How to Make a Calendar in PowerPoint

Whether making a record of your days is a labor of love or you just can’t find something in the generic collections that start filling stores around the winter holidays, creating a custom calendar in Microsoft PowerPoint takes just about the same amount of effort as setting up the presentations you already create. Stored within the PowerPoint template collection are a variety of calendars, all which you can personalize with your own dates to remember and designs that will keep you going throughout the year. With a PowerPoint calendar, you’re sure to see the “point” each day.

Launch Microsoft PowerPoint. Click the “File” tab. Click “New.”

Click the “Calendars” button on the main templates screen. Double-click the file folder icon with the year for the calendar. Note that the current version of PowerPoint dictates what years show. For example, PowerPoint 2010 offers calendars for 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Scroll through the available calendar templates. All templates are customizable, so double-click one that best suits your requirements. After a few moments, the calendar opens with January showing in the main portion of the PowerPoint workspace and the 12 months showing as slides running down the slide deck.

Press the “Page Down” button to scroll to the first month to customize it, or leave January in the main work window.

Click a day on the calendar with a “Click to add text” text box. Type the calendar information, such as “Finance Meeting” or “Interview.”

Add all calendar information, including appointments, holidays and special occasions, per your requirements. Use the “Page Down” and “Page Up” buttons or the scroll bar to move through the months.

Add images to the calendar, such as clip art that features holiday designs, by clicking the “Insert” tab. Click the “Clip Art” button below the tab. Search for a term, such as “pumpkins,” “American flag” or “balloons” and double-click one to add it to a date on the calendar. Repeat as desired. Another way to add images to the calendar is by clicking the “Picture” button, also on the “Insert” tab. Browse to a picture such as a logo or person’s face, and double-click it.

Click the “Design” tab on the top of the workspace. Scroll through the “Themes” section of the ribbon and click a different design to change the calendar’s preset template appearance.

Click the “File” tab. Click “Save As.” Type a name for the calendar file and click the “Save” button.