Missing pixel units and bulk slide layout editing in Keynote

> Why aren’t pixels available as a unit option?

Pixels don't make a lot of sense in Keynote because the final presentation will be scaled to the output device. That could be your laptop screen, an iPad, a 1080P 55" TV, or a 4K 300" projection screen, or a 100 ft video wall.All that is relevant is proportions.

The default measurement option is points, and if you type in some other unit (e.g. "3 cm" or "2 in") it gets converted to points.

100px is a VERY different physical dimension on a desktop monitor vs. a TV or projector.

> It would also be extremely useful to have the ability to edit multiple slide layouts at once, such as updating footers or making color changes across a deck. Doing these one by one is inefficient and error-prone.

You mean by some kind of slide template thing, as is built into Keynote?

Every Keynote slide is based on a template. You can view them via View -> Edit Slide Layouts where you'll see the templates in this theme - each theme typically has several, such as 'Title', 'Agenda', 'Bullets', etc.

Every slide in your presentation will be based on one of these templates, and changing the template slides will automatically apply those changes to corresponding slides in your presentation.

Maybe I'm missing something...

> When designing precise UI-style layouts or pixel-aligned assets, pixels are a practical unit.

Except... the exact same slide, in the exact same window, will take up a different number of pixels when I drag the window between my MacBook Pro screen (254 ppi) and my Studio Display (218 ppi). Same window, same slide, but '96 px' is a different physical dimension.

Positioning something 100 pixels from the left side of the MacBook Pro screen will be in a different relative position from something positioned 100 pixels from the left side of the Studio Display.

How can pixels be practical when it varies based on the device you're using? Points are consistent.

If I have two objects on my slide and they are both positioned at x = 96 pt then I know they're aligned, no? Regardless of the display in use.

Arguably, points are more relevant than pixels. The slide layout is based on points (Inspector -> Document -> Slide Size), with a 'typical' slide being 1920 x 1080 points.

In Keynote, what's relevant is the relative dimension based on the slide size, so my 96 pt is exactly 10% of the overall width of the slide, regardless of the display density.

If your work truly demands 200+ PPI accuracy, then maybe Keynote isn't the right app.

> updating footers or colors across all layouts in a theme without having to open and adjust each individual layout. Keynote currently requires updating each master separately, which slows down larger projects.

That's true, but even then, changing a dozen slide layouts is easier than 100 individual slides. I'm just not sure how it would work from a user interface standpoint.

Note, though, that Keynote is substantially scriptable, so it may be possible to script a solution if this is enough of a headache for you.

Like the other two Apple applications (e.g. Pages, Numbers), Keynote's application menu has a Provide Keynote Feedback that goes directly to that product development team. You can request new features on that submission. This is the only means that the product team will ever see user feedback as no Apple employees participate on these user-supported, public communities.

Even the free LibreOffice's Impress presentation tool has no pixel measurement. It has these:

I would look in the Mac App Store for a free application (ideally without backend optional paid features) that allows you to prototype pixel based layout.

Back when I was doing web design, there were fee-based tools for this purpose, but I also used a programmer's editor to enter the HTML, CSS, JS content while leaving the HTML open in a browser, and periodically refreshing the browser to evolve the solution. Crude but effective way to prototype to final design.

Or with the introduction of the entirely free Affinity Studio, one could design with pixels in Designer and export in a plethora of formats.