Microsoft PowerPoint
Table of Contents
MS PowerPoint Lesson 1: Basics ................................................................................................................... 2
MS PowerPoint Lesson 2: Create a Presentation ......................................................................................... 9
MS PowerPoint Lesson 3: Edit Text ............................................................................................................ 16
MS PowerPoint Lesson 4: Format Bullets and Paragraphs ......................................................................... 22
MS PowerPoint Lesson 5: Add Art and Graphic Objects............................................................................. 25
MS PowerPoint Lesson 6: Work with Colors, Borders, Fills and 3-D Effects............................................... 33
MS PowerPoint Lesson 7: Slide Masters, Layouts, and Themes ................................................................. 38
MS PowerPoint Lesson 8: Graphs, Tables, Diagrams .................................................................................. 45
MS PowerPoint Lesson 9: Add Animation to a Presentation...................................................................... 51
MS PowerPoint Lesson 10: Tutorials .......................................................................................................... 54
MS PowerPoint Lesson 1: Basics
Objectives:
1. Get your message across
2. Open a presentation
3. View a presentation
4. Get help when you need it
5. Save a presentation
Get Your Message Across
Microsoft PowerPoint is about effective communication; it’s a presentation program using slide shows.
While the file is called a presentation and the individual unit is a slide, the word presentation means
your oral delivery in front of an audience. Slides do not replace your words unless the file is a self-
running presentation. Research shows that visual aids and use of color significantly increase the
amount of material your audience understands and remembers. Images that are distracting or
irrelevant, however, can reduce learning.
To convey your message, use words, art, shapes, color, sound and special effects – multimedia! In
order to communicate effectively, you need to manage three elements:
1. Content: Decide on your primary message, organize your points, express your ideas clearly.
2. Design: Create a design that enhances your message; overdoing special effects distracts.
3. Delivery: Practice delivering your presentation so your slides add to your message without
turning the audience’s attention away from you.
Open a Presentation
Create a shortcut on your desktop: Start – Programs – MS Office - MS Office PowerPoint. You can either
right-click Copy and Paste on the desktop or right-click – Send to – Desktop (create shortcut).
Remember that you can create a keyboard shortcut by right-clicking the desktop icon – Properties,
Shortcut tab with your cursor in that textbox and press the keys that you want (ex. Ctrl+Alt+P). Launch
PowerPoint and click Office
Button - New to open the New
Presentation dialog box. Click
the Blank Presentation button
then click Create, or double-click
the Blank Presentation. If you are
basing your presentation on an
existing one, click New from
existing in the left pane for the
dialog box (just like Open) the
Save As. You can also start a
presentation based on a
template: Installed Templates,
Installed Themes or My
Templates if you’ve saved in the
Templates folder, OK. If you’ve
opened an existing presentation recently, click Office Button – Recent Documents or choose Open to
navigate to locate, select and click Open or click the Open drop-down to Open Read-Only, Open as Copy,
Open in Browser, Open and Repair or Show Previous Versions. Right-click the file to see Properties (ex.
date created and last modified) and Details (ex. number of slides, paragraphs, words, bytes, etc.) Note
that when you open a 97-2003 presentation, PowerPoint uses Compatibility Mode (see title bar);
PowerPoint 2007 suppresses new and updated features in order to open and show an earlier version.
To set the default folder for open and save dialog boxes, click Office Button, PowerPoint options, Save
item – Default File Location and type the path, OK. (Be very careful about changing this – by default it’s
your username – My Documents.)
View a Presentation: The Screen
Slide Minimize, Maximize, Close
Office Button Panel Tabs Title Bar
Quick Access
Toolbar
Ribbon Help
Outline Scroll
Pane Bar
Tabs
Current
Slide
Outline
Pane
Previous
slide
Next
slide
Notes
Pane
Status Bar View buttons Zoom Resize
controls Application
Window
The Ribbon, Office Button and Quick Access Toolbar include commonly used commands. The Ribbon Grabber
has tabs with tools related to that tab; contextual tabs appear for certain types of objects giving you
more options. Each ribbon is divided into groups; some have dialog box launchers that open dialog
boxes for more options. Remember, you can collapse the ribbon by double-clicking the current tab;
double-click again to expand. Press Alt to display the badges for keyboard shortcuts. The Office Button
displays a menu similar to the File menu in previous Office versions (press Alt+F to display the Office
Button quickly and Ctrl+O to open a file – all previous keyboard shortcuts still work!) The Quick Access
Toolbar (upper left corner of screen) lets you execute commands quickly. By default, this toolbar
contains Save, Undo, Redo and Print options, but you can customize – and this is the only interface that
you can customize (chapter 13).
You can view a presentation in four ways; see the three buttons at the bottom right on the status bar
(normal, slide sorter, slide show) and for these three plus the 4th (notes page) click the View tab. You
can look at your presentation in more than one of these views by opening it in a new window (View –
Window – New Window).
Use Normal View to see a large version of the individual slide, speaker notes beneath the slide and your
choice of an outline of the text or thumbnail images of the slides along the left side of the screen. Each
section of the view is called a pane, and each pane has a scroll bar if it cannot display all in one pane.
Note that text that you place in a textbox is not included in the text outline since a textbox is a graphic
object; however, all text typed into PowerPoint’s title and text placeholders is included. Use normal
view to create and edit slides, to organize and write text in a slide’s layout or to create notes for the
presenter to refer to when showing the presentation. You can resize the panes in normal view by
placing your mouse over the pane border, then click and drag in either direction.
Use Slide Sorter View to see a miniature view of all slides for adding, deleting and changing the order of
slides. You can also add timing and transition effect; and – best of all, you can select multiple slides and
apply the same options for formatting to all of them! Double-click any slide for Normal view.
Use Slide Show View to look at your presentation as you would see it during an actual show, evaluate
and rehearse. To move around in Slide Show view
Press Esc to leave Slide Show view and return to the last view (normal or slide sorter)
Click mouse to move to next slide or animation effect (last slide = black screen and click again to
return to last view)
Click icons at lower-left corner or right-click to open pop-up menu to navigate to other slides.
Use Note Page View (View – Presentation Views – Notes Page button), to see slide with the speaker’s
notes for that slide. Type the notes in the Notes pane in Normal view. Notes are designed to support
you as you make your presentation, and it’s helpful to print them out for reference. You can also create
handouts and include your notes (we’ll review this during tutorial) or just use them as notes to yourself.
To navigate a presentation, click the slide in slide sorter view or on the slides tab of the outline pane – or
click the slide number in the outline pane. Drag the slide pane scroll bar and see a tooltip to tell you
which slide you’re up to – stop when you reach the one you want. Use the Previous Slide and Next Slide
buttons; press Ctrl+Home or Ctrl+End to move to the beginning or End of the show respectively. In
Normal view, you can use Page Up and Page Down keys for previous and next slides; use arrow keys in
Slide Sorter view.
Get Home When You Need It
Type a question in the Search textbox and press Enter or click the Search button. The Help window has
the following buttons: Back, Forward, Stop, Refresh, Home, Print, Change Font Size, Show Table of
Contents, Keep on Top/Not on Top (help window on top or behind other windows). When you enter
some keywords, you get a list of related topics to click and then the Help window opens. Scroll down to
see more topics; if more than 25, click next page or Next. Click “Can’t Find It?” for links to search tips
and other possible sources of information. Close Help: click close button in the upper-right corner or the
Help window.
Save a Presentation
Save often – and always before you print, switch to another application or take a break! Click the Save
button on the Quick Access Toolbar or Office button – Save or Ctrl+S. The first time you save, you’ll get
the Save As dialog box to name your presentation, specify a location and save as type format – until
then, your presentation is given a generic Presentation 1 (or higher number if you have created more in
one session). Organize your presentations and related files (multimedia) in the same folder or
PowerPoint might have a hard time finding them, especially larger sound or video files. The most
common file formats are available by clicking the Office button – Save As to see the submenu; choose
Other Formats to open the Save As dialog box.
File Format Option File Extension Notes
PowerPoint Presentation .pptx Default 2007, compressed XML
PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Presentation . pptm Macros use VBA – Visual Basic
PowerPoint 97-2003 Presentation .ppt 97-2002 XP and 2003
PowerPoint Template .potx
PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Template .potm VBA
PowerPoint 97-2003 Template .pot
Office Theme .thmx Set of Styles; more to come!
PowerPoint Show .ppsx Slide Show view on Web
PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Show .ppsm VBA
PowerPoint 97-2003 Show .pps
PowerPoint Add-In .ppam Custom commands &/or VBA
PowerPoint 97-2003 Add-In .ppa
PowerPoint XML Presentation .xml Open in text editor or PP
Single File Web Page .mht or .mhtml File includes all; web viewable
Web Page .htm or .html Web view, support files in folder
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) .gif Slide(s) as graphics for web –
transparent backgrounds OK
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) .jpg Slide(s) as graphics for web –
best for photographs/details
PNG (Portable Network Graphics) .png Slide(s) as graphics for web –
same as gif/jpeg, compressed
TIFF (Tagged Image File Formatt) .tif or tiff Slide(s) into bitmap graphic –
scanned images usually TIFF
Device Independent Bitmap .bmp Slide(s) into bitmap graphic –
import into other applications
WMF (Windows Metafile Format) .wmf Slide(s) into graphic – import
into other applications, resizes
Enhance Windows Metafile .emf Same as above
Outline/Rich Text Format .rtf Saves text only with most
formatting to import into Word
To convert an older presentation (97-2003) to 2007 format, click the Office button and choose Convert
for the dialog box, OK. In Save As, click Save and confirm replacement of older presentation file – or give
the file a new name to keep the older version, too. Use Save As any time you want to save a copy of a
presentation or save a read-only file. After the initial save, click Save on the Quick Access toolbar or
Office button – Save or Ctrl+S – PowerPoint only saves the changes you made since your last save. Note
that if you save a presentation created in an earlier versions, you are in Compatibility Mode which
suppresses some of the new features but helps you work with others than don’t have 2007. There are
save options (more in later lesson), but the biggest tip about saving is to use good file management –
know where you’ve saved the presentation and it’s supporting files (it’s own folder is best). Be sure to
back up your files, too – on the network, on a CD or flash drive. Also note that you can change the
default file format for saving presentations (2007) in PowerPoint Options (Office Button) – Save; choose
the format you want (ex. 97-2003) in Save Files in This Format drop-down list, OK.
MS PowerPoint Lesson 2: Create a Presentation
Objectives:
1. Create your presentation: Choose a template, theme or background style; Start from scratch or from
an existing presentation; Choose a slide layout, add slides, and complete the presentation structure
2. Structure a Presentation from an Outline: Understand Outlines; Create an Outline in PowerPoint;
Import an Outline
3. Add Text to a Presentation: Use placeholders for text; Create Textboxes; Place text in shapes; Use
WordArt
4. Eliminate spelling and style errors: check spelling and find synonyms
5. Complete a presentation: Develop the Framework; Add Slides and a Chart; Move a Slide, Add
Animation; View the Slide Show (25 points – 10 for framework/logo, 5 each for additional slides,
chart, animation; rename usernamepp1 and upload to PP HW Drop folder’s assignment 1 subfolder.)
Create Your Presentation
Think about text and visuals as you structure the content of your presentation. One way to start is in
the New Presentation dialog box by choosing a template or theme (search and download more
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/default.aspx) with text styles and some graphics (themes
are new in 2007). A template is a file that contains a slide master and/or a theme. A Slide master is a
“blue print” or “boiler plate” for a presentation that includes one or more layouts with positioned
components, sometimes a background, text, placeholders, formatting (ex. bullet designs) and perhaps
even animation. A theme includes colors, fonts and line/fill effects and could also include backgrounds
and graphics but no content. You can create your own templates and themes – more to in later lessons.
When you find the one you want, click Create. Your new presentation appears with the template and
one (title) slide displayed. If it’s a boilerplate (ex. Introducing PowerPoint 2007), see slide thumbnails in
the Outline pane.
You can choose or change a theme anytime on the Design tab; click the Moore button and hover your
mouse over any theme for a live preview then click the one you want to apply to your presentation. You
might want to add a couple of slides with different layouts to see how the theme looks before you make
your final decision. To apply a theme to the current slide or all selected slides, right-click the theme’s
thumbnail and choose Apply to Selected Slides or choose Apply to Matching Slides to apply the theme to
all slides using the same slide master as the current slide. You can even right-click a theme and Set as
Default Theme for all new presentations. If you don’t want to use the background graphics, you can
choose a background that uses the theme colors to create variety. In the Background group on the
Design tab, you can click the hide the background graphics and/or drop the background styles arrow
down to view the different intensities and treatments in the gallery – live preview is available here, too.
Again, click to apply to all slide or right-click to apply to current or selected slides. PowerPoint will
adjust the text to contrast with the background.
Another way to start a presentation is from scratch – a blank presentation – in order to create your own
background design that you can, if you wish, save as a template or theme. Even a blank presentation
comes with some default settings: size of title text, type of bullets, theme colors - all of which you can
change. In order not to lose the blank presentation, you might want to save it as blank-old.pptx in case
you save over the original ( File – Save As, Save as Type = PowerPoint Template and change name to
Blank.pptx then Save).
You can also start a new presentation from an existing one (New from existing, navigate and select the
one you want then click Create New. Save the new, exact duplicate presentation - give it a new name.
Once you choose a template or start a presentation, you have one slide displayed on the screen –
usually a title slide to enter text. You can change the layout, and you need to designate a layout for
each slide, even if it’s a blank layout. Layouts specify how text, graphics and other elements are
positioned on a slide – and the preset layout are very helpful! Layouts are located on the Home tab,
Slides group – drop the Layout arrow down to see the gallery, or right-click the slide and choose Layout.
Layout choices are: title, Title and Content, Section Header, Two Content, Comparison, Title Only, Blank,
Content with Caption and Picture with Caption. Choose the layout before adding content.
To add slides, click New Slide in the Slides group on the Home tab of the ribbon. The new slide uses the
same layout as the current slide and appears right after it, however, if the current slide is Title layout,
the new slide will be Title and Content by default. If you prefer, you can click the New Slide drop-down
and choose a layout. To complete the presentation structure, either enter text in the text placeholders
and add graphics and animation as you work or enter all text then go back to work on the artistic parts.
You can also work on the outline tab of the Outline pane (aka Thumbnail pane) to create a text outline
for your presentation, and PowerPoint will create the new slides for you.
Structure a Presentation from an Outline
Working in the Outline Pane, Outline tab is ideal
because you can see most of the text at a glance –
that is, you can see the flow of ideas from slide to
slide and rearrange by moving from one slide to
another. Once you have finished your outline, all
you need to do is add refinements such as images
and charts. All text that you type in the Outline
pane is place in text placeholders. Drag the divider
between the Outline and Slide panes to expand one
area or the other.
An Outline uses up to 5 levels of text determining
title or body text, each indented more than the
previous and using smaller type size. You can use bullets to set off each item of body text if you wish.
Note that using too many level of body text can be confusing, however. Promote to make text one level
higher: right-click the selected text in the Outline pane and choose Promote or select the body text and
Shif+Tab. Demote to make text one level lower: right-click the selected text and choose Demote or
press Tab. When you right-click selected text, you can also choose Move Up (selected text above
previous text) or Move Down (selected text below following text) or drag selected text up or down.
Collapse (hide all text lower than slide title for one slide only) and Expand (display all level of text for one
slide only) are also right-click options. If you right-click anywhere in the Outline pane, you can choose
Show Text Formatting to see font and other formatting.
To create an outline in PowerPoint, start a new presentation and choose a default layout from the
gallery (if you wish) then click the Outline tab of the Outline pane. Type the first slide and press Enter
for the second slide or tab for a subtitle then press Enter and Shift+Tab to promote to the next slide.
You can change the layout for any slide, and if you have too many bulleted items to fit on slide, you
might be able to fit them in two columns (the Content or Comparison layout, 1 and 2 noted in outline).
Press Ctrl+Enter to move to the second column of text; if you have already completed typing the text,
select the text on the slide and drag it to the second column.
Tip about the 5 elements of a presentation outline:
Opening objective
Agenda or overview of key points
Body or main part of presentation
Examples and/or anecdotes
Conclusion
If you wish to create your outline in Word, use the Heading styles; heading 1 = title slide, heading 2 =
first-level body text, heading 3 = second-level body text, etc. In PowerPoint, choose Office Button –
Open and in the files of Type drop-down list, choose All Outlines; navigate to your outline and double-
click the document – PowerPoint creates the presentation!
Add Text to a Presentation
Of course, you can add text directly on a slide or additional text to a slide; be aware that use of text
should be minimal – it’s less important than graphics, color and animation – and what you say. The
easiest way to add text is to click a text placeholder: Click to Add Text, an I-beam appears, and start
typing. The dotted border changes to a dashed border and displays sizing handles to drag, or you can
drag the entire textbox. Note that Content Placeholders contain other types of content, ex. an image.
The beauty of text placeholders is that PowerPoint formats the text appropriate to the placeholder:
alignment, font size. The slide master controls formatting, and you can change it; but as is, you get good
results. Press Enter for a new paragraph (or bullet), and a quick note: only text in placeholders shows in
Outline pane…textboxes or WordArt don’t. The text “Click to Add Text” never appears during
presentation even if you never add any text – and neither does the dotted placeholder border. Even a
blank slide of any layout will only show the content or design from the template, theme or background.
Saying this, you should probably delete any placeholders that you don’t want or change the layout.
Use additional textboxes for captions or to emphasize point (ex. a callout); a textbox is an object which
can be moved, resized and/or formatted (ex. border, background color, fill effect, text). Note that you
do have two slide layouts that include textboxes: Content with Caption and Picture with Caption. To
create a textbox, click the Text Box button on the Text group of the Insert tab; click and drag to create
the textbox (width counts, not length). As you type, PowerPoint will wrap text; the box will expand to
accommodate length, then click away to deselect. To remove border and fill, right-click the textbox;
choose Format Shape for the dialog box. Click Fill and choose No Fill; click Line and choose No Line so
the textbox becomes invisible – all you see is text – then Close.
To place text in shapes, Insert – Illustrations – Shapes to display the gallery; click the shape and drag on
the slide. Click the shape (if not already selected) and type; click away to deselect. Note that the text is
attached to that shape so you can move or rotate the shape and the text will follow. Shapes also have
border, fill color or effect, but you rarely eliminate a shape border unless for shadow or 3-D effect. Try
an arrow from the Block Arrows section then right-click Format Shape; choose No Line and change the
fill to Gradient Fill – check out the possibilities then type the text – it’s pretty cool!
Use WordArt for fancy text effects: Insert – WordArt in the Text group for the gallery. Choose a style by
clicking one of the boxes then start typing to replace “Your Text Here”. Press Enter top start a new line;
control width of lines by manually resizing the textbox then click away to deselect. Edit WordArt Text
by selecting it then use the tools on the format tab that appears on the ribbon. In the WordArt group,
click the WordArt Styles button to see the same gallery you saw when you inserted WordArt – it’s a live
preview so hover your mouse then click the one you want. For other properties, check out Text Fill
Color, Text Outline Color and Text Effects (shadow, reflection, glow, bevel, 3-D rotation, transform).
Eliminate Spelling Errors and Discover Synonyms
If you type a word that’s not in PowerPoint’s dictionary, you’ll see a wavy line under it. Right-click the
word and choose Spelling to see the correct spelling at the top. If the shortcut menu isn’t enough, click
Spelling for the dialog box listing the misspelled word and suggested alternatives. You can choose:
Ignore, Ignore All, Change, Change All, Add, Suggest, or AutoCorrect – more on that in a later lesson.
Note that PowerPoint now checks spelling in WordArt and imported data such as an Excel table;
however, PowerPoint no longer checks grammar including punctuation and case (upper and lower).
When you right-click a word, you can also access Synonyms (and Thesaurus for the Research task pane)
from the shortcut menu.
Complete a Presentation Tutorial
1. Develop a Framework
Open PowerPoint (see title slide)
Click the Design tab
Click the More (down) button to the right of Themes group and choose one of the templates.
To add a logo on all slides, press Shift and click Normal view button (lower right corner of
screen) to bring up Slide Master.
Click Insert tab (notice tabs are a little different in Slide Master View); click Shapes button in
Illustrations group to expand gallery. In Basic Shapes group, click sun shape then click lower-
right corner of slide master to place the sun.
With sun still selected, press Shift and drag any corner handle to enlarge until sun is about an
inch in diameter; if necessary, drag sun away from edge of slide (use arrow keys to nudge).
With sun still selected (Format tab displayed), click the arrow to the right of Shape Fill button in
Shape Styles group; choose yellow color.
With sun still selected, type The Natural Gift; text is wrapping, so right-click the sun – Format
Shape and click Text Box option in dialog box. Uncheck Wrap Text in Shape checkbox; Close.
Text too light so select text, click Text Fill button in WordArt Styles group of Format tab;
choose a dark color in theme colors then click away to deselect.
Select the text again, click Home tab, click Bold in Font group; logo should look like this:
Click the sun’s logo border to select (border is solid, not dashed), Copy.
See several masters in the Outline pane – only title has logo. Click Title and Content
layout to display in Slide pane, Paste logo onto the master.
Click Slide Master tab and click Close Master View in Close group of ribbon to return to the first
slide. Do you see your logo? (Actually, you would be more likely to Insert – Picture – From File
for your logo.)
2. Add Slides
Click the text placeholder (Click to Add Title) and type Quarterly Sales Report
Click text placeholder (Click to Add Subtitle), type 2nd Quarter, 2006; click outside to deselect.
Save and keep suggested title of Quarterly Sales Report, navigate to your ICS folder and Save.
Click New Slide on Home tab; new slide using Title and Content layout appears
Click text placeholder (Click to Add Title), type Overall Sales Up.
Click text placeholder (Click to Add Text), type Total sales were up 6% from last quarter and
press Enter for a new bullet; type Gifts were up 15% and press Enter; type Office supplies were
down 14% but don’t press Enter
Click Outline tab of Outline pane, place cursor on last line of text and press Enter
Right-click new bullet and choose Promote (or Shift+Tab) to start a new slide; type Our
Competitors and press Enter for new slide
Right-click the text area to the right of the new slide’s icon and choose Demote (or press Tab);
new slide disappears, cursor is now beneath previous slide’s title.
Type Our market share for gifts increased slightly and press Enter for a new bullet; type Our
market share for office supplies decreased slightly but don’t press Enter
3. Add a Chart
Click New Slide on Home tab (Title and Content
layout), click top middle icon to insert a chart.
In Create Chart dialog box, choose Line category
then choose first image (Line subtype), OK
An Excel spreadsheet opens title Chart in MS
Office PowerPoint; enter data for chart as shown:
(Delete 5th row and resize columns.)
Click back to PowerPoint to see chart (and chart
tools tab on ribbon); chart has been updated but
product is on x axis instead of y. Click Switch
Row/Column button in Data group of ribbon.
Click chart to select, for each of the three lines:
o Click line to select
o Click Format tab in Chart Tools group; in Shape Styles click
Down arrow to right of Shape Outline button
o Choose Weight 6 Pt to create wide line
Click title of slide and type Comparative Sales then click away to
deselect.
4. Move a Slide
Click Slide Sorter view button at lower-right corner of screen.
Click Slide 3 (Our Competitors) and drag it to the right of the last slide (slide 4).
5. Add Animation
Double-click the second slide to return to Normal view; click Animations tab
Click inside text placeholder that contains three lines of text. In Animations group, click
Animations drop-down list and choose By 1st Level Paragraphs under Fade item.
Select slide 4 and repeat the above for the text placeholder on that slide.
From the Transitions to This Slide group, click Fade Smoothly transition; at right, click Apply to
All. Save
6. View the Slide Show
Click the first slide, click Slide Show button at lower-right corner of screen. Se first slide
displayed full screen; click once anywhere on screen to move to second slide.
On second slide, click to display each line of text; continue to click mouse button until you’ve
seen the entire show – at end, screen is black.
Exit the presentation; close Excel worksheet.
MS PowerPoint Lesson 3: Edit Text
Objectives:
1. Edit for Clarity
2. Choose Text with Style
3. Add, Delete, and Rearrange Slides
Edit for Clarity
Text on a slide if different from text in a word processing document: it’s not usually in full sentences
since you expand on and explain during presentation. If you like full sentences, however, use only one
per slide. Another text element is visual, that is, make sure that the text fits on the slide and looks
balanced. Text editing techniques are the same across Windows programs: place the cursor where you
want the text to appear and type; select the text to edit or delete.
To move text, select it on the outline and drag to new location – hold down
Ctrl to copy text instead of moving or Cut/Copy/Paste and use the
clipboard on the Home tab (Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V). If you want to select
non-contiguous text, select the chunk, hold down the Ctrl key then select
another chunk – then cut/copy/paste. You can also copy text from another
presentation or document or drag & drop to move text from one file to
another: open both files and use Arrange All in Window group of View tab
to see both files – hold down Ctrl to copy text as you drag.
The Clipboard task pane can hold up to 24 items; click the Clipboard dialog
box launcher at the lower-right of the Clipboard group on the Home tab.
You can collect items on the Clipboard when it’s not displayed by clicking
the Options button at the bottom of the Task Pane and choosing Collect
Without Showing Office Clipboard. See print screen at right for other
options. Having items on the clipboard allows you to place your cursor
where you want an item, then click that item on the clipboard; you can also
collect several items and click Paste All.
Because placeholder text appears in the outline, you can edit in the outline
or directly on the slide where the text is larger (easier to see), and you can
clearly see the results (color, shadow, font, style plus how it fits with any
graphics). You might change the placeholder’s background color while
editing text – that is, there are two objects involved: placeholder and text.
When you click any text in the placeholder, the cursor blinks where you clicked and the placeholder gets
selection border and handles – you are in edit mode. Use the Mini Toolbar for selected text to simplify
font, indent, alignment and other format features. Tip: To delete a bullet, place your cursor over the
button (cursor changes to cross with arrows) then click and press Delete. If you backspace to delete
text in a bullet or select only the text, you might be left with the bullet and have to backspace twice for
an empty line – backspace once to delete non-bulleted text. Place your cursor after the previous item
and press Enter to add another text item.
Tip: You can also insert an outline into an existing presentation: on Home tab, click New Slide button
drop-down and choose Slides from Outline; navigate to your outline, select it (Files of Type list = All
Outlines; change to All files to see PowerPoint files, too) then click Insert – this is VERY helpful!
Tip: If you can too much text on a slide, split it onto two slides using the Outline pane: position your
insertion point at the end of the last bulleted item you want to appear on the first slide, press Enter then
promote for New Slide, type a new title and adjust your bullet points to the proper level(s). You can also
divide text into side-by-side placeholders using the 2-Content or Comparison layout.
Once you click a placeholder, you are in edit mode and can delete text and/or the placeholder: click the
border (changes from dashed to solid) and press Delete. To exit Edit mode, press Esc . If you don’t want
any placeholders, choose the Blank layout. In edit mode, you can duplicate a placeholder: with it
selected (solid border), click Paste button (Home, Clipboard group) drop-down and choose Duplicate for
twin placeholders or press Ctrl+D to duplicate and move placeholders so they don’t overlap. You can
also cut/copy/paste a placeholder while in edit mode, move a placeholder (cursor over border to get
crossed-arrows, click and drag), or resize using handles.
Find and Replace searches the entire presentation, even WordArt; click Find in the Editing group on the
Home tab or Ctrl+F for the dialog box. You can specify Match case or Find whole words only; click Find
Next to continue search or go to Replace dialog box by clicking Replace or directly by pressing Ctrl+H –
and you can Replace All. In the Outline pane, PowerPoint highlights placeholder text only but on the
slide, also highlights text in textboxes, WordArt and Shapes.
To change text case, use the Change Case command (Aa button in Font group on the Home tab) and
choose either Sentence case (starts with uppercase then lower case ending with period – be careful
since proper names will be changed, too), lowercase, UPPERCASE, Capitalize Each Word, tOGGLE cASE
(reverses case of each letter). Select the text and press Shift+3 to cycle through the case choices except
Sentence case. Titles were usually all uppercase or Capitalize Each Word, but recent studies show that
uppercase is harder to read, so many opt for sentence case for slide titles. It’s more informal, and you
might want a full sentence title, however, legibility and consistency should be foremost.
Editing text in shapes and textboxes is just like editing in
placeholders: select the text and the object is selected, too,
and the textbox adjusts/expands as you type or shrinks when
you delete text. Adding text to a shape, by default, the text
wraps to fit within the boundaries of the shape. To change
this, right-click the shape and choose Format Shape for the
dialog box and uncheck Wrap Text in Shape checkbox. The
Text Box tab in this dialog box lets you format all qualities
and a key to good-looking text. To fit more text with no
visible border, reduce all four internal margins to zero; on the
other hand, visible borders with increased margins can
improve legibility. A new feature allows you to stack text
vertically – see the options under Text layout, Text direction
(uncheck wrap text first).
Tips for using shapes, textboxes, WordArt: use to make your
points, but don’t get carried away. Use them to organize your text; make sure they are aligned with
each other to avoid chaos; don’t put too many on a slide; use WordArt sparingly (short phrases) and use
common sense: too many effects make text less readable.
To edit WordArt text, select the object and click, then type to add text – edit WordArt directly on the
slide. When WordArt is selected, the Format tab appears; use WordArt Styles group to edit any feature.
To insert a
symbol into new
or existing text,
you need to be
in a selected text
placeholder,
textbox, shape
or WordArt
object, Insert –
Text group and
click the Symbol
button for the
dialog box.
Choose a font
from the Font
drop-down, choose the symbol you want then click Insert; the dialog box stays open so you can insert
other symbols; close when you are done. Note: For complex equations, use Equation Editor – Insert –
Text group, click Object for dialog box, choose Microsoft Equation 3.0, OK.
AutoCorrect
automatically
corrects commonly
misspelled words.
To set it up, click
Office Button –
PowerPoint Options
– Proofing category,
then click
AutoCorrect Options
button for the dialog
box (same settings
apply to Word and
Excel). Use the first
five checkboxes in
the middle of the
dialog box to correct
common typing
errors. Click
Exceptions for that
dialog box and note
especially Capitalize
First Letter of Sentences – this is very helpful when you have an abbreviation, especially since
PowerPoint thinks of a sentence as anything after a period. Whenever AutoCorrect changes text, the
AutoCorrect Option button appears (small rectangle near text); if you point to it and click the drop-down
that appears, you can Undo, Stop or Control Automatic features. If you find this annoying, you can
disable the button by unchecking the Show AutoCorrect Options Buttons checkbox in the AutoCorrect
dialog box.
Before closing the dialog box, click the Smart Tags tab. Smart tags help you take action on certain types
of data and labels. Smart tags are off by default, but you can activate by checking the Label Text with
Smart Tags checkbox and specify which types of data PowerPoint recognizes from the list. Click Check
Presentation to check for smart tags; click More Smart Tags to go to Microsoft’s web site to view a more
customized list. You can Embed Smart Tags in This Presentation if you are sharing with someone else
and this is an important to you, but this feature adds to the file size. To use a smart tag, place your
mouse over the smart tag (marked by purple dotted underline) until the button appears; click the
button to display the action list and choose one of the actions.
Choose Text with Style
Because of the graphical nature of PowerPoint, you’ll probably spend more time considering how your
fonts look than you would with Word or Excel. Font type determines the shape of the letters in a font,
and you should think about size and style (bold or italic) and spacing between letters, too. Also, you can
apply effects such as underlining, shadow or glow.
Font types are either Sans-serif (ex. Arial; no extraneous lines, good for titles, readable, “stand-out”
text) or Serif (small extra lines at ends of letters, more readable for paragraph text, more formal; used in
newspapers, ex. Times New Roman). To change a font, select the text and use the Font drop-down list
in the Font Group, Home tab – and you can revert to the default by selecting text and choosing Remove
All Formatting.
To replace a font throughout the presentation, you’ll need to create new theme fonts, one for slide
titles and another for body text – and save them for use in other presentations. Display the Design tab;
in the Themes group, click Fonts button to see the gallery (font sets have same name as built-in themes,
each theme has set of fonts). Choose Create New Theme Fonts at the bottom of Build-In Fonts gallery
for dialog box; use Heading font drop-down list to choose new font for slide titles and Body Font drop-
down list to choose new font for body text. Enter a name for the theme fonts in Name textbox, Save.
New Slides and Slide Masters will use the new fonts you have chosen, and if you save a custom theme,
the theme fonts become part of that theme, too. To change the font for WordArt, select the text and
choose new font form Font drop-down list in Font group of Home tab.
Change the font size by selected text and choosing new size in the Font size drop-down list in the Font
group, Home tab OR use the Increase Font Size and Decrease Font Size buttons OR Ctrl+Shift+> to
increase and Ctrl+Shift+< to decrease. Note that while 10- or 12-pt text is typical in word processing,
you should never use text less than 18-points for PowerPoint (for computer monitor), and 24- to 44-
point is appropriate for most bulleted text – and your slide title should be larger than your body text.
As you remember, if you type more text than can fit in a placeholder, PowerPoint will resize your text to
accommodate. If you want to turn this feature off, go to Office button – PowerPoint Options – Proofing
category and click the AutoCorrect Options button for the dialog box. Click the AutoFormat As You Type
tab and uncheck AutoFit Title Text to Text Placeholder and AutoFit Body Text to Text Placeholder, OK,
OK to return to slide.
You might want to change spacing between letters to stretch or squeeze text into a space. In the Font
group on the Home tab, click Character Spacing button and choose one of the options from Very Tight to
Very Loose or More Spacing to open the Character tab of the Font dialog box where you can specify
number of points between letters, OK. Kerning is a new feature for PowerPoint 2007; you can
selectively adjust spacing between certain letters based on their shape. To turn kerning on for an entire
presentation, select any textbox or placeholder, display the Home tab and click the Font group dialog
box launcher. Choose Character Spacing tab, check the Kerning for Fonts checkbox and enter a number
in the Points and Above textbox to indicate to which size (or greater) text you want to apply kerning.
To add font style to your text (for
emphasis), select the text, choose
Bold, Italic, Underline or Shadow
from the Font group on the Home
tab or from the Mini Toolbar (only
has bold and italic) – either hover
above selected text or right-click to
view the Mini Toolbar. Remember,
you can now create vertical text.
To apply WordArt style to any text,
use QuickStyles: select the text and
click the Format tab that appears;
in the WordArt Styles group, click
QuickStyles button for the gallery.
Choose an option in either Applies
to Selected Text or Applies to All
text in the Shape; to remove, click Clear WordArt button at the bottom of the gallery. You can also
specify text fill, outline and effects by clicking those buttons on the Format tab, WordArt Styles group.
Text Effects include the following galleries:
Shadows (including Options for Format WordArt dialog box)
Reflection (mirrors so use with one line of text – more than one will obscure next line)
Glow (creates halo of color around text, click More Glow Colors for palette)
Bevel (3-D sharp or curved edges, click 3-D options for Format Text Effects dialog box to fine-
tune top/bottom bevels, depth – must have 3-D rotation to show, contour, surface material and
lighting effects or Rest to remove)
3-D Rotation (use 3-D rotation category of Format Text Effects dialog box to customize)
Transform (ways of wrapping text into different shapes – like WordArt)
Be VERY careful with these text effects since they all more or less decrease text readability. If you’ve
gone overboard, select the text or textbox and click Clear All Formatting button - Font group, Home tab.
The Font Dialog box puts most settings for formatting text in
one place and offers some not found elsewhere. To change
existing text, select it, click the Font dialog box launcher
(Home tab, Font group) then choose font, style, size, color
(more) from drop-downs. There are several underlining
options and colors plus Effects – almost all new for
PowerPoint (see right). And you can copy the look with
Format Painter: select the text with the formatting you want, click Format Painter in Clipboard group of
Home tab (or Mini Toolbar), select the text you want to format. To format several selections of text
with the same formatting, double-click Format Painter then select text as many times as you want; click
Format Painter at the end or press Esc to stop formatting. You can also use Format Painter with shapes.
Add, Delete, and Rearrange Slides
For simple changes, you can stay in Normal view and work in Slide (thumbnail) tab of Outline pane;
select one or more slides and move, copy, or delete them. For more editing options, use Slide Sorter
view (click button at bottom-right corner of screen or in View tab’s Presentation group) to see most or
all of your slides at once. The selected slide has an orange border, and you can drag that slide to a new
location, or copy by pressing Ctrl as you drag. Select a slide and cut then click where you want the slide
to go (between two other slides – see vertical line) and Paste. Select a slide and press Ctrl+D to
duplicate (new slide appears after the original). Select and press Delete; PowerPoint as always
renumbers slides with any changes. To add a new slide, click between two slides and choose New Slide
from Slides group on Home tab – new slide takes on template or theme of the rest of the presentation.
Because the template is attached to the presentation, not the slide, when you import a slide, it takes on
the current template or theme seamlessly. The most common technique for importing a slide is to use
the clipboard. Open the presentation containing the slide(s) that you want to use; click the slide or hold
down the Shift key for a series (click the first then last slides that you want in the series) or click the first
slide and hold down Ctrl and lick the rest of the slides you want to copy. Copy (Ctrl+C) to the Clipboard
then click your cursor into the your current presentation where you want to paste the slides; Ctrl+V to
paste. This is easiest in Slide Sorter view so you can move the slides around as you wish. You can also
drag and drop to copy slides (usual best with a small group of slides so you can see what you are doing
without scrolling. Click Arrange All (View tab), both presentations in Slide Sorter view, click the
presentation whose slides you want and select them (hold down Ctrl), then drag slides to the desired
location in the other presentation.
You can import slides with the Reuse Slides task pane – best when you
aren’t sure which presentation contains the slides you want to import or if
you like using task panes. Select the slide you want to insert the other
slide(s) after then click the down arrow on the New Slide button (Home
tab’s Slides group) and choose Reuse Slides from the bottom of the Layout
gallery for the task pane. Click browse to open the presentation that
contains the slides you want then click to import; to import all slides, right-
click any slide and choose Insert All Slides. Check Keep Source Formatting
checkbox at the bottom of the task pane if you want imported slide to
look the same as they did originally. Make formatting adjustments to
imported slides (colors can make text disappear if background and text
end up the same). Keep your presentations organized in files where you
can find them – you’ll thank yourself for having good file management
skills! In this way, you can keep a slide library.
MS PowerPoint Lesson 4: Format Bullets and Paragraphs
Objectives:
1. Create a Bulleted List
2. Work with Paragraphs
Create a Bulleted List
The purpose of slide text is to create a visual confirmation of your messages. Slide text should be short
and to the point. If your text is not bulleted, you can add bullets by selecting the text and choosing
Bullets in the Paragraph group of the Home tab. Each template or theme comes with a default style of
bullets for each level of heading on its slide master. You can change every feature about any bullet to
suit your taste and needs.
To choose a bullet type for an item of text, select the text and click Bullets in the Paragraph group of the
Home tab. Quickly choose common and recently used bullets from the gallery or for more options, click
Bullets and Numbering at the bottom of the gallery for the dialog box. You can also right-click any
bulleted text or, on the Mini toolbar, click the down arrow next to the Bullets button and choose Bullets
and Numbering. Click Customize and choose a “dingbat” type of font such as Wingdings from the Font
drop-down list then click OK.
Generally, bullet size should be consistent with the level, that is, you
should have a smaller bullet for a less important item (and larger for
more important), and items of the same level should have the same
bullet size. To change a bullet size, select the bullet and in the Bullets
and Numbering dialog box, change the number in the Size % of Textbox.
Click the Color drop-down to choose the color you want then click OK.
To use an image as a bullet, select the text, click Picture in the Bullets
and Numbering dialog box for the Picture Bullet dialog box; choose one
and click OK. You can also create your own bullets from .bmp, .tif, .gif or
.jpg files. Click Import in the Picture Bullet dialog box for the Add Clips to Organizer dialog box; navigate,
choose the image you want and click Add. Be careful – many images are not suitable for bullets, and
you often have to manipulate the graphic file. You can do some of this in PowerPoint, such as, rotate
the image, make the background transparent, adjust the brightness or contrast or crop the image. Once
you have it the way you want, right-click the image, choose Save as Picture for the dialog box; name the
image, choose the location and, Save. To use the image as a bullet, select the desired text, bring up the
Bullets and Numbering dialog box, click the Picture button then click Import. Find the image file, choose
it and click Add. Click the picture, OK; you may still need to change the size of the bullet. Note: You can
also create bulleted text in shapes and textboxes – left aligned is best.
Use numbered lists when your items have a logical sequence. To create
a numbered list, select the bulleted items you want to number and click
Numbering in the Paragraph group of the Home tab. You can change
numbers to bullets by clicking Bullets instead. To format the numbering,
select the text and click the down arrow next to the Numbering button
to display a gallery of common and recently used number formats. For
more, click Bullets and Numbering for the dialog box (Numbering tab on top) to change size and color as
well as specify the starting number.
Work with Paragraphs
Paragraph formatting includes indentation, columns, tabs, alignment, and line spacing. A paragraph is
any single line of text or multiple lines of text followed by a return. You create a return character
(moves text to the next line) when you press Enter on your keyboard. If you want a “soft return” (aka
line break) press Shift+Enter at the end of a line. This works well to create an unbulleted line after the
first bullet or to force text to move to the next line when wrapping creates an awkward break.
Here’s some vocabulary:
Margin: space between edge of working area and text
Indent: amount that text is moved to right of left margin
First line indent: indent for first line of paragraph, subsequent lines not indented
Hanging indent: first line is indented less than subsequent lines of paragraph (first line “hangs out”)
Tab: place where cursor stops when you press tab (tabs used to align text)
Left-aligned: paragraph where left side of every line is lined up
Centered: paragraph where center point of every line is lined up
Right-aligned: paragraph where right side of every line is lined up
Justified: paragraph where both left and right sides of every line are lined up
Distributed: paragraph where letters are spaced out to reach margin to margin
Line spacing: spacing between lines of paragraph (can also control before and after)
PowerPoint comes with top and side “slide” rulers (check Ruler on View tab) that have zero point at the
middle. You can use the rulers to judge layout and distances for objects. Use the paragraph dialog box
launcher (Home tab) and the top ruler to format text; see the First Line Indent marker, Left Indent
marker and Hanging Indent marker – just like in Word! The most common use of the ruler is to move
bullets and change spacing between a bullet and it’s text. Select the text and drag the markers to place.
To remove bullets and hanging indents, click the text placeholder, select the text, click Bullets in the
Paragraph group of the Home tab (removes bullets); drag the hanging indent marker to the left until the
paragraph(s) is at the left margin. This creates blocked text – and avoids bullets which have become a
bit boring.
The margins in placeholders are .1” on the left and .05” on the right by default – but you can reduce
them to 0 to fit more text. Right click the placeholder and choose Format Shape for the dialog box,
Textbox category; change the numbers in the Internal Margin section then close.
Tabs are often used to move from cell to cell in a table; in PowerPoint 2007, they apply individually to
each paragraph, not to the entire placeholder or textbox. There are four types of tabs: left, center, right
and decimal (remember from Word?) To set a tab, select a text placeholder (tab markers don’t display
otherwise) then click the tab button at right of top ruler until you see the one you want. Click the
bottom edge of the ruler where you want to place the tab; press TAB before the text that you want to
align at the tab. To remove the tab, select a placeholder and drag the tab marker off the ruler. You can
also set tabs in the Tabs dialog box (button in paragraph dialog box).
You can control horizontal text alignment: click left (Ctrl+L), right (Ctrl+E), centered (Ctrl+R), justified or
distribute in paragraph group. To align text vertically in a textbox, shape or placeholder, use the Format
Shape dialog box to choose from top, middle, bottom, top centered, middle centered or bottom
centered. Bottom alignment is especially helpful with title slides – you avoid the shifting of text that
occurs when you create a longer, two-line title.
You can also create columns in text placeholders, textboxes or shapes now. Select the text and click
Columns button in the paragraph group on the Home tab; choose one, two, three or More for the dialog
box where you can specify number and spacing. Resize the box to adjust the text flow from one column
to the next.
To set the spacing within a paragraph, select the text and click the dialog box launcher for the paragraph
group. In the Paragraph dialog box, use the Line Spacing drop-down list for single, 1.5, double, exactly
or multiple; Exactly let’s you enter an exact number in points and Multiple let’s you enter any number in
terms of line spacing (ex. 3 for triple space). You can also specify how much space PowerPoint places
before and after paragraphs (good for separating paragraphs visually since bullets are often too close
together.) Use this feature rather than adding blank space between the lines and removing the bullet –
this is more precise and the text flows better.
MS PowerPoint Lesson 5: Add Art and Graphic Objects
Objectives:
1. Create Impact with Graphics
2. Use Clip Art
3. Edit Images and Drawing Objects
4. Create Drawing Objects
5. Layout Your Slide with Precision
6. Tips on Design and Layout
Create an Impact with Graphics
One of the main differences between a mediocre and excellent presentation is the
graphics, and some presentations have nothing but images – clip art, photos and shapes.
Viewers tend to scan a slide then focus first on large, simple shapes; next, they look at
shapes and patterns that are more complex then finally read the text. Knowing this, you
can design your slides accordingly to get attention and increase your viewers’
understanding. Probably because we live in a visual media world, text tunes viewers out;
at least half of your slides should include graphics – and that excludes repeated graphics
such as logos that are included on every slide. Work on contrast and newness but don’t
overload: alternate between quiet and active slides while maintaining continuity of style.
Use Clip Art
Clip art, including photographs, drawn art, plus some sounds and movies, is ready-made art that you can
choose and insert onto a slide from MS Office collections or from other collections on the Internet or on
CD’s or DVD’s. To find Clip Art, open the task pane: choose the slide layout that includes the clip art
placeholder and click the Clip Art icon OR click Clip Art in the Illustrations group of the Insert tab. Enter
one or two keywords in the Search For box and press Enter or click Go. To specify where to look, choose
from the drop-down: My Collections, Office Collections, Web Collections; by default, PowerPoint looks
in all three locations. Uncheck any option (click expand + for subcategories) if you want to limit your
search and restrict the type of clip art in Results Should Be drop-down list (Clip Art, Photographs,
Movies, Sounds). Click the piece of art to insert or
drag it onto your slide. Pass your cursor over an
item to display a drop-down arrow for the shortcut
menu: Insert, Copy, Delete from Clip Organizer,
Copy to Collection, Move to Collection, Edit
Keywords, Find Similar Style, Preview/Properties
(some options are not available for Office
collections, only for your own.)
Create your own clip art collection in My
Collections. Open the Clip Organizer by clicking
Organize clips at the bottom of the task pane. Click
any item of clip art to display the drop-down arrow
(same menu from task pane). To create a new
collection, right-click My Collections, choose New
Collection and give the collection a name. Note: Clip
Organizer is used for other Office programs, so you can access by choosing Start – All Programs – MS
Office – MS Office Tools – MS Clip Organizer.
To add graphic files to a collection, choose File – Add Clips to Organizer then choose Automatically
(searches hard drive and folders), On My Own (you specify individual files), From Scanner or Camera.
Files can be .wmf, .emf, .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .pgn, .pct, .tif or .vml.
To search the MS Office online collection, click Clip Art on Office Online at the bottom of the task pane:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx and there are many other sources for free
images. Check the permission rules (copyright) especially for photos; some are in the public domain for
use as long as you cite the source. To save images from a web site, right-click and choose Save Picture
As (or Save Image As). You don’t need to use the Clip Organizer to insert a picture, of course; just click
Picture in the Illustrations group of the Insert tab for the dialog box (or click the Picture icon in the
content placeholder), navigate to the file and double click it. You may need to resize or move the image
and any existing text placeholder. You can insert multiple images by holding the Ctrl as you select the
files; they appear stacked on the same slide so move them where you want them.
A Photo Album is a presentation that contains a series of
photos with captions; you can automatically insert photos
from files, scanner or digital camera. Click Photo Album on
the Insert tab, Illustrations group for the dialog box. Click
File/Disk to choose your images; navigate to one, a group
or hold down Ctrl and select each then click Open to see
them appear in Pictures in album list. Select an image to
rotate, adjust brightness and/or contrast, remove the
image or change order. To add a new slide containing a
textbox, click New Text Box to add text to slide. Choose a
Picture layout (how many pictures on a slide); anything
except Fit to Slide will activate Picture Options – Captions
below all pictures checkbox (you can check all picture
black and white) and Frame shape. Note that the default
caption will be the same as your slide file name. If you
wish a theme or template, click browse then open. Click
Create and voila – but you can always get back to edit by
clicking the Photo Album button drop-down list (Edit
Photo Album) to return to the dialog box. You can edit directly on the slides, but it’s more successful to
work in the dialog box.
Edit Images and Drawing Objects
Select an image or object to resize or reshape – and you can choose more than one object at a time:
press Shift and click (click again to deselect) or use a selection box (click at one corner and drag a
rectangular area to enclose objects.) To select all, press Ctrl+A; if there are many layered objects, select
one and press TAB until the object you want is selected. The Format tab, which appears when you
select any graphic object, has a Selection Pane button in the Arrange group of the ribbon. Click this
button to display the selection and visibility task pane (new in 2007) – it lists all objects (images, shapes)
on the active slide in display order from top to bottom. Click any object in the pane to select it on the
slide (press Ctrl to select multiple objects); click any object’s “eye” icon to hide it and click again to
redisplay. Click Up and Down Reorder buttons to move objects forward and backward. To rename
objects, click the item and enter a name – this is very useful if you use custom animation.
Eye icon open
You have probably already moved objects in PowerPoint (select, use four-headed arrow “move” cursor,
drag). You can also duplicate any selected object (use the Home tab’s Clipboard group’s Paste button
drop-down) to copy and paste then overlap. Also press Ctrl+D to duplicate selected object and drag to
locate any distance or direction from original; if you press Ctrl+D again, PowerPoint will remember and
place the third object the same distance and direction from the second. This makes it easy to create a
row of several equidistant objects.
To delete an object, select and press Delete or Backspace. If you press Ctrl+X or choose Cut from the
Home tab’s Clipboard group, the object is deleted but moves to the clipboard so you can paste it
elsewhere. Remember: to delete any object containing text, click the border and press Delete.
You know how to resize an image using the object’s handles, but to
maintain the proportion, drag the corner handles (use Zoom to see
entire object and handles if object is too large). Left or Right
handles will make the object wider or narrower; top or bottom
handles change the height. The side of the object opposite the
handle you drag remains fixed; the center and all other sides move
as you drag (press Ctrl when dragging a handle to resize so center
remains fixed). You can specify the height or width of an object on
the Format tab, Size group. For an image, when you enter either
height or width, the proportions stay the same (double the width,
the height will double, too); for drawing objects, the proportions
do not stay the same (double the width, height stays the same).
Click the Size group dialog box launcher for more options such as scale (ex. 75% of original or lock aspect
ratio), rotation, cropping.
To crop a graphic, select it then click Crop on the Format tab, Size group. The cursor changes to look like
the crop button then changes to a T shape as you pass over the middle of any of the picture’s borders.
Drag inward on any of the sides – and note that you can’t crop drawing objects but you can rotate an
image or shape. Select the object and click Rotate in the Arrange group of the Format tab. Choose
Rotate Left 90o or Rotate Right 90o or Flip Vertical or Horizontal (mirror object). For more flexibility, use
the green Free Rotate handle at the top of the select image: place your cursor over the dot (cursor
changes), click and drag to rotate to any angle. For even more precision, click More Rotation Options
from the Rotate drop-down menu – you can set rotation by any degree. Another tip: to create a
symmetrical shape by mirroring, cop/paste the object then choose Draw – Rotate or Flip. Move the
copy next to the original; you can then group the two objects to create a perfectly symmetrical shape.
Grouped objects are like a single object, such as an image and its caption that you want to move
together. Sometimes you start with grouped objects and want to ungroup them to manipulate
individual parts. Select the graph, click Group button – Ungroup from the drop down (Format tab,
Arrange group). Sometimes you have to ungroup twice into a few large objects then into many smaller
ones. With Clip Art, if you get a message “This is an imported picture, not a group. Do you want to
convert it to a MS Office drawing object?” click Yes. Be careful – ungrouping can create hundreds of
little pieces; don’t forget to regroup for easier handling. Always save your presentation before start
major changes to a graphic – have fun but if you don’t like the results, close the presentation without
saving. Another good option is to create a duplicate slide and work on the duplicate – you can always
delete that slide if things don’t work out well. To group objects, click Group (on Format tab), right-click
any of the objects and choose Group, or select the objects and press Ctrl+G. When you ungroup objects,
PowerPoint remembers the group so you can select one of the objects and Regroup to recreate the
original grouping. You don’t have to ungroup to change an individual object – just select the group and
click the object.
It’s common to overlap objects but sometimes the wrong one is on top. To reorder an object, select it
and click Bring to Front or Send to Back in the Arrange group of the Format tab. If you have several
objects, use the drop downs to Bring Forward one layer or Send Backward one layer – or right-click the
object for the same options. Also use the Selection and Visibility pane (click Selection Pane in Arrange
group of Format tab) to move objects up and down in display order.
You can substitute a different picture or shape and keep the same formatting. To switch pictures, select
the one you don’t want, choose Change Picture in the Adjust group of the Format tab for the Insert
Picture dialog box. Navigate to the picture you want and click Insert. To switch shapes, select the one
you want to change, click the down arrow next to Edit Shape button (Format tab, Insert Shapes group)
and choose Change Shape from the drop-down menu. The Shape gallery opens for you to choose
another shape; PowerPoint applies the same formatting to the new shape.
In PowerPoint 2007, you can recolor images to match your presentation better in more ways. Select a
picture and click the Recolor button (Format tab, Adjust group) for the drop-down gallery with live
previews: No Recolor, Grayscale, Sepia (brown tones), Black and White, Washout (aka watermark).
There is also a row for Dark Variations and a row for Light Variations and then More Dark Variations to
display the color palette and More Colors for the dialog box. Use the Brightness and Contrast buttons in
the Adjust group, too; increasing contrast makes dark colors darker and light colors lighter and
decreasing (softer effect) does the opposite until the image is all grays. Click Picture Correction Options
for the Format Picture dialog box and more control over contrast and brightness. Increasing brightness
lightens all colors while decreasing darkens all. If you are going to project your presentation, always
check the colors’ brightness – images might be too bright. At the bottom of the Recolor gallery, choose
Set Transparent Color to create a transparent area on gif and png files but not jpg; to remove a
background around the image, move your cursor back onto the slide and click the color in the picture
that you want to be transparent.
It’s a good idea to compress pictures in a presentation to decrease
file size so the presentation loads more quickly and functions
better. Select an image and click Compress Pictures in Adjust
group of Format tab. Click Ok to compress all images in the
presentation or check Apply to select pictures only, OK. Click
Options for the Compression Settings dialog box (see left). Even
when you make changes to a picture, PowerPoint remembers the
original settings: click Reset Picture in the Adjust group, Format tab
to return the picture to its original state – this does not reverse compression!
You can even add alternative (alt) text to an image (this is helpful for web viewing); click the dialog box
launcher for the Size group, Format tab then click the Alt Text tab and enter the text.
There many new format picture options in PowerPoint 2007 including the picture styles collection: click
the down arrow for the live gallery of borders, shapes and special effects (rotation, reflection). Use the
drop-down lists for Picture Shape, Picture Border (including more outline colors, border weight and line
type), and Picture Effects: Preset, Shadow, Reflection, Glow, Soft Edges, Bevel and 3-D Rotation. For
general graphic editing, click the dialog box launcher (or right-click the picture) for Format Picture
options: fill, line color, line style, shadow, 3-D format, 3-D rotation, picture, textbox. Fill options include:
no fill, solid fill, gradient fill, picture or texture fill, background. Use line to create a border around the
image; note that textbox applies only to shapes that contain text (more to come on these features.)
PowerPoint is not a picture editor, so you might want to use Photoshop or other simpler alternatives,
even Paint.
Create Drawing Objects
MS Office has drawing tool that you can use to create your own graphics – not sophisticated but a useful
variety of shapes that are very flexible and can be resized and colored. Click the Shapes button in the
Illustrations group on the Insert tab to open the gallery; click the shape that you want to insert it on the
slide or drag on the slide to size the shape as you insert it.
Lines, Arrows and Curves:
To draw a single line, choose the line tool, move the cursor to your slide, click and drag. The end point
of the line is where you release the mouse. Do the same for drawing an arrow. To draw a curved shape,
choose the curve tool and click at the start point. Move to either the endpoint or where you want to
create a curve that changes the direction of the line. Continue to click at curve points and double-click
to end the curve. Use the freeform tool to create a multi-segmented shape that can have both lines and
curves. Click like you do for lines start and endpoints, drag the mouse for curves, and double-click to
end the freeform object. To use the scribble tool, click the start point, drag and draw then release the
mouse at the end. Lines, arrows and connectors have only two handles when selected so when you
drag one handle, the other end remains fixed – it’s easy to change endpoint position for length and
angle of line changes. Press Shift and drag to hold angle constant and change length only.
Tips: To close a shape, click near its starting point; PowerPoint will automatically connect the end and
start points. To draw several lines or shapes, right-click one and choose Lock Drawing Mode. To stop,
choose any other button.
To format a line, select it and see the Format tab appear; in the Shape Styles group, choose Shape
Outline to display the palette. Click one of the colors or choose More Outline Colors for the Colors
dialog box. Point to Weight to change the line’s width and for more options, choose More Lines for the
Format Shapes dialog box with Line Style category displayed. Similarly, choose dashed (dotted) or More
Lines for the same dialog box. In the Line Style category, you can format Width, Compound Type
(double or triple line types), Dash Type, Cap Type (shape of arrow start point), Join Type (how line
segments meet) and Arrow settings. Use Line Color category by choosing from the Color drop-down list.
Note that in Shape Outline, you can change the arrowhead type or choose More Arrows for the Format
Shape dialog box for line style – see above for Begin type, Begin size, End type and End size options.
Flowcharts and Process Diagrams:
We’ll look at SmartArt in lesson 8, but you can insert a variety of shapes and connectors to create
flowcharts and diagrams. Choose one of the shapes in the Flowchart section of the Shapes gallery
(rectangles, basic shapes, block arrows, equation shapes, stars and banners, callouts, action buttons)
then click and drag onto the slide for the desired size. Some of the shapes display one or two small
yellow diamonds when selected; you can drag these to manipulate the shape’s features. Continue this
process until you have the shapes that you want, then use the connectors to show how the shapes
relate to one another. There are connector lines with no arrows, one arrow, two arrows, “elbows” and
curves. When you draw a connector, place the cursor near one of the shapes; PowerPoint displays small
red boxes at the points of the shape. Click to snap exactly to one of the boxes then drag to one of the
next shape’s red boxes and click to snap in place. You can edit flowcharts and diagrams at will, and the
connectors will move and adjust accordingly. Remember press Shift when dragging for a perfect circle
using the Oval tool and a perfect square using the rectangle tool; right-click either tool and choose Lock
Drawing Mode to drag several shapes at once.
A callout is a combination textbox and line which points to an object; just choose the one you want, click
on your slide for the default size, type the text, drag the handles to adjust size, move to desired location
and drag diamonds until line points to the appropriate spot. You can create drawing objects and add
them to the Clip Organizer: first create then select and copy, click Clip Art in the Illustrations group
(Insert tab) to open the Clip Art task pane. Click Organize Clips, choose a category and paste (scroll to
see the new item). Don’t forget to add keywords to help you find the object again: pass the cursor over
the thumbnail, click down arrow and choose Edit Keywords. You can also save the drawing object as a
separate graphic file: right-click and choose Save as Picture – then you have it to insert as picture and
manipulate like a picture (crop, brightness, contrast, etc.)
Curves, freeform and scribble objects have vertices located where you clicked as you created. You can
edit these to reshape the object: right-click the object and choose Edit Points to see the vertices and
drag to make adjustments. Click the vertex (see two small handles) and drag; you might have to zoom in
to see them if the vertices are close together. While editing, right-click to add or delete a vertex,
straighten a segment, convert straight to curved, or create a corner, smooth or straight point. To edit
the points of another shape, select the shape and click Edit Shape – Convert to Freeform in the Insert
Shape group on the Format tab – then you can edit points.
To edit connectors, right-click and choose a different type of connector from Connector Types. You can
also disconnect one end of a connector from its object by dragging the handle at the end or move the
entire connect by dragging the middle for the ends to become “undone”. Right-click to Reroute
Connector (command also in Insert Shapes group on Format tab): click down arrow to Edit Shape to get
Reroute command – PowerPoint will automatically reroute connector to travel the shortest distance.
Layout Your Slides with Precision
Rulers are very helpful for slide layout;
as you move your cursor, the top and
side rulers show their position with a
line. Remember, to show the rulers,
check Ruler in the Show/Hide group of
the View tab. Guides are the best
tools for placing objects, however.
Select any object, click the Format tab
then click the Align drop-down arrow
(Arrange group) and choose Grid
Settings for the dialog box. Check the
Display Drawing Guides on Screen
checkbox, OK; the shortcut is Ald+F9
to display and hide guides. The
default guides appear through the
zero mark of each ruler. You can drag
a guide to measure distances; and you
can add a guide (press Ctrl and drag
any guide) for more precision. Objects
snap to guides as you move them – try
it; and delete a guide that you’ve
added by dragging it to its corresponding ruler (horizontal to top ruler, vertical to side ruler).
PowerPoint slides have a grid that you can use to place objects. By default, the grid is invisible, but you
can display it and control the spacing, too. Whenever you draw, resize or move an object, it snaps to
this grid (but disable the grid by pressing Alt as you drag or draw if you want total control). You can also
snap one object to another: check the Snap Objects to Other Objects checkbox in the Grid and Guides
dialog box. If you like working this way, click the Set as Default button to keep your settings for other
presentations, OK. You can create a custom grid in Slide Master – more in lesson 7.
Click the Format tab, Size group’s dialog box launcher for the Size and Position dialog box – you want the
Position tab. This let’s you precisely set the vertical and horizontal position of an object: measure from
the top-left corner or center of the slide (use the rulers) and enter the values in the Horizontal and
Vertical textboxes and choose one of the options in the From drop-down (top corner or center), OK.
While drawing lines, you can constrain them to be horizontal, vertical or diagonal (in 45 degree
increments) by pressing Shift as you draw (remember a perfect circle with the Oval and perfect square
with the Rectangle). You can also “nudge” objects when they are selected by using the arrow keys (up,
down, left, right). Each time you press an arrow key, the selected object moves one grid line in that
direction. If you want more control, press Ctrl as you nudge so the object moves in increments of .02”.
Increasing the Zoom makes subtle adjustments easier, too.
To align two or more objects, decide how you want them lined up: vertically on the left, right or center;
horizontally along top, bottom or middle. Select two or more objects and choose Align in the Arrange
group on the Format tab for the options noted above. You can also distribute three or more objects
equidistant either horizontally or vertically: select them then click Align drop-down and choose either
Distribute Horizontally or Distribute Vertically. Click Align to Slide first to arrange objects equal
distances from each other in relation to the entire slide.
Tips on Design and Layout
Make Text Simple and Consistent: legible, same font type, no more than 45-55 characters/line
(including spaces), font size!
Follow a Simple Plan: organize by importance, create a visual theme, contrast text and
background – if one is complex, the other should be simple.
Consider Color and Rhythm
Left to right, top to bottom, dark/bright then light; cooler/muted colors for backgrounds
(light or dark); light text on dark background looks a little larger (and vice versa), but
lighter backgrounds are “softer”
Vary slide design: text, text, image, text; large image, text, text, smaller images, text,
text.
Do a visibility test – ask a friend, colleague, family member…even a 6-year old can give
you good feedback!
Relate Graphics to Content
Words and pictures help people learn better than words alone
Extraneous words or pictures hinder learning
Place related words and pictures next to each other – that’s the best learning!
Organize content with clear outlines and headings
Use conversational rather than formal presentation style; animate your spoken text
rather than the printed text – better learning!
MS PowerPoint Lesson 6: Work with Colors, Borders, Fills and 3-D Effects
Objectives:
1. Work with Theme Colors
2. Change Backgrounds
3. Use Shape Styles
4. Format Outlines
5. Work with Fills
6. Add Special Effects
7. Create 3-D Effects
Work with Theme Colors
Every template and theme includes default colors, a set of 12 that is automatically applied. There are
four text and background colors (two dark, two light and always in contrast), six accent colors (also
contrasting in shapes, charts), hyperlink color and followed hyperlink color. Templates and themes
include a number of alternative color sets all of which give a coordinated look. To choose different
theme colors, click the Design tab, Themes group then click the Colors drop-down to display the gallery.
Note that if you open an older PowerPoint, you’ll see the colors of its color scheme here. See how the
colors are related in the gallery in order to create an overall impression: blues, greens, grays (soft colors)
or warmer greens, oranges and browns. Click one to apply to all slides; to apply to selected slides, use
the slides tab in the outline pane to select the ones you want then right-click the set of theme colors and
choose Apply to Selected Slides. Be consistent; that is, if you want to use more than one theme, do so
when you are introducing a new section of your presentation.
To create your own set of
theme colors, click Create
New Theme Colors at the
bottom of the Themes Color
gallery for the dialog box.
You’ll see the 12 colors of
the current theme color set;
to change the color, click the
one you want to display the
color palette. Click More
Colors for each of the drop-
downs for more options. In
that dialog box, click the
Custom tab to see luminosity
(brightness) – drag the bar
on right up and down to get
the shade that you want.
The Custom tab also lets you
use the more formal system to determine color: RGB (red-
green-blue) to define amounts of primary colors and HSL (hue-
saturation-luminosity). Click Ok to return to the Create New
Theme Colors dialog box, enter a name in the Name box and Save. The new theme color set becomes
your current theme color set, and you’ll see it in the Theme Colors section. Note that the Colors dialog
box is common to all Office applications, for example, drawing shapes fill
colors.
Change Backgrounds
Each slide’s background is the bottom-most layer of the slide, not an object
that you can manipulate. Nothing can be placed behind the background
that always covers the entire slide. The background can be a solid color or
have fill effects; the current trend is slides with plain white, off-white or
very subtle texture as backgrounds and images that don’t cover the entire
slide. For a quick choice, click the Design tab then click Background Styles
(in the Background group) for the gallery; pass your cursor over the choices
for live preview then click to apply to all or select slides and apply to selected. Backgrounds do not
affect shapes, image or text on the slide master. To hide these other objects, click the Hide Background
Graphics checkbox in the Background group, Design tab. For more options, choose Format Background
(in dialog box or right-click the slide background or click the Background dialog box launcher). Note that
most experts agree that theme colors should include one or two bright colors for emphasis; but to
preserve the power of the colors, use with restraint.
Red – strong emotions, use with care; best for occasional accent color
Black – suggests finality, simplicity, also mourning and death
Purple – can imply immaturity, unimportance
Brown – can imply uneasiness, passivity
Green – positive (including teal), good for generating discussion
Blue - calming, conservative; very popular in business presentations but over used, so vary
In the Format Background dialog box, you can create
solid, gradient, texture or picture backgrounds.
Choose Solid fill option then color drop-down (hide
background objects available here, too.) Gradient
colors (one or more) vary across the slide; click the
Preset Colors drop-down for choices that range from
soft to exciting. To create a gradient background,
select the slide to which you want to apply that
background, open the Format Background dialog box,
choose gradient fill; use the preset colors or one of the
five gradient types, three of which offer variations.
Linear: colors in parallel bars, can change
angle of bars (choose option from direction
drop-down list or specify exact angle in Angle
textbox
Radial: colors radiate out from circle either
from middle or four corners (use direction
drop-down)
Rectangular: colors radiate our from rectangle either from middle or
four corners (use direction drop-down)
Path: colors radiate out concentrically from a shape; no different from
rectangle when using that shape, best using star
Shade from Title: colors radiate from slide title placeholder; background, not for shapes
Specify the gradient colors (up to 10 colors, and decide where each color starts and its transparency –
this is only used for shape fill. Each color is called a stop; click Gradient stops drop-down to see the
number of stops, select and click Add and/or Remove if you wish. To work with a stop, select it from the
list then choose color and stop position: drag from beginning = 0%, end =
100% - very interest effects!
The most common background is a picture either from clip art or from file,
either as is or tiled from texture. When you insert a picture, PowerPoint
automatically stretches it to cover the entire slide; insert as a object to have
more editing options then right-click and choose Save as Picture then insert
as background. Choose the Picture or texture fill option in the Format
Background dialog box, then click File for Insert Picture dialog box or
Clipboard to paste a picture (if copied to clipboard) or ClipArt to open Select
Picture dialog box. Uncheck File picture as texture, use Stretch Options
section to move the picture from the edges of the slide (to minimize
distortion) and set the transparency by dragging the slider. New for 2007,
you can recolor (drop-down) and change contrast and brightness by clicking
the Picture category on the left – or click Reset Picture to return to original
settings. Click Rest Background in the Format Background dialog box to
return to default background; click Apply to All to close the dialog box – and
you can click Undo if you don’t like your changes.
Textures are pictures (wood, marble, water droplets), and you can use your own images as textured
backgrounds. Click the Texture drop-down in the Format Background dialog box to display the gallery.
To create your own, click File, Clipboard or ClipArt and check Tile picture as texture for options: offset
picture by specified points (X for horizontal, Y for vertical) and scale the picture in X and Y directions (use
the same scale in both directions to avoid distortions). The smaller the scale, the more tiles PowerPoint
creates. Align the drawing from one of eight directions (determines where PowerPoint starts tiling), and
create mirrored effect horizontally, vertically or both. Simple and repetitive graphics work best for tiling
effect, like the samples provided in PowerPoint.
Use Shape Styles
You can enhance shapes by formatting
outlines, fills and effects, and
PowerPoint has a number of new shape
styles from which to choose. On the
Format tab, click the More button in the
Shape Styles group to display the live
preview gallery. Click the one you want
or choose Other Theme Fills to see the
same background style options available
from the Background group on the
Design tab.
Format Outlines
Every theme color set includes a default
color for shape outline (shape border);
by default, placeholders have no outline,
but you can add it. To format an object’s
outline, select it and click the Shape Outline button in the Shape Styles group to display the color palette
of theme and standard colors, no outline, more outline colors and/or choose weight and/or dashes. You
can also click the Shape Styles dialog box launcher (or right-click the
shape and choose Format Shape) for more options including gradient
– new!
Work with Fills
A fill is what’s inside the enclosed space such as a shape or textbox.
Again, every theme color set includes a default fill color but you can
change that using the same fill effects as for backgrounds: gradients,
textures and pictures. Once you format a shape, you might want to
make that the default: right-click the shape and choose Set as Default
Shape – thereafter any shape will have the same fill, outline and
effects as the selected shape.
To change the fill color quickly, select the object to display the
Format tab and click the Shape Fill drop-down in the Shape
Styles group (see right). You’re familiar with the choices, here
including picture, gradient and texture.
Some additional options are available in the Format Shape
dialog box. Right-click any object to open and choose Fill – but be
careful about choosing slide background fill especially if the object
has no outline – it might not be distinguishable from the
background! Solid, gradient, picture and texture fills can be
transparent, and you can create great effects by layering
transparent objects or placing a partially transparent object on a
background – this is the most common way of making an object invisible,
for example, in PowerPoint games and quizzes to create invisible
hyperlinked buttons. Also for gradient, picture and texture fills, you can
use the Rotate with Shape checkbox to rotate the fill if you rotate the
shape.
Add Special Effects
Reflections, glows, soft edges – all of these are called shape effects. On
the Design tab, click Effects in the Theme group and choose one of the
built-in effects. You can customize theme colors but not theme effects.
Select an object and click the Format tab, then choose Shape Effects –
Reflection for that live gallery (text effects in WordArt styles group)
Glow (fuzzy band of color surrounding shape, any color in four sizes): display live gallery, choose
color from palette
Soft Edges (effect applies inward toward center of shape): choose from 6 values measured in
points
Create 3-D Effects
3-D graphics include simple and subtle shadows, bevels (edge treatments), 3-D rotation and more. To
create a shadow, select an object (except text) to display the Format tab and choose Shape Effects from
the Shape Styles group for the live gallery (shadow text is under WordArt's text effects). Choose No
Shadow to eliminate any you created or otherwise choose any of the options: outer, inner, perspective
or click Shadow Options for the Format Shape dialog box: presets, color, transparency, size, blur, angle,
distance. Remember, the main purpose of a shadow is to make it stand out from the slide's surface.
To create a 3-D shape, start with a 2-D shape (ex. rectangle) then add 3-D depth and rotation. Select the
object, click Format tab, Shape Styles group and choose Shape Effect – 3-D Rotation for the live gallery's
three sections: parallel, perspective, oblique. Again, for more precise control over angles of rotation,
open the Format Shapes dialog box with 3-D Rotation pane displayed. Choose from the presets drop-
down list or set X (rotates object left or right – use the buttons or enter the values), Y (rotates object up
or down – use buttons or enter the values), Z (rotate object clockwise or counterclockwise – use buttons
or enter values)
A bevel is a 3-D effect that controls the edges of an object – and there are new settings in PowerPoint
2007. Select the object and choose Shape Effects – Bevel in the Shape Styles group of the Format tab for
a live gallery. Click 3-D Options for the Format Shape dialog box 3-D Format pane to specify width and
height from Top or Bottom drop-down lists, control 3-D depth (and color) and contour color and size –
remember 72 points = one inch. You can also specify material and lighting to make your object look like
a professional's work. Choose from the Material's drop-down list with standard, special effect or
translucent sections, or choose the lighting options from neutral, warm, cool or special sections. You
can also change the angle (apparent source) of the lighting by entering a value in the Angle textbox.
MS PowerPoint Lesson 7: Slide Masters, Layouts, and Themes
Objectives:
1. Format and manage slide masters
2. Create custom layouts
3. Format the handout master
4. Format the notes master
5. Save custom themes
6. Set page size
7. Create your own template
Format the Slide Master
A slide is made up of three major layers: background, slide master and objects – that's the layer we work
with most often. To work with the slide master, you have to go into that view and then you can set
uniform features: text, graphics, even the background. The slide master acts like a template to control
most text properties: font, size, color, bullet style, shadows, and special effects. Since text is on the
object layer, you can change these properties directly on each slide. You can have several slide masters
for a presentation; and you can make changes to slide masters and save the results as a template. You
can also save your changes as a theme; a template provides design information (background, font
formatting) and can also contain slides with content while a theme just provides design information but
not slides. You don't need a slide master for a presentation – a template or theme might be all you
need. But if you know the specific features you want for most of your presentation's slides, create a
slide master to give a uniform look to your presentation and to save you much time!
To enter Slide Master
view, press Shift and
click the Normal View
button (bottom of the
screen) or click the
View tab and choose
Slide Master from the
Presentation Views
group. Note the
large number of
layouts on the left
with that layout active
when you enter Slide
Master – title layout is
the default when you
enter start a new
Presentation and
open Slide Master. To
exit Slide Master
view, click the Normal
View icon or click
Close Master View on the Slide Master tab. On this tab, you add additional slide masters (Insert Slide
Master), add or delete layouts and change graphics, background, and text formatting. See the masters
displayed at the left. The larger slide represents the master itself; the smaller slides show the individual
layouts for that master. Thus, changes made to the larger slide affect the entire master; changes made
to a specific layout affect only slides using that layout. To delete a master, right-click the large slide's
small version in the left pane and choose Delete Master or click Delete Slide in the Edit Master group.
Ordinarily, a mast is deleted when all slides using the master are deleted or when a new design template
is applied to all slides. You can preserve a slide master in these cases by selecting the master you want
to preserve in the left pane and clicking Preserve in the Edit Master group. To rename a master, click
the master's large slide in the left pane and choose Rename in the Edit Master group; type a new name
in the dialog box and click Rename – see the change immediately in the status bar.
Adding a template or theme automatically adds a slide master to your presentation. You can select a
template or theme first or go to Slide Master view and, in the left pane, select the existing slide master
that you want to replace. Click Themes in the Edit Theme group of the Slide Master tab to open the
gallery, right-click the one you want and either apply to selected slide master or add as new slide
master. If the template or theme isn't in the gallery, click browse for themes at the bottom for the
dialog box, choose a theme, template or presentation file and click apply. Note that if you want to
change more than one slide master in the same way, you need to separately change each slide master.
You can change background and theme properties in the slide master and affect the entire presentation.
The template or theme contains the settings for the slide master including background, color, font and
effects themes. Even if you change everything about a theme, PowerPoint remembers all the
properties. The slide master only applies to the presentation containing – templates and themes are
separate files. To change the background of every slide that uses a slide master, select the larger slide in
the left pane, right-click it in the main pane and choose Background – every slide that uses the slide
master changes. If you want to change the background of a particular layout in a slide master, select
that layout in the left pane, right-click it in the main pane and choose Background – every slide that uses
that layout will change. Remember, the theme colors, fonts and effects control the master.
You might want to format headings (Click to edit Master title style) and bulleted text in your slide
master. Use the same techniques for editing text properties, but remember that the first, large slide in
the left pane controls the entire master. If you make a change to this slide, it changes every slide that
uses that master. If you change a specific layout (selected), the change affects only that layout – and
only the slides that use that layout. In the body text area, "Click to edit Master text styles" and specify
formatting (text, bullets, alignment, indentation) for five or more bullet levels. Choose fancy bullets or
none at all, and when you return to Normal view, the text placeholders reflect the changes. There are
several new formatting options including all uppercase text: select the title placeholder in the master,
click the Home tab, click the font group dialog box launcher, and choose All Caps, OK.
You can add repeating objects (ex. logo) to every slide that uses a specific master by adding to the first,
larger layout of that master. Open the slide master, then Insert – Picture to locate the graphic you want,
click Insert then move/resize as necessary. Because on the master you can't see the actual text on each
slide, be careful where you place the object so it doesn't interfere. Check the placement in Slide Sorter
view when you finish creating your presentation, then return to slide master to make any adjustments.
Place the logo on the slide with the most content – that's usually a good bet. Note that because the
object that you insert in slide master view is not on the object layer, you can't select it unless you are in
slide master view. You can also right-click the object in slide master view and choose Send to Back so it
doesn't cover any text placeholders.
You can add animation in slide master view (ex. to all titles) to appear on all slides or even transitions,
but this could be annoying. More on animation in lesson 9.
The slide master comes with placeholders for date, text footer (ex. your
name) and slide number (very helpful for going back and forth). There
are no separate headers, but you can move the footer placeholders to
the top f the slide master, turning them into headers. To add or change
the footer's content, use Normal (NOT Slide Master) view, click Insert
tab then Header & Footer button in the text group for the dialog box.
Check the Date and Time checkbox if you want date and time on each
slide; choose update automatically (choose a format) or fixed (enter the
date you want in the textbox). Check slide number if you want that
feature and/or footer (type in textbox); Check Don't show on title slide
to omit footers on any slide using the Title Slide layout. Apply to All or
Apply (to selected). You can also show or hide a footer or a title placeholder in the slide master.
Display the slide master, check or uncheck the Footers or Title checkbox in the Master Layout group of
the Slide Master tab.
On a slide master, you can delete footers or even title and body text placeholders, and you can replace
them by selecting the layout in the thumbnail (left) pane and choosing Slide Layout in the Master Layout
group of the Slide Master tab. In the dialog box, check any missing layout component (title, text, date,
slide number, footer) to reinsert on the master, OK.
Of course, you can make exceptions to the slide master; in fact, every time you change a bullet, font
color or background, you are doing so. Any change you make on a slide overrides the master – even if
you change the master. Thus, even though the slide master is the master of the presentation, you are
the master of the slide master. The real advantage of a slide master is that you can make changes that
affect the entire presentation – it's much easier to change text color once than individually on each
slide! And if you want to change it again, do so on the slide master.
When you have completed formatting a slide master, you usually want to apply it to any slides you have
already added. Masters appear along with themes on the Design tab, so select the desired slides and
click the More button in the Themes group. See the masters in your current presentation at the top;
right-click the one you want and choose Apply to Selected Slides.
Create Custom Layouts
A layout is a set of slide components on a side, and in 2007, you can create your own by inserting any of
eight components then placing and sizing as you wish. The custom layout becomes part of the master,
and if you save the file as a template or theme, any presentation can access that custom layout.
Display the Slide Master and click Insert Layout in the Edit Master group. See a new layout in the left
pane below the selected layout –the tooltip for the new layout reads: Custom Layout Layout: used by no
slides.
In the Master Layout group, click the Insert Placeholder drop-down to display the gallery. Choose a
placeholder and drag on the slide master to place and size. Continue until you have all the placeholders
that you wish. Give the layout a name (with layout selected in left pane, click Rename in Edit Master
group) and enter name in dialog box then click Rename. Exit Slide Master view and use the layout for
any slide. Save file as template for office theme file to use as a basis for a new presentation.
Format the Handout Master
The handout master controls the formatting of handouts: add art, text, the date and page numbers to
your handout master to display on the handouts in addition to your slides which are automatically
included. Settings on the handout master have no effect on your slide master or slides. Enter Handout
Master view by pressing Shift and clicking the Slide Sorter view icon at the bottom right of the screen.
See a blank handout master and the Handout Master tab(below); by default the master contains a
header area for text, a date area, a page number area and a footer area for text.
In the Page Setup group, click the Handout Orientation button and choose Portrait or Landscape; click
the Slide Orientation button and choose Portrait or Landscape. Click the Slides Per Page button and
choose a layout for the slides on the page: one to nine slides per page. Three-per-page prints lines to
the right of each slide for notes, or you can also print the outline. You can add graphics, textboxes –
anything you that can be added to a slide. To add a header, footer, the date or page numbers, click the
Insert tab the click the Header and Footer button in the text group (while in Handout Master view). The
Header and Footer dialog box opens with notes and handouts tab on top: you can specify both a header
and footer but you must choose Apply to All. After you have finished formatting your handouts, click
Close on the Handout Master tab.
Format the Notes Master
You remember the Notes pane from
lesson one: type your presentation
notes into the Note pane to help
you remember your ideas and
points. They are especially good for
people who missed your
presentation so people can read
what you said rather than just the
text on the slides.
Click the Notes Master button in the
Presentation Views group on the
View tab. Because the actual notes
page includes a picture of a slide on
the top and your notes at the
bottom, the top of the notes
masters shows the slide master to
represent the actual slides that will
be printed. You can only move and
resize the slide master; the notes
that you enter in the Notes pane for
each slide will automatically appear at the bottom. You can add graphics in the notes area and see
them in Notes Page view and when you print notes; graphics, header and footers don't appear in the
Notes pane in Normal view. To add a header, footer, the date or page number, use the same procedure
as with the handout master then click Close Master View.
Set Page Size
Another way of formatting an entire presentation is to set the
page size. Click the Page Setup button on the Design tab to display
the dialog box (see right). By default, PowerPoint sizes your slides
for an onscreen slide show: slides are 10" wide by 7.5" high. Drop
the Slides Sized for arrow down to see more choices; once you
make your selection, you can customize size using width and height textboxes. Choose orientation of
slide (separate from notes, handouts or outline); by default, slides are in landscape (width longer than
height); everything else is in portrait. Click OK when you are done – and note that you should change
slide size and orientation before you start working on your presentation so the text and graphics fit the
slides correctly.
Save Custom Themes
A theme includes colors, fonts, effects as well as a slide master which contains background and
sometimes graphics. After making so many changes, you probably want to save them to you can use
them again in other presentations. Open a blank or existing presentation and make the desired changes
to the slide master and layouts: choose theme colors or save custom theme colors, choose a theme
effects option, and choose theme fonts or save custom theme fonts. Display the Design tab and click
the More arrow in the themes group; choose Save Current Theme to open the dialog box. Enter a name
for your theme and click Save. The theme is saved in a folder reserved for themes; you can find it in the
themes group (click More arrow) in the Custom section of the Themes gallery.
Create Your Own Template
Like themes, templates include a slide master (background, bullet formatting, layouts), theme colors,
fonts and effects. The background can include graphics that make up a design, and you can include text
and shapes on slides. Once you have created and saved all these components, you can then use that
template for other presentations.
Open a blank or existing presentation and make the desired changes to the slide master and layouts:
choose theme colors or save custom theme colors, choose theme effects option, choose theme fonts or
save custom theme fonts. Click the Office button and choose Save As to open the dialog box; in Save as
Type drop-down, choose PowerPoint Template (*.potx). Type the name of the template in the File
Name textbox and click Save.
To use your template, start a new presentation: click Office button and choose New. In the dialog box,
click My Templates (on left) to choose your template.
MS PowerPoint Lesson 8: Graphs, Tables, Diagrams
Objectives:
1. Present Data Simply
2. Add Graphs to a Slide
3. Present Data in a Table
4. Work with Diagrams
Present Data Simply
Long tables are ok for printed reports or a handout , but not for slides where there is not enough space
or time to read through the data. Present less data and format simply to show trends for convey a clear,
overall message.
Add Graphs to a Slide
A graph visually portrays a series of numbers and is more
effect than a table when showing a trend at a glance. The
easiest way to add a graph to a slide is to use the chart
placeholder. Just like in Word, you automatically switch to
an Excel spreadsheet. To create a graph using the chart
placeholder, create a new slide with one of the content
layouts then click the Chart icon for the dialog box.
Alternatively, you can click Chart in the Inset tab's
Illustrations group. Based on your data and the strengths
and weaknesses of each chart type, choose a chart type
from the list on the left then choose one of the variations
on the right, OK. Note: Chart and Graph are used interchangeably.
Column graphs are the most common type of chart usually showing time on the X-axis (bottom)
and data for each time on the Y-axis (left side). You can show data for more than one item
using many vertical bars or stacked columns. To show relationships across categories and series
(with more than one series), try the last 3-D column subtype.
Line graphs are similar to bar graphs but instead of creating bars, a line is drawn from value to
value. Line graphs are especially good at showing trends: lines go up, down or remain flat. Line
graphs are note as visually impressive as columns or bar graphs; and the 3-D subtype creates
ribbons instead of lines. You can add labels at each data point, however, to make actual values
stand out.
A pie chart shows which percentage each data value contributes to the whole pie and therefore
are suitable for spreadsheets with only one row, that is, one data series. Pie charts look great
on slides, especially 3-D, but use six items or less.
Like column graphs, bar graphs compare data across categories, but the categories are shown
along the left (Y axis) and the data is along the bottom (X-axis).
An area chart is plotted like a line chart, but the area under the lines is filled in and shows up
better on a slide. You can use stacked subtypes to show the relationship of data series to the
total value.
Scatter charts (also called XY graph) are used to draw conclusions about the relationships in the
data when both the categories (columns) and the series (rows) are numbers.
A stock chart is specially designed to plot stock prices. The simplest version plots high, low and
closing prices which must be located in rows in the spreadsheet in that order.
When you have two series (rows), you can use a surface chart to plot both series as it would
with a line graph and connect lines to create a ribbon-like surface. The topology of the surface
shows the combined value of both series.
A doughnut chart is like a pie chart, but you can use it for data with more than one series (row).
The point is to show the proportions between the choices not the total numbers.
A bubble chart lets you plot three series (rows) of data. The first row becomes the horizontal (X)
axis, the second row becomes the vertical (Y) axis, and the third row is indicated by the size of
the bubbles.
A radar chart compares the values of several data series. Each category (column) has its own
value axis radiating out from the center. Lines connect all the values in a series. A radar chart is
usually used for scientific data and may be confusing for a presentation.
Note: To change a chart type of an existing chart, select the chart and choose Change Chart type form
the type group of the Chart Tools Design tab to open the dialog box.
Once you choose a chart type and click OK, enter your data by deleting the "dummy" data in the Excel
chart or by replacing the dummy data with your own. If you need to delete rows or columns, click the
header (letter or number) and click the Delete button's down arrow in the Cells group of the Home tab
then choose Delete Sheet Rows or Delete Sheet Columns. To enlarge the spreadsheet to see more of
your data, place your cursor over an edge or corner of the window and drag outward. You can also drag
column dividers to change column widths. You can also copy/paste data from an existing Excel
spreadsheet into this spreadsheet or copy/paste it directly onto your slide. Remember that the X-axis is
usually the category and the data is in the Y-axis. Keep Excel open as you work, and you can save the
spreadsheet for later use if you wish. If you close it but then want to view it again, select he chart and
click the Show Data button in the Data group of the Chart tools Design tab. Note that you must have
Excel loaded on your computer or you will work with an sub-program called MS Graph which doesn't
have quite all the features of Excel.
If you have an Excel chart already created, you might want to link to it rather than create it in
PowerPoint. When you link to the chart and you change the underlying data in Excel, the chart in your
presentation changes, too. Remember that the Excel file must be in the same location to link
successfully; thus, if you send a PowerPoint to someone, be sure to include the Excel file, too!
1. Open Excel and create the chart if you have not done so already.
2. Click the border of the chart in Excel and Copy.
3. Switch to PowerPoint and choose a layout with content or chart placeholder (you can right-click
the slide and choose Layout).
4. Click the border of the placeholder to select it and Paste.
Instead, you might wish to insert or embed a spreadsheet as an object: display the slide where you want
the spreadsheet and choose Insert – Object. To create a new chart, click Create New then choose your
spreadsheet from the list (ex. choose MS Excel Chart). To insert an already created chart, click Create
from File then browse to locate and double-click the file. You can use your spreadsheet's tools to edit
the data and corresponding chart; click outside the chart to close it. Note that you usually get better
results by linking rather than inserting a chart as an object.
Rarely is the default version of a chart acceptable for a slide; PowerPoint gives you a great deal of
control over chart format. Charts have a number of elements that can be formatted individually,
however, not all charts have every element (ex. 3-D) and some elements are optional (ex. axis titles),
and you can only change font, size, and color for elements that contain text. You can format chart
elements like other drawing objects, for example, filling in a bar or pie section with a picture (right-click,
Format Data Point, choose picture or texture fill option). Be careful about clutter – keep formatting
features simple and clear. Here are the possible chart elements:
Category axis: usually horizontal, X-axis that comes from column headings
Value axis: usually vertical, Y-axis that comes from values row
Series axis: third axis on some 3-D charts, comes from row headings
Chart title
Axis titles
Data labels (from actual values)
Plot area (with axes in 2-D chart)
Each series of data (each row of data plotted on graph)
Chart area (entire chart)
Floor (in 3-D only, chart's depth)
Walls (in 3-D only, two walls that create two of the three dimensions)
Legend: labels that indicate the names of the series
Tick marks: marks that divide the axes into regular units
Gridlines: lines running perpendicular to value axis from tick marks
When you select a chart, PowerPoint adds three new tabs to the ribbon: Design, Layout, and Format.
You can choose a number of preset
layouts (specifying things like
title, legend, data labels, data
points) and styles (determines
fills, outlines, effects of chart
elements including text).
Select the chart and click the
More button for Chart Layouts
gallery and/or click the More
button for the Chart Styles gallery. Note that text size is often too small so
choose a chart layout and/or style first then increase the text size.
Usually, you have to format some chart elements individually. Each
element has its own Format dialog box to fine-tune that element. Make
sure that the chart is selected first then click the element itself to select; as
you move your cursor around a chart, tooltips pop up to tell you which
object is which. To format a chart, start with the Chart tools Layout tab:
you can change labels, axes, background – just click the elements down
arrow to display some common options. In most cases, you get a dialog
box for even more options, for example, More Plot Area Options will open
the Format Plot Area dialog box. Alternatively, you can right-click an
element and choose the Format item to open that dialog box. Here you can
choose the familiar settings such as fill, line color, line style, shadow and 3-
D format and other settings.
To format the text, right-click the text to display the Mini toolbar. You can
also add shapes and/or textboxes – and you can animate a chart (lesson 9).
If you want to use the same formatting in the future, select the chart to display the Chart Tools Design
tab and click the Save Template button in the Type group for the dialog box. Enter a name for the
template (.crtx file extension) then click Save. To use your chart template, when you choose a chart
type, click the Templates item instead of one of the preset chart types. Remember that if you have
created and formatted a chart in Excel, you can always copy/paste it onto a slide.
Basic rules for charts:
Guide the attention to your main point: use an arrow, animation or contrasting color.
Reduce the number of lines or bars: use one data series per chart and create two charts on
separate slides to present all data.
Use an axis scale or data points but not both unless exact numbers are important.
Remove details: gridlines, footnotes and other details detract from the main point but if they
are necessary, use a printed handout.
Present Data in a Table
Using a table is an easy way to present lots of text or summarize complex information – and make your
point when you are not trying to show relationships or trends. A table is also a good way to supplement
a chart – show the chart first then focus on the table for details.
Create a Table
Create a new slide using one of the content layouts, click the Table icon for the Insert Table dialog box,
specify the number of columns and rows then click OK. You can also create a table on a slide with a
table placeholder by clicking the Table button in the Tables group of the Insert tab: drag down and right
in the grid to fill in the number of rows and columns you want. A more flexible way to create a table is
to draw it: on the Insert tab, Tables group, click the Table button down arrow and choose Draw Table.
Your cursor changes to a pencil. Create the outer boundaries of the table by dragging from the top-left
corner to the bottom-right corner (or right to left). Drag across to create rows and vertically to create
columns; once you have a row, you can create a partial column. To erase a line, display the Table Tools
Design tab and click Eraser in the Draw Borders group: drag across the line or just click it to erase. To
control the border line type and width, use the Pen Style and Pen Weight drop-down lists in the Draw
Borders group. Once you have created a table, click in the first cell and start typing data; press Tab to
move from cell to cell or just click into any cell. Of course, if you press Tab from the bottom-right cell,
PowerPoint creates a new row so you can add more data.
Just like with charts, you can import an already created table: Insert – Object, Create New or Create
from File. Remember that you will have use of the other application's menus and toolbars, however, an
embedded object does not usually appear as a seamless part of a slide. You can also copy/paste an
existing table onto a slide and use PowerPoint's table tools.
A simple way to format a table is to apply a table style: select
the table and click the Table Tools Design tab. In the Table
Styles group, click the More button to display the live preview
gallery; click your choice to apply. For more control, you can
individually format cell shading, borders and effect by using the
buttons to the right of the Tables Styles group - similar to
shapes formatting but with fewer options. Table effects are
limited to bevels, shadows and reflections; bevels make a nice
3-D effect for table cells. To format the text, select then right-
click to display the Mini toolbar to change font, size, and color.
Use the Alignment group of the Layout tab for change text
direction, alignment (horizontal and vertical). To add or delete
rows and columns, show or hide gridlines, or merge and split
cells, again use the Layout tab. You can also fine-tune cell and
table size. To get a professional-looking table
Resize and place the table
Select the entire table and format font, size and color
Change the borders (use the Borders drop-down on the
Table Tools Design tab) or use no borders
Use the Shading drop-down list to choose fill
Diagrams offer a graphic way to display the
relationships between elements of a process
or organization. You can even convert
bulleted text to a diagram using SmartArt: a
list, process, cycle, hierarchy, relationship
(ex. Venn), matrix, or pyramid. Of course,
you can create your own diagrams using
shapes such as flowchart and connectors.
Use one of the content layouts and click the
diagram icon OR click the SmartArt button in
the Illustrations group on the Insert tab OR
convert existing level 1 and level 2 body text
by selecting the placeholder then click the
Convert to SmartArt button on the Home
tab's Paragraph group – or right-click the placeholder and choose Convert to SmartArt. If you've not
converting existing text, the Choose a SmartArt Graphic dialog box opens; if you are converting text, you
can choose from the options in the drop-down list that appears or click More SmartArt Graphics to open
the dialog box. Choose the type of diagram and layout then click OK. You immediately see the diagram
and a text pane to its left (click the arrow on the left border or the diagram object to expand/collapse
the text pane); you can type the text in the text pane or directly in the diagram (see below).
You may need to add an element from a diagram:
In the text pane, use the text tools to add another bullet (press Enter after the last item, press
Tab to demote and Shift+Tab to promote text).
On the SmartArt Tools Design tab, use the Crate Graphic group's tools to add a bullet or shape;
the Layout button's drop-down list has special tools to help format organizational charts.
Right-click a shape and choose one of the options to add a shape from the shortcut menu.
You can delete shapes by selected them and pressing Delete or by deleting text in the text pane.
Like charts and tables, SmartArt graphics have Quick Styles: select the graphic an click the More button
from the SmartArt Tools Design tab's Quick Styles group to open the gallery. You can choose from a
number of color styles: click the Change Colors drop-down arrow also in the Quick Styles group to
display the available color styles.
You can switch to another SmartArt graphic in the same category using the Layouts group of the
SmartArt Design tab. For even more control over the individual settings (similar to formatting shapes),
use the SmartArt Tools Format tab. You can change the size of a graphic on this tab in the Size group,
and you can also drag the lower-right corner of a graphic to resize it. Enlarging the entire graphic can
help you fit text on the shapes more easily. Select any text to change the font, size, color; right-click the
selected text to display the Mini toolbar.
MS PowerPoint Lesson 9: Add Animation to a Presentation
Objectives:
1. Create Professional Animation
2. Transition from Slide to Slide
There are two types of animation: within a slide and from slide to slide. Animation on a slide is often
called builds when applied to text (objects build up on the screen one after another) and determines
how and when objects on the slide appear. Animation can enhance a presentation, but too much will
distract. Pick one or two effects and stick with them – and for transitions, too. Transitions specify how a
new slide appears after the previous slide disappears.
Create Professional Animation
Animating objects focuses your audience's attention on what you're saying, so you need to know what
you're going to say while that slide is displayed and in what order in order to determine the order in
which the objects appear on the slide. You can control the following aspects of animation: how the
object appears and where (if anywhere) it moves, in what grouping the object appears, whether the
animation occurs on a click or automatically, whether a sound plays and/or what happens (if anything)
after the animation.
PowerPoint 2007 has three animation effects that can be applied to text or an
object almost immediately: Fade, Wipe, Fly In. Display the slide for which you
want animation, select the object or placeholder that you want to animate,
display the Animation tab and click the Animations drop-down list in the
Animations group. If you select a text placeholder, you'll see the options on
the left; otherwise, you'll see the options on shown on the right. Pass the
mouse over the options for a live preview, then click the effect you want. Go to Slide Show
view to see the animation full screen.
For maximum control, use custom animation: click the Custom Animation button on the
Animations tab to open the task pane (see left) then select an object on the active slide and
click Add Effect in the Custom Animation task pane. See your options: Add new or change
existing animation (click Add Effect), Remove animation (click Remove), Animation properties
(start, direction/amount, speed), List of animations for entire slide, Change order of
animations (Reorder buttons at bottom), Play, Slide Show – and check AutoPreview to show
animation on slide when you add it.
Click Add Effect to choose from Entrance, Emphasis, Exit or Motion Paths; pass your cursor
over each to see submenu choices including More Effects for each submenu's dialog box.
Each listing includes basic, subtle, moderate and exciting effects – scroll down to see them all.
Motion Paths offer the most opportunities for creativity especially when illustrating
relationships, processes, progress or passage of time by moving objects from a start to an end
position. You can add more than one animation to an object (entrance, emphasis, motion
path) and also create a custom motion path: choose Draw Custom Path then choose line,
curve, freeform or scribble. Once you click Ok, you'll see the effect listed in the task pane with
the numbered tags next to each animated object on your slide so you can keep track. Don't
worry – these don't show in Slide Show view and don't print either; you only see them when
the Custom Animation task pane is open. When you click Play, you see the timeline of
seconds passing throughout the animation so you can gauge the total time your
animation takes.
You might want to refine the animation effect's start, speed, dimming after effect or
other properties. Click the Start drop-down list in the Custom Animation task pane
(see left) or select the object then click the drop-down arrow for the object in
the task pane (bordered in listing) for the menu (see upper right). Choose
Timing to display the dialog box (varies according to type of animation effect):
Start, Delay, Speed, Repeat (see right). Click Rewind when done playing to
return the object to its original condition or setting. To create a trigger (when
you click another object the animation starts), click Triggers and choose Start
Effect on Click of, then use the drop-down list to select one of the objects on
your slide.
To specify settings for an animation not related to timing,
select the object and click its drop-down in the Custom
Animation task pane's listing. Choose Effect Options to open the Effect tab (see
left). The Settings section of the dialog box varies according to the effect. The
Enhancements section lets you add sound effects, dim the object after animation
and/or animate text all at once, by word or by letter (specify speed for the later
two choices). PowerPoint comes with a few sound effects that can be fun but also
annoying. To add a WAV sound (no other type will play), use the Sound drop-
down and choose Other Sound to search for WAV files.
Dimming text after animation is especially effective in focusing your audience's attention on
the current point. Dim to a lighter color, hide the object completely after the animation or
hide it on the next mouse click. Click the After Animation drop-down arrow on the Effect tab
and use the menu shown at the right. Choose a dimming color or one of the Hide options then click OK.
Click the Text Animation tab if you are animating content text such as bullets. Use the Group Text drop-
down list to specify how text is groups when animated: As One Object, By 1st level paragraphs, By 2nd
level paragraphs, etc. Then choose automatically after x seconds, animate attached shape or in reverse
order, OK.
Edit animation in the following ways: Remove animation, Change animation effect, Change animation
timing or options, Change animation order, Edit animation path (edit points).
You can animate a chart created in PowerPoint or Excel by using the Chart Animation tab of the
animation effect's dialog box (features depend on the type of chart):
All at Once
By Series
By Category
By Element in Series
By Element in Category
Select the chart, click Custom Animation for the task pane, click Add Effect and
choose an animation effect (ex. Entrance – Whip). Choose the animation from
the task pane's listing and choose Effect Options. Choose effects on the Effect
tab, then click the Chart Animation tab and choose an option from the Group
Chart drop-down list (see right). Uncheck the Start Animation by Drawing Chart Background if you want
the background to appear after the other elements (the default is axes and background appear first),
OK. Make other adjustments, ex. Speed, on the task pane. You can animate diagrams and organization
charts like a chart, but instead of a Chart Animation tab, there is a SmartArt Animation tab.
Note that you can also download free animated GIF files and Insert Picture from file, but remember that
they will only move in Slide Show view.
Transition from Slide to Slide
Another type of animation controls how each new slide appears from one slide to another: transitions.
Like animation, transitions needs to be used with reserve and it's usually bet to choose a simple
transition and apply it to every slide or use a new transition to introduce a new section. Your transition
should increase your audience's attention without giving them a headache, and it should give a sense of
the flow of the presentation.
When you add a transition to a slide, the transition determines how that slide
appears after the previous slide is removed from view. Select the slide or slides
to which you want to add a transition, display the Animations tab and click the
More button in the Transitions To This Slide group to display the gallery. Choose
a transition from the gallery then decide on Sound and Speed (drop-down) in the
Transitions To This Slide group. Under Advance Slide, choose on mouse click or
automatically after a specified number of seconds or both. Click Apply to All
unless you only want selected slides to have the transition. To view transitions,
use Slide Sorter view and lick the animation icon, select a slide or slides and click
Preview in the Preview group of the Animations tab (both animation and
transitions show) or view the presentation in Slide Show view.
To remove a transition, select the slide or slides and choose Not Transition from
the Slide Transition gallery. To remove a sound, choose No Sound in the Sound
drop-down list in the Transition to This Slide group of the Animations tab.
MS PowerPoint Lesson 10: Tutorials
Objectives:
1. Use multimedia: sounds, music, media clips; play a CD throughout a presentation, record narration
2. Interact with others: use hyperlinks, action buttons, review a presentation
3. Display a presentation on a web site
4. Customize PowerPoint: Options, Quick Access toolbar
5. Prepare and Present
1. Multimedia
Sound files
o Audio Interchange File Format (aif or aiff developed by Apple), Musical Instrument
Digital Interface (mid or midi or rmi), Moving Picture Experts Group (mp3 for high
quality compressed files), Windows WAVE, Windows Media Audio (wma compressed)
o Insert – Media Clips group, Sound drop-down to choose Sound from Clip Organizer (clip
art) or Sound from File; sound icon on slide, start automatically or when clicked (creates
animation which can be edited to play across slides or loop or hide sound icon)
Play Sound dialog box: Custom Animation, click drop-down arrow for sound in
task pane – Effect Options (start playing, stop playing, etc.)
Sounds Options dialog box: select sound icon, click Options tab, click dialog box
launcher in Sound Options groups (loop, hide, etc)
o Add CD Soundtrack
Insert CD, display slide on which you want to place the CD audio track, click
Sound button down arrow in Insert tab's Media Clips group, choose Play CD
Audio Track
Insert CD Audio dialog box: Start, End, Loop, volume, hide, OK; play
automatically or when clicked? Remember: CD must be in your computer!
Change options on Options tab, Set Up group or click Custom Animation on
Animations tab, click drop-down arrow for sound object – Effect Options
Movies with Video Clips (AVI, WMV, MPG or ASF = Advanced Streaming Format)
o Display slide, click Movie in Media Clips group on Insert tab; click down arrow for Movie
button to choose Movie from Clip Organizer (clip gallery), play movie automatically or
when clicked
o Change options using Options tab (including hide, zoom, loop, rewind); Adjust screen
resolution: click dialog box launcher in Size group of Options tab, in dialog box on Size
tab, check Best Scale for Slide Show then choose Resolution drop-down, OK
Record Narration (see PowerPoint demo)
Note: Check internal/external microphone in Control Panel – Sounds and Audio Devices, Audio tab;
under Sound Recording, click Volume then select the microphone you want to use, OK.
2. Interact with Others
Hyperlinks
o Link to another slide in your presentation: select object or text, choose hyperlink on
Insert tab Links group for dialog box (link to, select a place in this document, slide
preview, OK); Always test the link in Slide Show view!
o Link to slide in another presentation: link to Existing File or Web Page- click Bookmark
for Select Place in Document dialog box
o Link to another File or Web Page: same as above but filename and path or URL in
Address box, click Bookmark to choose a named location in the file (note that bookmark
doesn't always work), click Screen Tip to enter a label that will display when mouse
hovers – URL or path is default, OK
o Link to a New File (link to – Create New Document, etc.)
o Edit Hyperlinks: right-click for dialog box or choose Remove Hyperlink
Action Buttons (graphics on slide for links)
o Insert tab, Shapes button in Illustrations group – Action button section (see screen tips);
drag shape (adjust size, shape, color)
o Mouse click tab of Action Settings dialog box opens with suggested hyperlink; to
change, click drop-down for Hyperlink To list (Slide, URL, Other PP Presentation, Other
File), OK
Review a Presentation: click Review tab for comments
3. Display a Presentation on a Web Site
File – Save As Web Page (.htm or .html) for best viewing including navigation tools; click Publish
for dialog box with options then click publish
Open in default browser, upload to site and test.
4. Customize PowerPoint
Options
o Popular: Mini Toolbar, Live Preview, Developer, Color Scheme, ScreenTip Scheme, User
Name and Initials, Language Settings
o Proofing: AutoCorrect Options, Spelling
o Save: Save Files in This Format, Save AutoRecover Information every x Minutes, Default
File Location, etc.
o Advanced: Editing, Cut/Copy/Paste, Display, Slide Show, Print, etc.
Quick Access toolbar
o Customize: Popular Commands, All Commands; add, remove, move up/down
o Show Below, Above Ribbon; right-click group to add to Quick Access Toolbar
5. Prepare and Present
Slide formats (ex. Office Button – Publish – Package for CD)
Handouts (Office Button–Print , Handouts OR Office Button Publish Create Handouts in Word)
Equipment (check connections, readability, colors; test all features and navigation)
Time your presentation
o Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse: Notes, Speak in Front of a Group (don't read the screen)
o Kiosk
Slide Show tab, Click Rehearse Timings in Set Up group
Slide Sorter view, select slide, display Animations tab, check Automatically After
in Transition To This Slide group; use textbox or arrows to set number of
seconds
Slide Show Parameters: Click Set Up Show on Slide Show tab, Set Up group for
dialog box
Custom Shows
o Click Custom Slide Show on Slide Show tab, Start Slide Show group, choose Custom
Shows – New for Define Custom Show dialog box
o Select slides, click Add, OK; get back to this dialog box to Edit.