Change PowerPoint units from inches to centimeters and vice versa

PowerPoint 2016
PowerPoint is using local Windows settings to show grid spacing, figure sizes, etc. This can be an issue if you prepare the presentation for different or multiple locales. Fortunately, you can temporarily change the measurement units if you have strict style guide requirements.

When you work with PowerPoint rulers or gridlines, you can see different units:

Grid and Guides inches in PowerPoint 365    or   Grid and Guides centimeters in PowerPoint 365

Or when you format any picture, shape, etc.:

Size group inches in PowerPoint 365    or   Size group centimeters in PowerPoint 365

If you need to change measurement units, you need to make changes in Control Panel in your Windows system. See how to change measurement settings from inches to centimeters and vice versa.

Note: PowerPoint should be restarted to use new measurement settings.

See also this tip in French: Comment changer les unités PowerPoint de pouces en centimètres et vice versa.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to ask OfficeToolTips team.

See Also

Changing the autosaving path

Changing the autosaving path

By default, all files in PowerPoint (and all of the Office applications) are saved to Documents folder or library (or My Documents under Windows XP) for the current user.
Each user has his or her own version of this folder, so that each person's documents are kept separate depending on who is logged in to the PC.
Embed fonts to view presentation on different PCs

Embed fonts to view presentation on different PCs

Sometimes you want to show your presentation on a different computer, and that computer does not have the same fonts as your PC.
To display that presentation correctly, you should embed the fonts in your presentation so that the desired fonts will be available on the other PC.
Prepare the presentation for printing

Prepare the presentation for printing

If you plan to print your presentation in black and white (sometimes it is cheaper and even more informative then printing in color), you should check how it will look like without color.