How to Highlight Part of a Slide in PowerPoint: Every Method Compared

To highlight part of a slide in PowerPoint, you can use an emphasis animation, a transparent shape, a duplicate slide with a cut-out, a Morph transition between two such slides, the free PowerPointLabs add-in, the laser pointer and pen, or Presenter View’s zoom. There is also SparkSpotlight, which builds the spotlight effect in PowerPoint with one click per element. Which one fits depends on how many points you have, whether the slide will change, and whether you present on a Mac.

The methods at a glance

Method	Time per point	Survives slide edits	Works on Mac	Needs add-in to present
Emphasis animation	One effect per object, ordered in the Animation Pane	Yes, the effect stays with the object	Yes	No
Transparent shape	One overlay to draw and format	No, adjust it if the layout moves	Yes	No
Duplicate slide with cut-out	One duplicate and one cut-out	No, each copy is edited by hand	Yes	No
Morph spotlight	Same as the cut-out, plus a transition	No, each copy is edited by hand	Yes (version 15.19 or newer)	No, but PowerPoint 2016 without updates plays a Fade
PowerPointLabs Create Spotlight	Draw a shape, then one click	No, delete the spotlight slide and run it again	Not documented; its installation steps cover Windows	No, the spotlight is a new slide
Laser pointer, pen, Presenter View zoom	Nothing to build, done live	Not applicable	Yes	No
SparkSpotlight	One click per element	Yes, click Rebuild this slide	Yes (adding needs 16.105 or newer)	No

1. Emphasis animation

Select the object, then choose Animations > Advanced Animation > Add Animation and pick an effect from the Emphasis group. Microsoft lists Emphasis as one of four kinds of animation effect, alongside Entrance, Exit and Motion Paths.

It draws the eye to the object, but it does not dim anything else, and every point needs its own animation, ordered in the Animation Pane. It suits one or two points on a slide you keep editing.

2. A transparent shape over the slide

Draw a rectangle that covers the slide, fill it with a dark colour, and drag the Transparency slider in the Format Shape pane’s Fill options until the slide shows through. Put the element you want to keep bright above the rectangle in the stacking order, and everything else sits under the dim layer.

You build one overlay per point, and any change to the layout means adjusting each one. It suits a single, fixed highlight.

3. A duplicate slide with a cut-out

Right-click the slide’s thumbnail and choose Duplicate Slide.
Draw a rectangle covering the whole slide, and a shape over the area you want to keep bright.
Select the rectangle first, then the shape. On the Shape Format tab, in the Insert Shapes group, choose Merge Shapes > Subtract. Microsoft describes the result as the first shape minus the area where the two overlapped, and notes that the order you select in can change the options you see. If the result is wrong, start again with the other shape first.
Fill the cut-out rectangle with a dark colour and set its transparency.
Repeat on another duplicate for each further point.

Every duplicate is a copy, so an edit to the original means repeating the edit on each one. The cut-out can be any shape, which is why it can frame one point on a chart.

4. Morph spotlight

Put two of those cut-out slides in a row, with the cut-out in a different place on the second, and apply the Morph transition to the second slide. PowerPoint glides the spotlight from one point to the next. Morph needs two slides with at least one object in common. It is available in Microsoft 365, PowerPoint 2021 and 2019, and PowerPoint for the web; PowerPoint 2016 without the required updates plays a Fade instead.

The limits are the cut-out’s, plus more slides. The full walkthrough is in The Morph Spotlight Effect in PowerPoint.

5. PowerPointLabs Create Spotlight

PowerPointLabs is an open-source plug-in whose site says it works with PowerPoint 2010 and above and is free after registration. Create Spotlight darkens everything except a region you choose. Draw a shape over the area, select it, go to the PowerPointLabs tab and click Create Spotlight. It creates a new slide with the effect, and you can adjust the transparency of the darkened area and the softness of its edges. If you do not like the result, change the settings, delete the spotlight slide and run it again.

It is one click after you draw the shape. Each spotlight is a new slide, a copy of the original, and the installation steps on its site cover Windows only, so check before relying on it on a Mac.

6. Laser pointer, pen and Presenter View zoom

In slide show on Windows, press Ctrl+L, or hold Ctrl and drag with the left mouse button, to get the laser pointer. On a Mac, click the pen button at the lower left and choose Laser Pointer. The dot is red by default, with green and blue also available, and by default it hides itself after three seconds without movement. The pen and highlighter draw ink, and at the end of the show PowerPoint asks whether to keep or discard it. In Presenter View, Zoom into slide lets you view a detail up close.

Nothing needs building, and it works on any slide. But it is live and by hand, and the rest of the slide stays as bright as before. For what the audience sees on Teams and Zoom, read How to Point at Your Slide on Teams and Zoom.

7. SparkSpotlight

Select an element, type a key point and click Add spotlight. In slide show, click the element: the slide dims to 85% dark, the element stays bright inside a white ring, and a white card shows your title and key point. Click anywhere to close it and the whole slide returns. After you change the slide, click Rebuild this slide.

Adding spotlights needs Microsoft 365 PowerPoint on Windows (version 2601 or later) or Mac (16.105 or later). Presenting works in any PowerPoint on Windows or Mac. Spotlights open with a mouse click or a tap, and a clicker’s Next button continues the deck. If a slide has its own transition other than None or Fade, it replays when a spotlight closes.

An honest note: one point inside a chart

For one point inside a chart or a picture, the manual cut-out methods (a Merge Shapes cut-out, Morph, PowerPointLabs) do what SparkSpotlight version 1 does not yet: they frame an area. SparkSpotlight lights whole elements. To stress one point on a chart, draw a small shape over it and spotlight the shape; the chart itself stays dimmed. Highlighting an area is planned, with no date.

Which method should you use?

One point on a slide that will not change: an emphasis animation or a transparent shape.
One point inside a chart or a picture: a cut-out or PowerPointLabs.
Many points on one slide, and the slide may change: SparkSpotlight.
A live question in the room: the laser pointer.

Frequently asked questions

What is the quickest way to highlight one thing on a slide? For one point, an emphasis animation, a transparent shape or the laser pointer is quickest, and none of them needs anything installed.

Can I dim the rest of a slide without an add-in? Yes. Draw a rectangle over the slide, cut the area you want lit out of it with Merge Shapes > Subtract, and set the transparency of what is left.

Is PowerPointLabs free? Its site says you can register for free to get the installation bundle, and the project is open source under GPLv2.

Does Morph work on a Mac? Yes. Microsoft lists PowerPoint for Microsoft 365 for Mac, version 15.19 or newer, for creating and playing Morph.

Can SparkSpotlight highlight one point on a chart? Not yet. Version 1 spotlights whole elements. To stress one point, draw a small shape over it and spotlight the shape; the chart stays dimmed. Highlighting an area is planned, with no date.

Do I need SparkSpotlight to present the deck? No. Anyone can present or view a finished deck in PowerPoint on Windows or Mac. Adding spotlights needs Microsoft 365.

Last verified: September 2026. PowerPoint’s menus change between versions, so check the paths above against your own version.