How to access "AutoFit Options" when creating ppt text (PowerPoint for Mac)

Question

How to access "AutoFit Options" when creating ppt text (PowerPoint for Mac)

Dr Charles M Monsma 0

How do I access the AutoFit Options control? AI suggested it would appear when resizing text, but it is not visible to me.

Stefan Blom 351.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-08-21T18:02:22.12+00:00

Are you trying to set options for (the text in) a text box?
Ruby Nguyen 1,565 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-23T21:08:17.13+00:00

Hi Dr Charles,

I hope you're having a good week.

I'm just checking in to see if there have been any updates on the issue. I hope things are moving in the right direction and that a resolution is near.

Whenever you have an update, I'd be grateful if you could let me know.

Thanks again for your time.

2 answers

Your answer

Stefan Blom 351.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-08-21T18:02:22.12+00:00

Are you trying to set options for (the text in) a text box?
Ruby Nguyen 1,565 Reputation points Independent Advisor

2026-08-23T21:08:17.13+00:00

Hi Dr Charles,

I hope you're having a good week.

I'm just checking in to see if there have been any updates on the issue. I hope things are moving in the right direction and that a resolution is near.

Whenever you have an update, I'd be grateful if you could let me know.

Thanks again for your time.

Answer 1

Good day Dr Charles,

The AutoFit Options control doesn't appear when you resize text. It only shows in the lower left corner of a content placeholder when the text exceeds the available space. This control isn't available for a manually inserted text box.

I recommend following the steps provided in the AI answer, as they are the correct steps for accessing and using this feature.

If the control still doesn't appear after following those steps, please let me know and share a screenshot of your current screen so I can take a closer look and assist further.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

If you have any extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in the forum documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Answer 2

The AutoFit Options control appears only when all of these are true:

The text is in a placeholder, not a manually drawn text box.
The placeholder is being overfilled with text.
The control appears at the lower-left corner of the placeholder box.

To access it:

Click inside the slide’s body text placeholder.
Type or paste enough text so the placeholder starts to overflow.
Look at the lower-left corner of that placeholder for AutoFit Options.
Select one of these options:
- Split Text Between Two Slides
- Continue on a New Slide
- AutoFit Text
- Stop Fitting Text
- Change to two columns

If the control is not visible, the most likely cause is that the text is in a text box. PowerPoint shows AutoFit Options only for body text in a placeholder.

If the goal is to make text fit in a text box or shape instead, use:

Right-click the border of the shape or text box.
Select Format Shape.
In Format Shape → Size & Properties → Text Box, choose:
- Resize shape to fit text, or
- Shrink text on overflow

If the goal is specifically to split overflowing text across slides and the text is not in a placeholder, cut and paste the overflow text onto another slide manually. In PowerPoint for the web, automated splitting between slides is not supported.