TEACH YOURSELF POWERPOINT

Microsoft PowerPoint

PowerPoint is a program to help create and present presentations. This handout introduces the basic features of Microsoft PowerPoint and covers the basics of creating simple presentations and editing and formatting the PowerPoint slides.

Starting A Presentation

Start PowerPoint by either of two methods:

1. Go to the Start menu. Choose All Programs
2. Choose Microsoft Office 2003 and then click on Microsoft PowerPoint 2003.

You can also double-click the icon of any PowerPoint document. When you double-click a PowerPoint document, PowerPoint opens with the document already loaded.

A PowerPoint presentation consists of slides that can contain text, graphics, charts, and other data types. When you start PowerPoint, you can start with a blank presentation, or you can begin from a template or use the AutoContent Wizard.

The AutoContent Wizard is series of step-by-step instructions designed to assist you. The Template button accesses slide templates to help create a consistent, professional look for your slide presentation.

Choose Blank Presentation if you want to start with a clean slate. This method is recommended because it provides the most flexibility and lets you focus on content first rather than appearance.

After you choose Blank Presentation, select the layout of your slides from the New Slide dialog box. Choose from slides with titles and bullets, titles only, titles and clip art, and other options. For example, choose the Title Slide and click OK.

OPENING AND CLOSING PRESENTATIONS

Open an Existing Presentation

One will make this choice if you have already set up a presentation and want to continue working with it or you want to use the contents of an existing presentation in a current presentation. 

1.        In the Microsoft PowerPoint program, click File, and then click Open.   The open dialog box will be opened as shown below.

Closing an Existing Presentation

Once you have finished working with a document, you may now close it.  All documents must be closed before exiting PowerPoint.  If you try exiting the application with unsaved documents, PowerPoint will prompt you if you wish to save them.  You can close a document by using the File-Close command or by clicking on the 'X' at the top right corner of the document window.  To exit PowerPoint, pull down the File menu and choose Exit or click on the 'X' at the top right corner of the Application window.

2.        In the Look in list, click the drive, folder, or Internet location that contains the file you want to open.

3.        In the folder list, locate and open the folder that contains the file.

4.        Select the file you wish to open and click on open.

 

Save a PowerPoint Presentation

Changes you make to a document are not saved to disk until you issue a Save command. Saving is quick and easy, and you should save often to minimize the loss of your work. PowerPoint has two save commands, Save and Save As, that work similarly. Both commands are on the File menu.

Save

When you save a new presentation for the first time, PowerPoint displays a dialog box similar to the Open dialog box. Select the disk in which to save the presentation and specify a name for the file. When you save an existing document that you have been editing, the newly saved version replaces the older version.

Save As

This command displays a dialog box where you can choose a document name and destination folder or disk. Use the Save As command whenever you want to save a copy of the current document with a different name or in a different folder or disk. The newly saved copy becomes the active document

A presentation is normally saved as ³name.ppt² file type. However, PowerPoint Show with the extension of ³name.pps² is also a useful file type so that your file is able to run regardless of OS. You can also create your own template and save it as ³pot² file.

Explore the PowerPoint Interface

Besides the usual window components, the PowerPoint window has several unique elements, identified in the figure below.

Standard Toolbar

The Standard toolbar, located beneath the menu bar, has buttons for commonly performed tasks like printing, saving, inserting clip art, and other operations. You can customize the toolbar or even display multiple toolbars at the same time.

Formatting toolbar

The Formatting toolbar, located beneath the Standard toolbar bar, or possible to the side of it, has buttons for various formatting operations like changing text size or style, changing alignment, formatting bullets, and animation.

Drawing Toolbar

The Drawing toolbar on the bottom of the PowerPoint window contains drawing and text tools for creating graphics.

PowerPoint Views

PowerPoint has three different views. Normal View provides a comprehensive view for each slide with notes and outline. Slide Sorter View displays multiple slides and lets you quickly change their order in the presentation. Finally, the Slide Show view is also called preview. It is used to run the whole presentation.

Use the three buttons at the bottom left of the window to change slide views. For example, you can switch from Normal view to Slide Sorter view by clicking one of these buttons.

Edit and Format a Slide

Enter and Edit Text in Outline View

PowerPoint's Outline Area lets you focus on the content of your presentation, by typing up the outline prior to laying the presentation out. After you type an outline, you can concentrate on how your presentation looks.

The boundary of the Outline Area can be resized by dragging the vertical separation to the right. This will make it easier to enter your outline.

Entering Slide Titles and Bullets

Typing in PowerPoint's Outline view is similar to using a word processor. Type your slide title or bullet point and press Return to start a new slide or bullet. To force a line break within a slide title or bullet, press Shift-Enter (Shift-Return on the Mac). This starts a new line for the same title or bullet.

Promote and Demote Text

In Outline view, text is either a slide title, bullet point or sub bullet. To change a bullet to a slide title, select the text and click the Promote button (a green left-pointing arrow) on the Outlining toolbar. The Demote button (a green right-pointing arrow) will change a title to a bullet point or sub bullet under the previous item.

Copy and Move Data

Use the Copy and Paste commands to copy selected text and graphics from one slide to another. If you want to move data instead, use the Cut and Paste commands. To do this:

·         Select the text you want to cut or copy by highlighting it.

·         Go to the Edit Manu to select Copy or Cut or go to the Standard Toolbar to choose the Cut or Copy short cut icon.

·         Move and click your mouse to the place where you want the text to go. Note the cursor is blinking.

·         Go to the Edit Manu to and click on Paste or you can also go to Standard Toolbar to choose the Paste short cut icon.

Move Slides in the Outline Area

It's easy to change the order of your slides and bullets in the Outline Area. Press the mouse button on the item you want to move and drag it to the desired location. You can also select the item you want to move and click on the Move Up or Move Down buttons.

Delete Slides or Bullets

While working in the Outline Area, you can delete a slide by clicking on the slide icon next to the title and pressing the Delete key. Delete bullets and sub bullets similarly.

Undo Mistakes

If you make a terrible mistake (accidentally deleting a slide title or bullet point, for example), use the Undo command on the Edit menu or the Undo tool. You can undo multiple mistakes with the Undo tool. If you are unsure what action you will be undoing, the Edit menu will display the action it will undo.

Edit and Format a Presentation

A typical slide will have at least one text box that you can type into. Although you can change font, alignment, bullet styles, change case, line spacing etc, you would be better off just using the format manu as given since this will give your slides a much more consistent look.

You can set up the slide background by going into the Format menu, actually you can do this from any slide and choose apply to all which changes the background an all your slides.

Apply a Template to a Presentation

A template is a PowerPoint presentation that defines how your text and slide background will look. A plain presentation is simply black text on a white background.

A template might include a blue background with bold yellow letters and a particular graphic.

To apply a template to your presentation, choose Slide Design from the Format menu. The available templates will appear in the Task Pane, and once you select one, PowerPoint will apply it to all the slides.

CREATING A SLIDE SHOW

A slide show is a desktop presentation.  They are most often used when presenting information to an audience.  Slide shows can be instrumental in conveying a message to a group of people.  You can connect your PC to an overhead and display the show to a large group.  It can run in the background as you speak to the audience or you can add enough special effects that the show itself is sufficient in conveying the point you are trying to make.

Rather than simply showing the audience a variety of slides, adding animation and special effects give the presentation added appeal to hold the audience's attention while still making a dramatic point.

It is possible to control the show using either the keyboard or the mouse.  It can be a self-running demonstration or can run interactively with the audience depending on your requirements. 

The easiest way to add effects to the slide show is to be working in the Slide Sorter view.

Click on this button (located with the other view buttons along the bottom left side of the screen - just above the drawing tool bar) to access the Slide Sorter view.  You can then rearrange your slides by dragging them back and forth to new positions.

ADDING TRANSITION EFFECTS

PowerPoint allows you to add special effects to each slide within the slide show, as outlined in the steps shown below:

Œ       Select the slide(s) you wish to add a transition effect to.

                               Click on the Transition tool (which is located on the formatting tool bar towards the top of the presentation window).

The Slide Transition task pane will be displayed, as shown below:

Ž       Scroll through the list of effects and select the one you wish to use for the selected slide(s).

As you choose a transition effect, look at the selected slide.  PowerPoint will offer a preview of the effect.

                                                                               Click on the down arrow  beside this box to choose a transition speed.  Changing the transition speed can vary the effect displayed.

                                                                               Click on the down arrow  beside this box to select the sound (if any) to attach to the slide.

Notice there is also a checkbox to loop the effect.  This continues the effect until the next slide is displayed.

‘       Select one of the advance methods for the selected slide(s).

If you want the have the slide advance manually, use this option. Each time the mouse button is clicked, the next slide will be displayed.

Select this option if you want to enter the number of seconds to wait before the next slide is displayed.

To review the settings you have just selected, click on  to view the current slide with its transition effects.  This is the same as clicking on the  button (located just beneath the left side of the slide while working within the sorter view).

TIP:                To apply the same settings (e.g., display time) to all of your slides, click on the  button.

Check the box  to instruct PowerPoint to display a preview of the slide as each transition effect is added.     

PLAYING THE SLIDE SHOW

Once the effects have been assigned, you will be ready to view the slide show, as outlined below:

Select the slide from where you want the show to begin.

Click on  to begin the slide show.

MOVING AROUND WITHIN THE SLIDE SHOW

Click the [LEFT] mouse button to display the next slide.

Click the [RIGHT] mouse button to display a pop-up menu.

TIP:                If your mouse has a scroll wheel, scrolling it up returns to the previous slide while scrolling it down moves to the next slide.

Press ↓ or → to move to the next slide.

Press ↑ or ← to move to the previous slide.

Press Home to move to the first slide or End to go to the last.

Press Esc to cancel the show.

CLOSING THE SLIDE TRANSITION TASK PANE

Once you are done adding/editing the slide transitions, you can close the task pane by clicking on the  button (located in the upper right corner of the pane).

Transition effects help define how a presentation move from one slide to the next. Animation defines how you want your listed information to come in and out of the presentation.

Apply transition effects in Slide Sorter View or by selecting the Slide Transition command on the Slide Show menu. Keep in mind that the Transition command only sets the desired transition for the selected slides. We will explore in more depth custom transitions and animations in the advanced-level class. Now let us just do the following to quickly apply the transition as well as animation effects to our project here:

Tip:     Define Slide Transition and Animation

·         Switch to the Slide Sorter View.

·         Move your mouse over the slide you want to apply transition effects.

·         Click once to select the slide.

·         Go to the Slide transition drop down menu on the toolbar. Choose Box Out.

·         Note that preview is immediately applied on the selected slide.

·         Apply some effects to other slides if you like.

Edit the Slide Master or Individual Slides

The Slide Master in a template is a slide that controls the formatting, text, and objects that appear on every slide in your presentation. For example, if you want a small picture of the world to appear on every slide, place that picture on the Slide Master. To display the Slide Master, choose Master/Slide Master from the View menu. You can then edit this slide. Changes you make to the Slide Master also appear on each slide in your presentation.

It is easiest to edit the text of a slide in the Outline Area. However, to modify a slide's appearance, switch to Slide View. If you want your changes to apply to every slide in the presentation, choose Master/Slide Master from the View menu.

In Slide View just click on an object to select it. Then use the Format menu to apply the change you want. For example, to change the font or color of the slide title, select the slide title and choose Font from the Format menu. The Format menu also has commands for centering or left aligning text (Alignment), and changing colors (Colors and Lines). You can even change the format of slide bullets using the Bullets command on the Format menu. PowerPoint also has a Formatting toolbar to simplify basic formatting tasks.

Slide Background

Choose Background from the Format menu to change a slide's background color or gradient. Click on the color rectangle near the bottom of the dialog box, and select

either More Colors or Fill Effects. As shown in the Colors and Fill Effects dialog boxes below, you can change the color, gradient, texture, or pattern, or you can use a picture file.                 

Again, if you want this background to apply to all slides, make sure you select Mater/Slide Master from the View menu before making the change. Click on the Apply button when you are done.

Insert the Clip Arts and Objects

Scanned Pictures

In the Insert menu choose Picture and then From File in the submenu.

                                    

Initially you will probably be shown the pictures in the Clipart directory; you will have to find the folder containing the file.

                                    

If you do not feel comfortable creating your own drawings from scratch, you may decide to use PowerPoint's clipart library.  Clipart pictures are ready-made drawings which can be added to a slide.  PowerPoint comes with several hundred pictures to choose from.

INSERTING CLIPART

To insert clipart, follow the steps outlined below:

                        Click on the Insert Clipart tool (located on the drawing tool bar towards the bottom of the screen) to access the Clipart utility that comes with PowerPoint.

The first time you select this option, the following box may appear:

You will be asked to have PowerPoint search your computer for any picture, sound, or movie clips.  These files can then be catalogued for use in presentations.

Check the box labeled doesn’t show this message again to avoid this box in the future.

Click on  to begin cataloguing the media files found on your system.  Click on  to postpone it.

Click on  to specify the folders you wish to search.

The task pane displays the clipart options, as shown below:

       In the box provided, type in the keyword(s) that best defines what the clipart should be related to and click on .

If you enter more than one keyword, a clip must contain all of the keywords for it to be selected.  Place quotes around the keywords to match an exact phrase.  Place commas between keywords to match any of the keywords.

Click on  if you wish to restore the previous search text.  However, you must do this before you click on .

Use this box to specify which clipart collections should be included in your search.

Use this box to specify what type of media file you are searching for.  Choices include clipart, photographs, movies and sound.  This can be useful for speeding up and limiting the search for only those file types that are required.

At the bottom of the task pane are some additional clipart items:

Select this option to access a dialog box where you will be able to catalogue your clipart and other media into collections for easy access.

Use this option to have PowerPoint connect to the Internet and search Microsoft’s site for additional clipart.

Select this option to access additional help on how to locate clipart.

After entering the keyword(s) that best defines what the clipart should be related to and selecting, the task pane will display the located clipart, as shown below:

Notice the small icon in the lower left of each displayed clipart item.  These icons indicate that the clip is not stored directly on your computer and is being retrieved from a different location.

The following icons represent where the clip is coming from:

This icon indicates the clip can be found on your CD-ROM.

This icon indicates the clip comes from Microsoft’s web site.

This icon indicates the clip comes from a Microsoft partner web site and is free to use.

This icon indicates the clip comes from a Microsoft partner web site and is available for purchase.

This icon indicates the clip is unavailable.

This icon will appear in the lower right corner to indicate the clip is an animated gif file.

Ž       To actually insert one of the clipart items to your slide, simply click on it.  The object will be added to your slide.

Once the clipart object has been placed on the slide, you can manipulate it (e.g., change its size and placement) just as you would any other drawing object.

REMOVING A CLIPART ITEM FROM YOUR SLIDE

To remove an unwanted clipart object from your slide, simply follow the two steps outlined below:

Œ       Click on the clipart object to select it.

       Press Delete

EXPANDING THE CLIPART VIEW

Click on  to expand the results into a wider display so that you can see more clipart at one time. Once expanded, click on  to collapse the results view.

REDEFINING YOUR SEARCH

If you decide you would like to redefine your search, click on  to return to the original clipart task pane where you can begin a new search.

ADDITIONAL CLIPART OPTIONS

Once the clipart items are displayed, point to any picture and a small down arrow  will appear along the right side, providing the following options:

Insert              Select this option to insert the selected picture on the slide.

Copy               Choose this item to copy the selected picture to the Windows clipboard to be pasted on another slide or within another application.

Delete from Clip                    Select this option to remove the

Organizer                               selected picture from the catalogue.

Open Clip in                          Use this option if you wish to edit the picture within another graphics program.

Tools on the Web                             This option takes you to Microsoft’s web site which provides various services (such as creating business cards and ordering custom photo gifts).

Copy to Collection                           Select this item to copy the selected picture to your personal collection.  You will be asked to specify the folder in which to place the copy.

Move to Collection                           Use this option to move the selected picture from one collection to another.

Edit Keywords                               Choose this option to edit the keywords that are associated with the selected clipart item.

Find Similar Style                           Select this item to find other clips that are similar in color, shape or style to the selected picture.

Preview/Properties                         Use this option to display a dialog box that provides detailed information about the currently selected picture.

CLOSING THE CLIPART TASK PANE

Once you are done inserting clipart, you can close the clipart task pane by clicking on the  button (located in the upper right corner of the pane).

Creating Charts

PowerPoint's Chart tool is located on the Standard toolbar. Click the Chart tool to create a graph in your presentation. PowerPoint activates a data worksheet with labels and numbers. Change these labels and numbers to reflect your data. If you do not want to graph a certain row or column, double-click it and PowerPoint will remove that data from the chart. When you are through entering data in the worksheet, close it.                       

Tip: It is efficient to choose a "Chart" layout for a new slide of chart. To do this:

·         Click on the Insert menu and choose New Slide.

·         In the layout dialogue box, choose the "Chart" layout. Click OK.

·         In the PowerPoint working window, double click the chart place holder to activate the edit mode.

·         Enter the data from the table below into the data sheet on the screen and watch the change of the chart.

The chart border will change and the chart toolbar will appear at the top of the screen. The chart toolbar includes buttons for changing chart type., inserting gridlines and legends, and additional chart features. For example, if you want to change a column chart to a horizontal bar chart, choose that chart type from the Chart Type tool.

Creating a simple graph

·      Choose one of the layouts containing a graph.
·      Double click on the graph to get ·      When you are finished with the graph click somewhere on the page outside the graph and you are back in your document again ·      Graphs can be opened up and changed at any time by double clicking on it inside it.

Changing the data

·      If your graph opens up without a datasheet you can call it up using the datasheet button
·      You can type straight over the contents of the cells, both the labels and the numbers
·      To get rid of a row or column you have to select it by clicking on its header button (the grey one with a number 1,2,3... or A,B,C.... I it) ·      The press the delete key
·      This changes the graph accordingly.

Types of graph

·      This button lets you switch between one kind of chart and another.

Practice

·      In your new publication set up a new slide with this graph on it.
·         Here is some sample data. ·         Try out all of the different types of graph. ·         Go back to the original one. Close the graph and save the presentation.

Four easy things to do to a graph (Practice)

·      Go to the slide Four Easy things to do with graph

·      You can slice your data across or down and switch instantly between these views using the by row and by column buttons
·      This gives you
·      ... figures where instead of looking at the performance by year you see each project performance year by year
·      You can switch o or off gridlines
·      You can toggle the legend on or off using the legend button
·      You can undo the last change you made to the graph

Drawing Tools

PowerPoint has a set of drawing tools used to place lines, shapes, figures, WordArt, and text on a slide. PowerPoint's drawing tools are similar to drawing tools in other graphics programs. To use these tools, make sure you are in Slide View.

Use the Auto Shapes tool (shown below) to create regular shapes like stars, polygons, triangles, and other shapes.

If you draw something on a slide and want to delete it, click on the object and press the Delete key.

PowerPoint has a collection of clip art that you can use in your presentation. Select the slide you want the clip art on, and choose Picture/Clip Art from the Insert menu. Choose the category you want and select a clip art image. You can also use the Copy and Paste procedures described earlier to paste clip art into PowerPoint from other programs. For example, if you have created your own logo in Adobe Illustrator, you can copy the image and paste it into a PowerPoint presentation.

PowerPoint also lets you insert Microsoft Excel charts, Microsoft Word tables, pictures in separate files and other objects.

Slide Setup and Printing

Before you print your slide presentation, make sure the slide size and orientation is correct. Also, decide whether you want to print in color or black and white.

Change these settings using the Page Setup and Print commands on the File menu.

Slide Setup

The Slide Setup dialog box has controls for slide size and orientation. Choose the appropriate slide size and orientation before you do significant formatting in your presentation. Changing slide orientation from portrait to landscape or vice versa may require editing and reformatting slides.

Printing

To print your slide presentation, choose Print from the File menu, or click the Print button on the toolbar. In the Print dialog box you can choose how many copies you want to print. Use the Print what: drop-down list to select whether you want to print just the slides, notes, or handouts with multiple slides per page.