At this point, we've previewed a completed slideshow and created a new, blank presentation with title and bullets, concentrating on text. Obviously, this text presentation is far from snappy—in fact, it's downright ugly.
In this hour, we dress it up so that we can take it out. To do that, we have to differentiate between three main design choices:
Backgrounds
Color schemes
Design templates
Each of these choices has its uses and attributes. What's nice about PowerPoint 2003 is that you can apply these design options to one, numerous, or all the slides in your presentation
Using Backgrounds
Backgrounds are the easiest way to change the look of a slide and they can be applied without opening a task pane. To change the background of one or more slides in Normal view, select Format, Background. If Background isn't immediately available, click the drop-down arrow on the menu. The Background dialog box pops up as shown in Figure
Changing the Background Color
Now click the drop-down arrow on the dialog box to choose from among eight automatic colors or click More Colors for a greater selection, as shown in Figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2. Clicking the drop-down arrow enables you to choose More Colors or Apply Fill Effects.
Figure 5.3 shows the Standard view under More Colors. Selecting the Custom tab enables you to select colors by their numerical RGB values.
Figure 5.3. The Standard color panel (shown) gives you a color wheel.
When you select a color from the More Colors color wheel and click OK, that color is reflected in the Background dialog box (see Figure 5.4).
Figure 5.4. With your color selections made, they're reflected in the preview area of the Background dialog box.
When you select a new color in More Colors, it's added to the eight automatic colors immediately available from the drop-down arrow.
With the chosen color showing in the Background window, you can
Click Apply to All to apply this color as a background to all slides in the presentation.
Click Apply to apply this color as a background to the slide currently showing in Normal view. Or, if you're in Slide Sorter, you can click Apply to apply this background to the slides that you've selected.
Click Preview to see how the color background will change the slide.
Click Cancel to undo the preview effect and select another color.
5.1.
Changing the Background Color
Now click the drop-down arrow on the dialog box to choose from among eight automatic colors or click More Colors for a greater selection, as shown in Figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2. Clicking the drop-down arrow enables you to choose More Colors or Apply Fill Effects.
Figure 5.3 shows the Standard view under More Colors. Selecting the Custom tab enables you to select colors by their numerical RGB values.
Figure 5.3. The Standard color panel (shown) gives you a color wheel.
When you select a color from the More Colors color wheel and click OK, that color is reflected in the Background dialog box (see Figure 5.4).
Figure 5.4. With your color selections made, they're reflected in the preview area of the Background dialog box.
When you select a new color in More Colors, it's added to the eight automatic colors immediately available from the drop-down arrow.
Creating a Fill Effect
Although a simple background color is nice, a mixture of colors can create an even more interesting effect. PowerPoint enables you to add a blend of two colors over their spectrum, known as a gradient effect, or put images on the slide background.
To select a fill effect, click the Colors drop-down arrow again, and select Fill Effects, as shown in Figure 5.5.
Figure 5.5. Adding a fill effect from the Background dialog box enables you to create a gradient or another more sophisticated background.
The Fill Effects dialog box provides four tabbed choices: Gradient, Texture, Pattern, and Picture.
In the Gradient (default) tab, you can select two main colors, and determine the direction in which the blend is applied (see Figure 5.6).
Figure 5.6. Creating a gradient is simply choosing two harmonious colors and deciding the direction in which they should blend or a shading style.
If you plan to output 35mm slides or are presenting to an audience that might be used to conventional slides of this type, a gradient effect will match their visual expectations and probably make them comfortable with your design choice.
The Texture and Pattern tabs enable you to scroll through libraries of possible backgrounds, including some nice marble and stone options, as shown in Figure 5.7.
Figure 5.7. Marble textures are among the many textures that you can apply to a background—or you can select a pattern. Click Other Texture for more options.
If you've scanned or acquired an image you want to apply to create your own background, you use the last tab: Picture. When you click Select Picture, shown in Figure 5.9, you must locate an image file in a folder on your hard drive and click Insert, as shown in Figure 5.8.
Figure 5.9. You can see a preview of the image in the Fill Effects Picture tab to decide whether it will work as a background.
Figure 5.8. Clicking Select Picture in the Picture tab of Fill Effects enables you to insert any image that you can locate on your hard drive into the background of your slide.
Now the picture enters the Insert Picture area. Clicking to lock the aspect ratio makes sure that the image won't be distorted when viewed at full-screen size (see Figure 5.9).
When you click OK, the picture is set in the background area, where it can be applied to the current or all slides, as shown in Figure 5.10.
Figure 5.10. After you apply the picture to become your background, it might not work with the color of your text. You can preview this in the Background dialog box.
After you apply a color or fill effect to the background of your slides, notice that any text in the title or bullets is unaffected by your choice. It's now up to you to change its font color to work with the new background.
For best results, choose or create an image with the same resolution in which you expect to display your PowerPoint show: 800x600 or 1024x768. Shrinking your images to a smaller size should be no problem—just lock your aspect ratio—but stretching could be disappointing.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Applying Designs and Color Schemes
At this point, we've previewed a completed slideshow and created a new, blank presentation with title and bullets, concentrating on text. Obviously, this text presentation is far from snappy—in fact, it's downright ugly.
In this hour, we dress it up so that we can take it out. To do that, we have to differentiate between three main design choices:
Backgrounds
Color schemes
Design templates
Each of these choices has its uses and attributes. What's nice about PowerPoint 2003 is that you can apply these design options to one, numerous, or all the slides in your presentation
Using Backgrounds
Backgrounds are the easiest way to change the look of a slide and they can be applied without opening a task pane. To change the background of one or more slides in Normal view, select Format, Background. If Background isn't immediately available, click the drop-down arrow on the menu. The Background dialog box pops up as shown in Figure
Changing the Background Color
Now click the drop-down arrow on the dialog box to choose from among eight automatic colors or click More Colors for a greater selection, as shown in Figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2. Clicking the drop-down arrow enables you to choose More Colors or Apply Fill Effects.
Figure 5.3 shows the Standard view under More Colors. Selecting the Custom tab enables you to select colors by their numerical RGB values.
Figure 5.3. The Standard color panel (shown) gives you a color wheel.
When you select a color from the More Colors color wheel and click OK, that color is reflected in the Background dialog box (see Figure 5.4).
Figure 5.4. With your color selections made, they're reflected in the preview area of the Background dialog box.
When you select a new color in More Colors, it's added to the eight automatic colors immediately available from the drop-down arrow.
With the chosen color showing in the Background window, you can
Click Apply to All to apply this color as a background to all slides in the presentation.
Click Apply to apply this color as a background to the slide currently showing in Normal view. Or, if you're in Slide Sorter, you can click Apply to apply this background to the slides that you've selected.
Click Preview to see how the color background will change the slide.
Click Cancel to undo the preview effect and select another color.
5.1.
Changing the Background Color
Now click the drop-down arrow on the dialog box to choose from among eight automatic colors or click More Colors for a greater selection, as shown in Figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2. Clicking the drop-down arrow enables you to choose More Colors or Apply Fill Effects.
Figure 5.3 shows the Standard view under More Colors. Selecting the Custom tab enables you to select colors by their numerical RGB values.
Figure 5.3. The Standard color panel (shown) gives you a color wheel.
When you select a color from the More Colors color wheel and click OK, that color is reflected in the Background dialog box (see Figure 5.4).
Figure 5.4. With your color selections made, they're reflected in the preview area of the Background dialog box.
When you select a new color in More Colors, it's added to the eight automatic colors immediately available from the drop-down arrow.
Creating a Fill Effect
Although a simple background color is nice, a mixture of colors can create an even more interesting effect. PowerPoint enables you to add a blend of two colors over their spectrum, known as a gradient effect, or put images on the slide background.
To select a fill effect, click the Colors drop-down arrow again, and select Fill Effects, as shown in Figure 5.5.
Figure 5.5. Adding a fill effect from the Background dialog box enables you to create a gradient or another more sophisticated background.
The Fill Effects dialog box provides four tabbed choices: Gradient, Texture, Pattern, and Picture.
In the Gradient (default) tab, you can select two main colors, and determine the direction in which the blend is applied (see Figure 5.6).
Figure 5.6. Creating a gradient is simply choosing two harmonious colors and deciding the direction in which they should blend or a shading style.
If you plan to output 35mm slides or are presenting to an audience that might be used to conventional slides of this type, a gradient effect will match their visual expectations and probably make them comfortable with your design choice.
The Texture and Pattern tabs enable you to scroll through libraries of possible backgrounds, including some nice marble and stone options, as shown in Figure 5.7.
Figure 5.7. Marble textures are among the many textures that you can apply to a background—or you can select a pattern. Click Other Texture for more options.
If you've scanned or acquired an image you want to apply to create your own background, you use the last tab: Picture. When you click Select Picture, shown in Figure 5.9, you must locate an image file in a folder on your hard drive and click Insert, as shown in Figure 5.8.
Figure 5.9. You can see a preview of the image in the Fill Effects Picture tab to decide whether it will work as a background.
Figure 5.8. Clicking Select Picture in the Picture tab of Fill Effects enables you to insert any image that you can locate on your hard drive into the background of your slide.
Now the picture enters the Insert Picture area. Clicking to lock the aspect ratio makes sure that the image won't be distorted when viewed at full-screen size (see Figure 5.9).
When you click OK, the picture is set in the background area, where it can be applied to the current or all slides, as shown in Figure 5.10.
Figure 5.10. After you apply the picture to become your background, it might not work with the color of your text. You can preview this in the Background dialog box.
After you apply a color or fill effect to the background of your slides, notice that any text in the title or bullets is unaffected by your choice. It's now up to you to change its font color to work with the new background.
For best results, choose or create an image with the same resolution in which you expect to display your PowerPoint show: 800x600 or 1024x768. Shrinking your images to a smaller size should be no problem—just lock your aspect ratio—but stretching could be disappointing.
In this hour, we dress it up so that we can take it out. To do that, we have to differentiate between three main design choices:
Backgrounds
Color schemes
Design templates
Each of these choices has its uses and attributes. What's nice about PowerPoint 2003 is that you can apply these design options to one, numerous, or all the slides in your presentation
Using Backgrounds
Backgrounds are the easiest way to change the look of a slide and they can be applied without opening a task pane. To change the background of one or more slides in Normal view, select Format, Background. If Background isn't immediately available, click the drop-down arrow on the menu. The Background dialog box pops up as shown in Figure
Changing the Background Color
Now click the drop-down arrow on the dialog box to choose from among eight automatic colors or click More Colors for a greater selection, as shown in Figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2. Clicking the drop-down arrow enables you to choose More Colors or Apply Fill Effects.
Figure 5.3 shows the Standard view under More Colors. Selecting the Custom tab enables you to select colors by their numerical RGB values.
Figure 5.3. The Standard color panel (shown) gives you a color wheel.
When you select a color from the More Colors color wheel and click OK, that color is reflected in the Background dialog box (see Figure 5.4).
Figure 5.4. With your color selections made, they're reflected in the preview area of the Background dialog box.
When you select a new color in More Colors, it's added to the eight automatic colors immediately available from the drop-down arrow.
With the chosen color showing in the Background window, you can
Click Apply to All to apply this color as a background to all slides in the presentation.
Click Apply to apply this color as a background to the slide currently showing in Normal view. Or, if you're in Slide Sorter, you can click Apply to apply this background to the slides that you've selected.
Click Preview to see how the color background will change the slide.
Click Cancel to undo the preview effect and select another color.
5.1.
Changing the Background Color
Now click the drop-down arrow on the dialog box to choose from among eight automatic colors or click More Colors for a greater selection, as shown in Figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2. Clicking the drop-down arrow enables you to choose More Colors or Apply Fill Effects.
Figure 5.3 shows the Standard view under More Colors. Selecting the Custom tab enables you to select colors by their numerical RGB values.
Figure 5.3. The Standard color panel (shown) gives you a color wheel.
When you select a color from the More Colors color wheel and click OK, that color is reflected in the Background dialog box (see Figure 5.4).
Figure 5.4. With your color selections made, they're reflected in the preview area of the Background dialog box.
When you select a new color in More Colors, it's added to the eight automatic colors immediately available from the drop-down arrow.
Creating a Fill Effect
Although a simple background color is nice, a mixture of colors can create an even more interesting effect. PowerPoint enables you to add a blend of two colors over their spectrum, known as a gradient effect, or put images on the slide background.
To select a fill effect, click the Colors drop-down arrow again, and select Fill Effects, as shown in Figure 5.5.
Figure 5.5. Adding a fill effect from the Background dialog box enables you to create a gradient or another more sophisticated background.
The Fill Effects dialog box provides four tabbed choices: Gradient, Texture, Pattern, and Picture.
In the Gradient (default) tab, you can select two main colors, and determine the direction in which the blend is applied (see Figure 5.6).
Figure 5.6. Creating a gradient is simply choosing two harmonious colors and deciding the direction in which they should blend or a shading style.
If you plan to output 35mm slides or are presenting to an audience that might be used to conventional slides of this type, a gradient effect will match their visual expectations and probably make them comfortable with your design choice.
The Texture and Pattern tabs enable you to scroll through libraries of possible backgrounds, including some nice marble and stone options, as shown in Figure 5.7.
Figure 5.7. Marble textures are among the many textures that you can apply to a background—or you can select a pattern. Click Other Texture for more options.
If you've scanned or acquired an image you want to apply to create your own background, you use the last tab: Picture. When you click Select Picture, shown in Figure 5.9, you must locate an image file in a folder on your hard drive and click Insert, as shown in Figure 5.8.
Figure 5.9. You can see a preview of the image in the Fill Effects Picture tab to decide whether it will work as a background.
Figure 5.8. Clicking Select Picture in the Picture tab of Fill Effects enables you to insert any image that you can locate on your hard drive into the background of your slide.
Now the picture enters the Insert Picture area. Clicking to lock the aspect ratio makes sure that the image won't be distorted when viewed at full-screen size (see Figure 5.9).
When you click OK, the picture is set in the background area, where it can be applied to the current or all slides, as shown in Figure 5.10.
Figure 5.10. After you apply the picture to become your background, it might not work with the color of your text. You can preview this in the Background dialog box.
After you apply a color or fill effect to the background of your slides, notice that any text in the title or bullets is unaffected by your choice. It's now up to you to change its font color to work with the new background.
For best results, choose or create an image with the same resolution in which you expect to display your PowerPoint show: 800x600 or 1024x768. Shrinking your images to a smaller size should be no problem—just lock your aspect ratio—but stretching could be disappointing.
Organizing with Outlines and Notes
The Importance of the Outline
As I noted, text we create in the title and bullet placeholders is directly reflected in the Outline panel, and you can just as easily add new text—for title or bullets—within the Outline panel.
There's no question that text is the intellectual skeleton of your presentation. Even if your presentation is composed entirely of images or even movies (options we'll investigate in the coming hours), you would probably organize them thematically using text, perhaps with an outline in Microsoft Word.
In most cases, you'll use PowerPoint to present important information—to persuade, teach, or inspire—and how you structure your presentation will be a large factor in the success of your project.
We've already seen how the Title slide sets the tone for your presentation. It's a good idea to use the Outline panel to at least conceptualize the following:
Introduction
Main concepts (substance of talk)
Beginning
Middle
End
Action items—what to take away—anticipated results
Summary—Close
As we'll see in the coming hours on content, clearly defining even these basic sections enables you to use other elements, such as tables, charts, images, and media, most effectively by putting them in the proper context.
Opening the Outline Panel
To make sure that it's available for you, click the tab at the top of Outline or Slides thumbnail. This gives you access to a hierarchical view of the titles and bullets within your slides in Outline view.
To be accessed in the Outline view, text must be in either a title or bullet placeholder. Text boxes are not included in the outline, as shown in Figure 4.1. To switch from the Slides panel to the Outline panel, click the Outline tab.
Accessing the Outlining Toolbar
To take full advantage of the Outline panel, you should open the Outlining toolbar. Select View, Toolbars, Outlining (refer to Figure 4.3). The Outlining toolbar pops up next to the Outline panel as shown in Figure 4.2
Working with the Outline Hierarchy
With the Outline panel open, you can begin to manipulate your key concepts as titles and bullets. You can create these elements and quickly generate new title and bullet slides.
One thing we haven't done so far is to create a sub-bullet. With your cursor in the text of one of the bullets, click the demote bullet arrow, as shown in Figure 4.4.
To promote the bullet back to a main bullet, click the Promote Bullet arrow. It returns to a first-level bullet. What do you suppose happens if you promote a first-level bullet? Let's try it.
If you thought that the bullet would become a title for a subsequent slide, you were right. Look at Figure 4.5
As you might have noticed, when a first-level bullet is promoted to a title in a new slide, subordinate bullets are not automatically promoted.
To get the subordinate bullets to be promoted in the proper levels, select and highlight multiple bullets and sub-bullets before clicking the Promote Bullet arrow.
To use the Outlining toolbar in this way, the cursor must be in the outline, but you can also demote and promote bullets directly within a slide (except that you can't promote to a new slide title).
You can also demote bullets in the outline or within a slide's bullet placeholder by pressing the Tab key. You can promote them by pressing Shift+Tab
As I noted, text we create in the title and bullet placeholders is directly reflected in the Outline panel, and you can just as easily add new text—for title or bullets—within the Outline panel.
There's no question that text is the intellectual skeleton of your presentation. Even if your presentation is composed entirely of images or even movies (options we'll investigate in the coming hours), you would probably organize them thematically using text, perhaps with an outline in Microsoft Word.
In most cases, you'll use PowerPoint to present important information—to persuade, teach, or inspire—and how you structure your presentation will be a large factor in the success of your project.
We've already seen how the Title slide sets the tone for your presentation. It's a good idea to use the Outline panel to at least conceptualize the following:
Introduction
Main concepts (substance of talk)
Beginning
Middle
End
Action items—what to take away—anticipated results
Summary—Close
As we'll see in the coming hours on content, clearly defining even these basic sections enables you to use other elements, such as tables, charts, images, and media, most effectively by putting them in the proper context.
Opening the Outline Panel
To make sure that it's available for you, click the tab at the top of Outline or Slides thumbnail. This gives you access to a hierarchical view of the titles and bullets within your slides in Outline view.
To be accessed in the Outline view, text must be in either a title or bullet placeholder. Text boxes are not included in the outline, as shown in Figure 4.1. To switch from the Slides panel to the Outline panel, click the Outline tab.
Accessing the Outlining Toolbar
To take full advantage of the Outline panel, you should open the Outlining toolbar. Select View, Toolbars, Outlining (refer to Figure 4.3). The Outlining toolbar pops up next to the Outline panel as shown in Figure 4.2
Working with the Outline Hierarchy
With the Outline panel open, you can begin to manipulate your key concepts as titles and bullets. You can create these elements and quickly generate new title and bullet slides.
One thing we haven't done so far is to create a sub-bullet. With your cursor in the text of one of the bullets, click the demote bullet arrow, as shown in Figure 4.4.
To promote the bullet back to a main bullet, click the Promote Bullet arrow. It returns to a first-level bullet. What do you suppose happens if you promote a first-level bullet? Let's try it.
If you thought that the bullet would become a title for a subsequent slide, you were right. Look at Figure 4.5
As you might have noticed, when a first-level bullet is promoted to a title in a new slide, subordinate bullets are not automatically promoted.
To get the subordinate bullets to be promoted in the proper levels, select and highlight multiple bullets and sub-bullets before clicking the Promote Bullet arrow.
To use the Outlining toolbar in this way, the cursor must be in the outline, but you can also demote and promote bullets directly within a slide (except that you can't promote to a new slide title).
You can also demote bullets in the outline or within a slide's bullet placeholder by pressing the Tab key. You can promote them by pressing Shift+Tab
Diving into PowerPoint
Returning to Our Presentation
We're going to continue working with the presentation we created with the AutoContent Wizard in the first hour. If you closed PowerPoint, you can return to the earlier presentation (as long as you saved it) after you open PowerPoint again.
Select File on the main menu, and click at the bottom of the panel where you can see your most recently saved files.
You can also select File, Open, or locate the file under all of your My Recent Documents by pressing the Windows button of your keyboard (between the Ctrl and Alt keys).
Now that we've created a basic presentation with text, let's spend a few minutes learning how to revise the wizard's generic content.
The fact is that for all the bells and whistles we might eventually add, the core of any presentation will probably be the main message: text. Therefore, creating and revising text is a great way to begin and to learn some of the more advanced aspects of the program.
If you view the presentation in the main window (Normal view), you can see the Outline (or Slides thumbnail) panel on the left and the Notes panel beneath the slide (see Figure 2.1). If you left off in the Slide Sorter view, double-click any slide to open it in Normal view.
Figure 2.1. By deleting or backspacing through the original slide title of Mission Statement, we can easily replace it with a new title: Goals and Objectives.
The first slide is the Title slide. It might also have a subtitle if you entered one into the wizard. Let's start with the second slide, which is the most common type: the Title and Bullet layout. Click it in the Slide or Outline panel, or press PgDn to go to the second slide
Changing Text in a Placeholder
Let's change the title from Mission Statement to Goals and Objectives. Notice that the placeholder itself is selected. We'll click inside the title placeholder and do one of several things to revise our text:
If we click at the beginning of the placeholder, we can press the Del key on the keyboard to erase the current text and type in our own.
If we click at the end of the placeholder, we can press the Backspace key on the keyboard to erase the text and type in our own.
We can also drag our cursor through the text to select it and then simply type our replacement text in its place. Or press the Del key on our keyboard to erase the text, and type in our own text.
To exit the placeholder when you're finished editing its text, do not press the Enter key. Doing so puts an extra line into the placeholder. Just click elsewhere on the slide or in PowerPoint.
Now that you've edited the title, take a look at the Outline panel on the left. If you happen to be in the Slides thumbnail panel, click the Outline tab in the left panel
Introducing the Outline Panel
Notice that for the slide you've just edited, the title in the Outline panel reflects the change you just made. The text Goals and Objectives has replaced Mission Statement.
You can edit the bullets in two ways:
Select the bullet placeholder within the slide and then edit the placeholder text
Make the change in the Outline panel and watch the text change in the slide
Bullets are different from titles in that they're a unit of separate concepts. To edit individual bullets, treat them as you did the title: either delete or backspace through them or drag through each one and replace the text. To add another bullet, use a carriage return (press the Enter key).
You can also make your text revisions in the Outline panel. To add another bullet, use a carriage return at the end of the previous bullet, as shown in Figure 2.2.
Figure 2.2. Text revisions using the Outline panel.
As you work in the Outline panel, you can drag through a line of text and overwrite it, or forward or backspace to delete and replace the text. Then you can add a new bullet with a carriage return.
At this point, you can also experiment with overcoming mistakes. If you mistype an entry or add a bullet in the wrong place, just press Ctrl+Z to undo the last revision you made. Doing so again and again reverses steps you took all the way back to 99 levels of undo (see Figure 2.3).
Figure 2.3. Clicking the Undo button or pressing Ctrl+Z reverses any mistake you just made.
To redo a step that you undid, press the key combination Ctrl+Y. Remember that you must undo and redo in the same sequence that the steps were originally performed.
In this way, you can quickly revise your AutoContent Wizard presentation by going through the titles and bullets and changing the content from the generic cues to your own pertinent information.
Creating a New Slide
Revising what's already there is a good start, but what about creating your own slides? There are three ways to add a new slide to your presentation:
On the main menu, select Insert, Slide
Click the New Slide icon above the task pane (see Figure 2.4)
Figure 2.4. Adding a new slide opens a new blank Title and Bullet slide and also accesses the Slide Layout task pane.
Press Ctrl+M
If you're a Microsoft Word user and are comfortable with Word's Outline view, you can select Send to PowerPoint under the File menu in Word, and automatically generate an outline containing a complete set of title and bullet slides in PowerPoint.
A new blank slide appears in Normal view, and the Slide Layout task pane springs into action on the right (see Figure 2.4).
The default layout is highlighted in the Layout task pane—that is, a Title and Bullet slide. We'll accept that layout for now and begin working with the new blank slide.
We're going to continue working with the presentation we created with the AutoContent Wizard in the first hour. If you closed PowerPoint, you can return to the earlier presentation (as long as you saved it) after you open PowerPoint again.
Select File on the main menu, and click at the bottom of the panel where you can see your most recently saved files.
You can also select File, Open, or locate the file under all of your My Recent Documents by pressing the Windows button of your keyboard (between the Ctrl and Alt keys).
Now that we've created a basic presentation with text, let's spend a few minutes learning how to revise the wizard's generic content.
The fact is that for all the bells and whistles we might eventually add, the core of any presentation will probably be the main message: text. Therefore, creating and revising text is a great way to begin and to learn some of the more advanced aspects of the program.
If you view the presentation in the main window (Normal view), you can see the Outline (or Slides thumbnail) panel on the left and the Notes panel beneath the slide (see Figure 2.1). If you left off in the Slide Sorter view, double-click any slide to open it in Normal view.
Figure 2.1. By deleting or backspacing through the original slide title of Mission Statement, we can easily replace it with a new title: Goals and Objectives.
The first slide is the Title slide. It might also have a subtitle if you entered one into the wizard. Let's start with the second slide, which is the most common type: the Title and Bullet layout. Click it in the Slide or Outline panel, or press PgDn to go to the second slide
Changing Text in a Placeholder
Let's change the title from Mission Statement to Goals and Objectives. Notice that the placeholder itself is selected. We'll click inside the title placeholder and do one of several things to revise our text:
If we click at the beginning of the placeholder, we can press the Del key on the keyboard to erase the current text and type in our own.
If we click at the end of the placeholder, we can press the Backspace key on the keyboard to erase the text and type in our own.
We can also drag our cursor through the text to select it and then simply type our replacement text in its place. Or press the Del key on our keyboard to erase the text, and type in our own text.
To exit the placeholder when you're finished editing its text, do not press the Enter key. Doing so puts an extra line into the placeholder. Just click elsewhere on the slide or in PowerPoint.
Now that you've edited the title, take a look at the Outline panel on the left. If you happen to be in the Slides thumbnail panel, click the Outline tab in the left panel
Introducing the Outline Panel
Notice that for the slide you've just edited, the title in the Outline panel reflects the change you just made. The text Goals and Objectives has replaced Mission Statement.
You can edit the bullets in two ways:
Select the bullet placeholder within the slide and then edit the placeholder text
Make the change in the Outline panel and watch the text change in the slide
Bullets are different from titles in that they're a unit of separate concepts. To edit individual bullets, treat them as you did the title: either delete or backspace through them or drag through each one and replace the text. To add another bullet, use a carriage return (press the Enter key).
You can also make your text revisions in the Outline panel. To add another bullet, use a carriage return at the end of the previous bullet, as shown in Figure 2.2.
Figure 2.2. Text revisions using the Outline panel.
As you work in the Outline panel, you can drag through a line of text and overwrite it, or forward or backspace to delete and replace the text. Then you can add a new bullet with a carriage return.
At this point, you can also experiment with overcoming mistakes. If you mistype an entry or add a bullet in the wrong place, just press Ctrl+Z to undo the last revision you made. Doing so again and again reverses steps you took all the way back to 99 levels of undo (see Figure 2.3).
Figure 2.3. Clicking the Undo button or pressing Ctrl+Z reverses any mistake you just made.
To redo a step that you undid, press the key combination Ctrl+Y. Remember that you must undo and redo in the same sequence that the steps were originally performed.
In this way, you can quickly revise your AutoContent Wizard presentation by going through the titles and bullets and changing the content from the generic cues to your own pertinent information.
Creating a New Slide
Revising what's already there is a good start, but what about creating your own slides? There are three ways to add a new slide to your presentation:
On the main menu, select Insert, Slide
Click the New Slide icon above the task pane (see Figure 2.4)
Figure 2.4. Adding a new slide opens a new blank Title and Bullet slide and also accesses the Slide Layout task pane.
Press Ctrl+M
If you're a Microsoft Word user and are comfortable with Word's Outline view, you can select Send to PowerPoint under the File menu in Word, and automatically generate an outline containing a complete set of title and bullet slides in PowerPoint.
A new blank slide appears in Normal view, and the Slide Layout task pane springs into action on the right (see Figure 2.4).
The default layout is highlighted in the Layout task pane—that is, a Title and Bullet slide. We'll accept that layout for now and begin working with the new blank slide.
Getting a Feel for PowerPoint
PowerPoint is the "should learn" program in Microsoft Office. You might have had to learn Word to write letters, or master Excel to plan your finances, or Outlook to plan your calendar activities and send email. But you're probably coming to PowerPoint because someone else in your line of work, very likely a competitor, is already using it effectively. Now it's time you got into the act.
In this first hour, we're going to learn
The different types of presentations
How to quickly create a presentation with a design and text
How to show a presentation
A bit about PowerPoint's look and interface
Presentation Types
Here are just a few of the possible types of PowerPoint presentations discussed in the next 24 hours:
A speaker-supporting slideshow. This can be controlled with a mouse to augment a presentation. This is perhaps the most common PowerPoint application, with the usual titles, charts, and other visual elements, and it will probably be projected on a screen to an audience.
You learn to make and show a presentation in a snap, and then add exciting components such as pictures, video, audio, and even Web content.
A self-running slideshow. This type of slideshow includes music or narration, and can be shown during a break to keep your audience interested (to raise funding or get some other response). This could also be used in a trade show kiosk to provide eye candy or information. If you have the right equipment, you can also record this slideshow to videotape for distribution.
An interactive slideshow. An interactive slideshow can be navigated by a user as a learning or promotional tool. With the new PowerPoint viewer in PowerPoint 2003, an interactive slideshow can be distributed on CD-ROM or even DVD to tell your story.
A full-color brochure. Instead of a desktop publishing program, you can easily print your PowerPoint slides in any standard or custom page size as a handout or flyer.
An interactive training presentation. Your show doesn't have to be linear—it can branch off to areas of interest expressed by your audience or even provide questions that other software tools can instantly tabulate in a database to educate an audience and provide instant feedback.
Conventional slides or overheads. As a backup, you can output your PowerPoint presentation to other media that might not be as exciting, but that make you more comfortable presenting in front of an audience.
An interactive Web site. PowerPoint 2003 makes it easier than ever to post your presentation online, or even broadcast it with active collaboration and participation over the Internet.
So, how do you actually create these different kinds of presentations? PowerPoint provides many different ways to proceed, but the key is to start the program and get comfortable with how it looks, works, and feels.
Getting Started with the AutoContent Wizard
Right off the bat, we're going to take an active tour of the program using one of its most useful components: the AutoContent Wizard.
When you launch PowerPoint, you'll see a set of menus and toolbars that should look familiar. As you see in Figure 1.1, they're very similar to those you find in the other Office programs.
PowerPoint shares many Standard and Formatting toolbar and menu items for text and other objects with its Microsoft Office cousins.
If you've upgraded from a previous version of Microsoft PowerPoint or Office, you might see a dialog box that prompts you to update your blank.pot (template) file. Click Yes to go on working in PowerPoint 2003.
You'll also see your first task pane. When you launch PowerPoint 2003, this will be the Getting Started task pane.
The Getting Started task pane will enable you to
Open previous presentations
Open previous presentations
Access online help and content
Create a new presentation
Access other task panes
Access the New Presentation task pane by clicking the Change Task Pane drop-down arrow in the upper corner of the Getting Started task pane (see Figures 1.2 and 1.3) and selecting it from the list.
Use the drop-down arrow at the top of the task pane window to change task panes.
The New Presentation task pane gives you access to the AutoContent Wizard and other templates to begin a new project.
In the New area at the top of the New Presentation task pane, you can see that you can start a new presentation in various ways:
From a blank presentation
From a design template
With the AutoContent Wizard
From an existing presentation
With the Photo Album Wizard
You can also download templates from the Microsoft Office and other presentation Web sites. We'll cover templates in more detail later in this book.
From any task pane, you can go back or forward to a previously viewed task pane by clicking the arrows at the top of the task pane.
Click the AutoContent Wizard to begin your exploration of PowerPoint 2003. When the wizard starts (see Figure 1.4), click Next to get a choice of presentation type or the categories of content you can use to begin your slideshow. They're broken down into general areas: General, Corporate, Projects, and Sales and Marketing. To see all the options, click All.
The AutoContent Wizard gives you quick access to design templates as well as generic content that you'll soon learn to revise for your own purposes.
You'll see complete presentations, including
Generic
Business Plan
Communicating Bad News
Human Resources Report
Brainstorming
Training
Financial Overview
Company Handbook
Group Home Page
Project Status Report(s)
Marketing Plan
Select a type of presentation you would like to explore (such as the Business Plan) and click Next.
If the template you choose isn't installed, try to install it by reinserting your Office setup disc, or simply choose another template.
In the next panel, you can see the presentation styles you can select. They reflect some of the types of presentations outlined earlier:
On Screen
Web
Black-and-white or color overheads
35mm slides
Select the default, On Screen, and click Next.
Fill in a title and a footer, as shown in Figure 1.5. Notice that the date and slide number in the footer have been added for you.
In this first hour, we're going to learn
The different types of presentations
How to quickly create a presentation with a design and text
How to show a presentation
A bit about PowerPoint's look and interface
Presentation Types
Here are just a few of the possible types of PowerPoint presentations discussed in the next 24 hours:
A speaker-supporting slideshow. This can be controlled with a mouse to augment a presentation. This is perhaps the most common PowerPoint application, with the usual titles, charts, and other visual elements, and it will probably be projected on a screen to an audience.
You learn to make and show a presentation in a snap, and then add exciting components such as pictures, video, audio, and even Web content.
A self-running slideshow. This type of slideshow includes music or narration, and can be shown during a break to keep your audience interested (to raise funding or get some other response). This could also be used in a trade show kiosk to provide eye candy or information. If you have the right equipment, you can also record this slideshow to videotape for distribution.
An interactive slideshow. An interactive slideshow can be navigated by a user as a learning or promotional tool. With the new PowerPoint viewer in PowerPoint 2003, an interactive slideshow can be distributed on CD-ROM or even DVD to tell your story.
A full-color brochure. Instead of a desktop publishing program, you can easily print your PowerPoint slides in any standard or custom page size as a handout or flyer.
An interactive training presentation. Your show doesn't have to be linear—it can branch off to areas of interest expressed by your audience or even provide questions that other software tools can instantly tabulate in a database to educate an audience and provide instant feedback.
Conventional slides or overheads. As a backup, you can output your PowerPoint presentation to other media that might not be as exciting, but that make you more comfortable presenting in front of an audience.
An interactive Web site. PowerPoint 2003 makes it easier than ever to post your presentation online, or even broadcast it with active collaboration and participation over the Internet.
So, how do you actually create these different kinds of presentations? PowerPoint provides many different ways to proceed, but the key is to start the program and get comfortable with how it looks, works, and feels.
Getting Started with the AutoContent Wizard
Right off the bat, we're going to take an active tour of the program using one of its most useful components: the AutoContent Wizard.
When you launch PowerPoint, you'll see a set of menus and toolbars that should look familiar. As you see in Figure 1.1, they're very similar to those you find in the other Office programs.
PowerPoint shares many Standard and Formatting toolbar and menu items for text and other objects with its Microsoft Office cousins.
If you've upgraded from a previous version of Microsoft PowerPoint or Office, you might see a dialog box that prompts you to update your blank.pot (template) file. Click Yes to go on working in PowerPoint 2003.
You'll also see your first task pane. When you launch PowerPoint 2003, this will be the Getting Started task pane.
The Getting Started task pane will enable you to
Open previous presentations
Open previous presentations
Access online help and content
Create a new presentation
Access other task panes
Access the New Presentation task pane by clicking the Change Task Pane drop-down arrow in the upper corner of the Getting Started task pane (see Figures 1.2 and 1.3) and selecting it from the list.
Use the drop-down arrow at the top of the task pane window to change task panes.
The New Presentation task pane gives you access to the AutoContent Wizard and other templates to begin a new project.
In the New area at the top of the New Presentation task pane, you can see that you can start a new presentation in various ways:
From a blank presentation
From a design template
With the AutoContent Wizard
From an existing presentation
With the Photo Album Wizard
You can also download templates from the Microsoft Office and other presentation Web sites. We'll cover templates in more detail later in this book.
From any task pane, you can go back or forward to a previously viewed task pane by clicking the arrows at the top of the task pane.
Click the AutoContent Wizard to begin your exploration of PowerPoint 2003. When the wizard starts (see Figure 1.4), click Next to get a choice of presentation type or the categories of content you can use to begin your slideshow. They're broken down into general areas: General, Corporate, Projects, and Sales and Marketing. To see all the options, click All.
The AutoContent Wizard gives you quick access to design templates as well as generic content that you'll soon learn to revise for your own purposes.
You'll see complete presentations, including
Generic
Business Plan
Communicating Bad News
Human Resources Report
Brainstorming
Training
Financial Overview
Company Handbook
Group Home Page
Project Status Report(s)
Marketing Plan
Select a type of presentation you would like to explore (such as the Business Plan) and click Next.
If the template you choose isn't installed, try to install it by reinserting your Office setup disc, or simply choose another template.
In the next panel, you can see the presentation styles you can select. They reflect some of the types of presentations outlined earlier:
On Screen
Web
Black-and-white or color overheads
35mm slides
Select the default, On Screen, and click Next.
Fill in a title and a footer, as shown in Figure 1.5. Notice that the date and slide number in the footer have been added for you.
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