Protect your slide from accidental changes with an invisible shield (PowerPoint 2003/2007/2010)

When sharing presentation files, it’s inevitable that someone’s wayward clicks will accidentally alter your slide. For instance, an errant mouse movement could put your graph’s alignment out of whack. There’s an easy way to protect your slide from unwanted fiddling:

1. Open your slide in Normal view (View | Normal) and zoom out so you can see the entire slide.
2. Select Insert | Picture | AutoShapes and on the AutoShapes toolbar, click the Basic Shapes button and select Rectangle. (In PowerPoint 2007, go to the Insert tab and, in the Illustrations group, click the Shapes button. Choose the rectangle Shape from the dropdown list.)
3. Click and drag a rectangle that covers your entire slide and extends past its edges.
4. Double-click on the rectangle and in the Format AutoShape dialog box, click on the Colors And Lines tab. (In 2007, on the Drawing Tools ribbon’s Format tab, go to the Shape Styles group to adjust the fill and line formats.)
5. Set the Color to White, the Transparency to 99%, and the Line Color to No Line. Click OK.
6. Right-click on the rectangle again and select Order | Bring To Front (Bring To Front in 2007).

You now have an invisible AutoShape that covers your slide so users can’t click on the objects beneath it. Keep in mind that this is a quick and easy way of preventing accidental alterations — determined users can simply delete the AutoShape and access the objects below it. For more secure protection, consider passwörd protecting the file.