to Notes pages by Notes Layout > Check Slide image option. Unfortunately, this option is not available in PowerPoint for Mac. And I have also some VBA code to bring the slide image back to Notes page, but it seems not avail.

Some community members also noticed this point about reapply note page layout in PowerPoint for Mac. And they have also raised an suggestion about Notes Page - Substandard Programming on PowerPoint for Mac UserVoice. If it is convenient, you can vote and subscribe this suggestion, which it is a platform to let the related team aware this problem.

A related thread: Fixing the Notes Page - Not possible for Mac Users by John.

I also did some tests from my side to bring back the deleted slide image in Notes page. One option is to copy the slide and paste it in Notes page view. But it will be pasted as an image, which means if you have some updates in original slide, the image won’t be updated. However, if you have a Windows device, it will be much easier to bring back the slide image in Notes page, which you can right click in Notes page > Notes Layout > Check “Slide image” to display slide image again in Notes page.

If it is convenient, you can also share the PowerPoint file with me if you didn’t have Windows devices, I can try out fix the file with my Windows environment from my side.

Best regards,

Dihao

Hi mgp321,

Thank you for posting your question in this community. Based on your description and screenshot, the Note pages you exported from PowerPoint for Mac to PDF didn’t include the slides in note pages but only notes.

Frist of all, I would like to confirm with you whether you export note pages as PDF by > File > Print > Layout: Notes > Save as PDF.

More importantly, may I know the following information to further narrow down this problem at your convenience?

1: What is your PowerPoint for Mac version? You can click on PowerPoint menu > About Microsoft PowerPoint to find version. You can also share a screenshot below with us.

2: Are the slides displayed in Print Preview when you choose Layout: Notes to export as PDF?

3: You can also go to View tab > Note page and see whether the slides and notes are displayed correctly.

4: Does this problem occur in all your PowerPoint files or the particular file? You can try to create a new presentation file in PowerPoint app and see whether the same behavior occurred when you export it as PDF file.

Best regards.

Dihao

Hi mgp321,

Thank you for your reply and sharing the information. It looks like you also didn’t see the “slides” but only the notes display in Notes page view as well as the Print Preview.

If it is in this scenario, the problem should be related to the Note pages layout in your Presentation as the slides image place holder is not displayed in Note pages view.

May I confirm with you whether the Slide image option is checked in Notes Master? If not, please check this option and see the result.

More importantly, if you created a new blank presentation with notes, and preview the Note pages under View tab? Does the slides and notes can be displayed correctly in Note pages?

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I also did a test from my side with PowerPoint for Mac version 16.39. If I purposely removed the slide place holder in Notes Page or uncheck “Slides image” Option in Note Master

The print preview will no longer display the slides but only the notes in Notes pages.

Best regards,

Dihao

It didn't help. Some of the slides show up in Notes view. Some of the slides do not. I have no idea what determines it.

Be sure PowerPoint and Apple Mac OS are BOTH up to date!

Saving as PDF depends on interaction with your printer driver. Most drivers are included with Mac OS updates. It is critical that you have the latest printer driver for your brand and model printer.

To update PowerPoint:

Download a copy of the current version of AutoUpdate from this link, install and then run AutoUpdate to bring your installation to current update level, then restart your Mac. If the updater does not open automatically after download, double-click the downloaded .pkg file. Click this link to download the updater. The update is free.

https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=830196

To update Mac OS:

Click the Apple in the upper left corner. Choose System Preferences > Software Update