Change PowerPoint's Measurement System from Inches to Cms or Vice Versa by Changing Your Control Panel Settings
by Avantix Learning Team | Updated April 6, 2021
Applies to: Microsoft® PowerPoint® 2013, 2016, 2019 and 365 (Windows)
When you're working on your slide decks in PowerPoint, the Ruler and various dialog boxes or task panes (such as picture or object size) display in inches or centimetres (cm). If you want to change your measurement system from inches to centimetres or vice versa, you'll need to change your control panel settings for your device. Unfortunately, unlike Microsoft Word, you can't change the measurement system directly in PowerPoint.
Below is the Control Panel in Windows 10:
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Changing PowerPoint's Measurement System in Windows 10
To change PowerPoint's measurement system in Windows 10:
- Close PowerPoint.
- Click Start on the bottom left, type Control Panel in the search box and press Enter. The Control Panel displays in Windows 10.
- In the Control Panel, click Clock, Language and Region. A dialog box appears.
- Click Region. A dialog box appears.
- Click Additional settings. The Customize Format dialog box appears.
- Under Measurement system, select Metric if you want your measurements in centimetres or U.S. if you want your measurements in inches.
- Click OK twice.
- Start PowerPoint. The Ruler, dialog boxes and task panes will now display measurements in the system you chose.
Below is the Customize Format dialog box in the Control Panel:
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More resources
How to Turn Off Automatic Text Resizing in PowerPoint
10 Ways to Compress PowerPoint Presentations to Reduce File Size
How to Quickly Remove All Speaker Notes in a PowerPoint Presentation
How to Crop an Image into a Circle in PowerPoint (Crop to Shape Method)
How to Change the Background of PowerPoint Slides to a Color, Gradient or Picture
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Microsoft PowerPoint: Intermediate / Advanced
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Microsoft PowerPoint: Animations Bootcamp
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