UNC-CH 2007
Fun With Microsoft PowerPoint Tips and Tricks Table of Contents Hiding Slides .............................................................................................................................................. 2 Duplicating a slide ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Handout Options......................................................................................................................................... 2 Adding lines, arrows, boxes, etc. ................................................................................................................ 3 Modifying a line, box, autoshape, etc. ........................................................................................................ 3 Fun things on the drawing toolbar .............................................................................................................. 3 Changing the bullet type or color................................................................................................................ 4 Copying Clip Art, Picture or Sounds from the Internet .............................................................................. 4 Making “global” changes via the Slide Master........................................................................................... 5 Edit your slide master before creating your presentation............................................................................ 5 Action Buttons – Break out of the Serial Presentation Rut......................................................................... 6 Creating an invisible “Go to Previous Slide” button .................................................................................. 6 Adding a chart/graph to a presentation ....................................................................................................... 7 Print Preview your handouts (finally!!!) ..................................................................................................... 7 Create your own PowerPoint Templates..................................................................................................... 8 Spice up your presentation with animated .gif files .................................................................................... 8 Blank the screen while you are giving your presentation…........................................................................ 8 Save presentation start up time by save the file as a PowerPoint Show (.pps)............................................ 8
Larry Mandelkehr
Page 1
Printed on 06/10/07
UNC-CH 2007
Fun With Microsoft PowerPoint Tips and Tricks Hiding Slides You don’t have to delete slides to remove them from a slide show. For example, if your entire presentation contains 20 slides, but you only want to show ten: 1. 2.
Select the slides you want to hide in Slide Sorter View (one at a time or all at once) Right-click on the selected slide(s) and click “Hide Slide” on the drop-down menu. – the numbers of the selected slides will be displayed in a box with a line through them and these slides won’t display in Slide Show View.
Duplicating a slide It is often easier to duplicate an existing slide than creating a new one. This is often done when you have too much information on one slide and you want to split the information between two slides. 1. 2.
Select the slide(s) you wish to duplicate • In Slide Sorter View or In Normal View on the “Slide” or “Outline” tab Duplicate the slide by: • Pressing • Selecting the “Edit | Duplicate” from the menu.
Handout Options PowerPoint provides a variety of options for generating printed output, depending on your needs: One slide/page Requires a lot of paper, but easy to read and provides lots of room for notes • Handouts - Two slides/page Still pretty easy to read and plenty of room for notes (my personal preference) • Handouts - Three slides/page May be hard to read if there is lots of information on each slide, but PowerPoint adds lines to the right of the slides for note taking. • Handouts – Four, six or nine slides/page May be hard to read if there is a lot of info per page. Not a lot of room for notes. These are more “environmentally friendly” methods of printing presentations. • Notes Pages Useful to remind you of information not on the slide. (i.e. “Speaker’s Notes”) Can be distributed to your audience to provide additional details about the contents of the slides. • Outline View Prints the contents of your slides only (no backgrounds, graphicsyou were tensed with bullets the intense boxes is desired , etc.) Typically used while developing the presentation These options are selected by 1. Selecting “File | Print” from the menu. 2. Choosing the type of printing option in the “Print what:” box. •
Larry Mandelkehr
Page 2
Printed on 06/10/07
UNC-CH 2007
Fun With Microsoft PowerPoint Tips and Tricks Adding lines, arrows, boxes, etc. PowerPoint contains a variety of easy-to-use drawing tools on the “Drawing” toolbar, including lines, boxes, circles and “autoshapes” – see the next page for a list of available tools. The “Drawing” toolbar is typically displayed along the bottom of the PowerPoint window. (If this toolbar is not displayed, select “View | Toolbars” from the menu and click “Drawing” from the list of toolbars.) To add a line, arrow, circle, etc. to your slide, follow these steps: 1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.
Display the presentation in Normal or Slide View. Display the desired slide. Click on the item to added (line, box, circle…) • PowerPoint has a large number of built-in “Autoshapes” in addition to the more common shapes/items located on the Drawing toolbar. Just click the button on the toolbar to display a list of choices. Point to the desired type of autoshapes to display the available shapes. Click on the slide where the item is to be drawn and hold down the left mouse button. Drag the cursor to size the item and release the left mouse button. • As you move the cursor, the line/shape will be displayed on the screen. Resize the object by “grabbing” a side or corner with the cursor and dragging the object to the desired size. • Hold down the “Shift” key when drawing a circle or square to maintain the correct height/width ratio.
Modifying a line, box, autoshape, etc. You can modify the way a line/shape appears on the screen by either: 1. 2.
Double-clicking on it with the left mouse button OR Right-clicking on it and selecting the “Format Autoshape” option from the pop-up menu
to display a “Format” window which provides a variety of formatting options for the selected item.
Fun things on the drawing toolbar The drawing toolbar contains a plethora of tools to customize your slides including: •
•
•
•
Text Box Creates another box for adding text to the slide. Text boxes are very useful, for example, to explain trends or unexpected conditions on charts. You can format your text with bullets in text boxes, if desired. Word Art Inserts built-in “fancy” text with features like wavy text, rainbow colors and unique shadowing. Has its own toolbar for further customization. Fill Color Change the background color of a drawing shape. Features the entire color spectrum as well as variety of fill patterns. Line Color Change the color and pattern of a line. Note patterns only appear on really thick (heavy) lines.
Larry Mandelkehr
Page 3
Printed on 06/10/07
UNC-CH 2007
Fun With Microsoft PowerPoint Tips and Tricks • •
Font Color Change the text color. Again, a full spectrum of colors are available. Line Style Change the weight/thickness of a line. Arrow Style Change the features of an arrow (type of point, line weight/thickness) Shadow Add a shadow to a drawing object 3-D Make a drawing item (rectangle, circle, autoshape) three dimensional Insert Diagram or Organizational Chart Add diagrams to illustrate points quick and easy Draw Contains a large number of options which modify drawing objects: o Group objects so they are moved or resized together o Change the order back to front (what appears “on top” of what) o Nudge objects (move them very) slightly o Align objects o Flip or rotate objects o Change one object to another (but retain the original object’s formatting)
Changing the bullet type or color You can use a character from any font as a bullet (so you are not stuck with PowerPoint’s default bullets). Several standard fonts, such as “Wingdings,” consist completely of special characters which can used as bullets. You can also purchase special fonts, or download free fonts from the Internet. To change the character used as a bullet:
1. 2. 3.
Select the line(s) for which you wish to change the bullet type by either clicking somewhere in the line for highlighting the text. Either (a) click the right mouse button and select the “Bullet and Numbering…” option or (b) select “Format | Bullets and Numbering…” from the menu. If desired, changed the font type, color and/or new character to be used as a bullet. • Clicking the “Picture…” or “Customize…” buttons provides a large variety of button choices
Copying Clip Art, Picture or Sounds from the Internet Microsoft’s online gallery is integrated with PowerPoint so you can insert objects directly to your presentation. It’s also easy to “capture” clip art or picture from the Internet. If you want to include objects from other web sites, follow these steps: 1. 2. 3.
Open your web browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, etc.) Cruise to the web site with the artwork or picture that you would like to include in your presentation Be certain that the artwork/picture/sound is in the “public domain”, i.e. that it clearly states that you can use the object without violating copyright laws. • Do not assume that all objects on the Internet are available for the taking! Only copy clip art advertised as being free for the taking/public domain. Be extra careful when using the clip art for professional (as opposed to educational) purposes – how do you know the person who posted the
Larry Mandelkehr
Page 4
Printed on 06/10/07
UNC-CH 2007
Fun With Microsoft PowerPoint Tips and Tricks 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
clip art as “free” didn’t take it from someone else? Right click on the artwork/picture Choose “Save Target” Enter a filename on your computer to store the file Redisplay the desired slide in PowerPoint Choose “Insert | Picture | From File” and select the file name in which you just saved the object.
Making “global” changes via the Slide Master All of the prior explanations make changes to elements on individual slides such as changing fonts or bullet types or adding clipart or pictures. There are times, however, that you want to change the fonts or bullets used in the entire presentation or want to add a picture or logo to every slide in the presentation. Or you might want to add date or slide numbers to each slide. Your vehicle to make these changes is the “Slide Master”. To open the Slide Master: 1.
Select “View | Master | Slide Master” from the menu
To change all fonts or bullets in a presentation: 1. 2. 3.
Open the Slide Master Highlight the text or bullets to be modified Apply the desired formatting • When you return to the normal view, your changes will be applied to your entire presentation.
To add a picture or clip art to every slide in the presentation: 1. 2. 3.
Open the Slide Master Select “Insert | Picture | Picture OR Clip Art” from the menu Select the picture or clip art, place it on the Slide Master and size it as desired. • Be careful not to overlap pictures/clip art with your text
To add page numbers or a date to each slide 1. 2. 3. 4.
Open the Slide Master Select “View | Header and Footer” from the menu Click the desired option to be displayed, choose the type of date (if selected) Click “Apply to All”
You can follow the above instructions to add headers, footer, clip art, etc. to your handouts by following the same instructions but first select the Handout Master.
Edit your slide master before creating your presentation This will save you a lot of rework later if you decide to change the presentation format and some of your slides are not compatible with the new Slide Master layout.
Larry Mandelkehr
Page 5
Printed on 06/10/07
UNC-CH 2007
Fun With Microsoft PowerPoint Tips and Tricks Action Buttons – Break out of the Serial Presentation Rut Even see a presenter fumble with the mouse and keyboard when trying to move backward through slides in a presentation? Ever want the ability to jump forward in a presentation or take one of multiple paths depending on the mood of (or input from) the audience? Break out of the standard serial one-slide-at-a-time-beginning-to-end presentation by adding action buttons to your slides! These buttons allow you to easily: • Jump to the first slide • Jump to the last slide • Jump to the next slide • Jump to the previous slide • Jump to a pre-selected slide (if you place several actions buttons on one slide, you can jump to multiple places without having to exit Slide Show view) • Jump to a web site • Jump to a file • And more! Insert an Action Button by 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Display the desired slide (or Slide Master) Choose “Slide Show | Action Buttons” from the menu Choose the desired action button from the pop-up window (I usually choose custom) Size the button on the form Verify/modify the action settings in the window and click the “OK” button If desired, change the look of the button via the drawing toolbar or by right-clicking on the button and choosing “Format Autoshape”
Creating an invisible “Go to Previous Slide” button Everyone knows that you can go to the next slide in your presentation in slide show view by clicking the mouse. But there’s no easy way to go back to the previous slide. Well, now you can… 1. 2. 3. 4.
View the Slide Master Add a picture to the Slide Master Right-click on the picture and click “Action Settings” from the drop-down menu. Select the “Mouse Click” tab and set “Hyperlink To” to “Previous Slide”
Now each time that you click the picture in Slide Show view, you’ll return to the previous slide. You can use this technique to apply an action to any picture – perhaps you could show four photos on a slide and go to a different part of your presentation depending on which button you click.
Larry Mandelkehr
Page 6
Printed on 06/10/07
UNC-CH 2007
Fun With Microsoft PowerPoint Tips and Tricks Adding a chart/graph to a presentation There are several methods to add a chart to a PowerPoint slide. You can either create a graph in Excel or take advantage of PowerPoint’s built-in charting/graphing functions. Just follow these steps: 1.
Display the slide to which you wish to add the graph and either
a) add a PowerPoint Chart: 2. 3. • 4.
Click the button on the toolbar Enter the data in the displayed table or copy and paste the data from Excel The data table opens containing “dummy” data, so delete the data in the rows and columns that you don’t need. Change the chart type from the toolbar, if desired, and format the chart using PowerPoint’s charting tools (which are similar to Excel’s)
b) use Excel first: 2. 3. 4.
Create the chart in Excel (or display the chart if it already exists) Copy the chart using the button. Display the slide in PowerPoint and paste the chart using the button OR select “Edit | Paste Special | Paste as Link”. • Selecting the “Paste as Link” option creates a “link” to your original spreadsheet so that any changes to data or format made in Excel will be updated in PowerPoint. • If you wish to change the chart, just double-click on it to open either PowerPoint’s charting function, or open Excel (depending on how you created the chart.)
c) store your data in Excel and link your PowerPoint chart to it: 2. 3. 4. 5.
Click the button on the toolbar Open Excel and copy the data Redisplay PowerPoint and click in the first box in the data table Select “Edit | Paste Special | Paste as Link” to paste the data in the table and create a link to the original data in Excel. • Any change that you make in the data in Excel will automatically update in PowerPoint • This method also lets you build the graph in PowerPoint so you can take create animated graphs while maintaining the link to the original data in Excel.
Print Preview your handouts (finally!!!) Microsoft has finally added the capability to Print Preview PowerPoint handouts: 1. 2. 3.
Click “File | Print” to open the “Print” window Select the handout format (2, 3, 6 or 9 slides per page) Click the “Preview” button in the lower left corner of the window.
Larry Mandelkehr
Page 7
Printed on 06/10/07
UNC-CH 2007
Fun With Microsoft PowerPoint Tips and Tricks Create your own PowerPoint Templates Have an artistic flair? Creating an image for a new company? Or just stumble on a color/pattern/font combination that you like? It easy to save that format as a new presentation template that you can apply to future presentations.
1. 2.
Click “File | Save” to open the “Save” window Change the file type to “Design Template (*.pot)” and click the “Save” button
To apply this template to a new of existing presentation, choose “Browse” when selecting templates and choose this file.
Spice up your presentation with animated .gif files but don’t over do it! (They can be distracting!) Just insert them like any other picture: 1. 2.
Click “Insert | Picture | From File…” Select the animated .gif file and click the “Insert” button.
Blank the screen while you are giving your presentation… by pressing the “b” (lower or upper case) or the “.” (period) keys to display a black screen or press “w” to display a white screen. Press any key or click to continue.
Save presentation start up time by save the file as a PowerPoint Show (.pps) If you save your file in this format, when you double-click to open it from its folder on the computer, it will automatically open in Slide Show view (no fumbling with having to click the little button to start the show. You can still open a PowerPoint Show file (.pps) from the PowerPoint “Open” window (like you would any other presentation) to edit it or display it in other the views.
Larry Mandelkehr
Page 8
Printed on 06/10/07
