Add and edit master slides in Keynote on iPad
The slide layouts used in each Keynote theme are based on master slides. When you want to add a slide to your presentation that has particular elements—such as a title and subtitle, a bulleted list, or an image—you select the slide layout that most resembles the layout you want, then you replace the placeholder elements and make other changes as necessary. Only the slide in your presentation is changed; the master slide remains in its original state.
If you add new images, text, and other objects to a master, these objects become part of the slide background and aren’t editable in your presentation. If you want text, shapes, or images on a master slide to be editable in your presentation, you must add them as placeholders to the master slide.
You can make the same kinds of changes to a master slide that you make to a regular slide—for example, modify the appearance of text, change the slide background, and change the size of the images. The changes appear on every slide in the presentation that’s based on that master.
Add a new master slide
Tap any blank area on a slide, then tap Edit Master Slide.
Tap
at the bottom of the slide navigator, then tap to select an existing master slide with a layout similar to the layout you want.If you don’t see the slide navigator, tap Master Slides in the top-left corner of the screen.
Type a name for the new master slide, then tap Done.
Modify the slide however you like by adding text, images, shapes, placeholders, and other objects.
See “Add text and media placeholders,” below.
When you’re done editing, tap Done.
Add text and media placeholders
Tap the background of any slide (so that nothing is selected), then tap Edit Master Slide.
Tap to select the master slide you want to edit.
Do one of the following:
Create a text placeholder: Add a text box or add a shape.
Create a media placeholder: Add an image or add a video.
Change the item’s appearance however you like and drag it where you want it on the slide.
Tap to select the object you added, tap
, then tap Style.Scroll down, then turn on Define as Text Placeholder or Define as Media Placeholder.
If you want slides based on this master to allow objects to be layered under master objects, tap the background of the slide (so that nothing is selected), tap
, then turn on “Allow Layering.”To learn more about layers, see Layer, group, and lock objects in Keynote on iPad.
When you’re done editing, tap Done.
Placeholders are automatically tagged according to type. The tags “tell” the content where to go when you apply a different master to a slide. For example, an image that’s in a placeholder with the tag “Media” is automatically added to a placeholder from the new master that also has the tag “Media.”
To change a tag, select the placeholder, tap , tap Style, then tap Tag. Delete the existing tag, then type your own.
Add an object placeholder for a table, chart, or image gallery
A placeholder you can add a table, chart, or image gallery to is called an object placeholder. You can add only one object placeholder to a master slide.
Tap a blank area on any slide, then tap Edit Master Slide.
Tap to select the master slide you want to edit.
Tap
, then turn on Object Placeholder.Resize the placeholder and position it where you want.
The first table, chart, or image gallery you add to any slide based on this master assumes the placeholder’s size and position.
If you want slides based on this master to allow objects to be layered under master objects, tap the background of the slide (so that nothing is selected), tap
, then turn on “Allow Layering.”When you’re done editing, tap Done.
Delete a master slide
Tap a blank area on any slide, then tap Edit Master Slide.
Tap to select the master slide you want to delete, tap it again, then tap Delete.
If slides in the presentation use this master slide, choose a new master slide for those slides in the dialog that appears, then tap Choose.
Tap Done.