Microsoft Word - Microsoft PowerPoint Tips.doc

Microsoft PowerPoint Tips

These tips have been accumulated over the years for the SISD Announcements.

They are in no particular order.

Quickly Align or Distribute Objects in PowerPoint

If you frequently use objects on your slides, you may find that it's hard to manually align or distribute the

objects perfectly by dragging them around the slide. If you need to align objects, use the Align command.

While holding down the [Shift] key, select the multiple objects you wish to align. Then, from the Drawing

toolbar, choose Draw/Align or Distribute, and then choose the desired alignment option from the menu.

You can also distribute objects horizontally or vertically.

Create Oval Pictures in Word, Excel and PowerPoint

1. Use the Drawing Toolbar to create an oval shape.

2. Click on the down arrow next to the Fill Color button.

3. Choose Fill Effects and then choose the Picture Tab at the top.

4. Click the Select Picture button and find the photo you want to use.

5. Double-click the file; click OK and your picture will fill the center of your oval shape.

6. You can then move and resize the picture just like any graphic.

Navigate Between Slides in PowerPoint

When working with a lengthy slide show, most people scroll back and forth through the slides, using the

mouse. An easier way to move to the first or last slide very quickly is to press Ctrl-Home to go to the first

slide in the show, or press Ctrl-End to go to the last slide. You can also navigate through a slide show using

the Page Up and Page Down keys.

Return to First Slide During a Presentation

For one reason or another, you may find that you need to return to the first slide in your presentation while

it's running in Slide Show view. To do so, just press [Home]. This is much quicker than using the mouse

and can be easily hidden from the audience. Also, if you know the number of the slide, you can type that

number and press [Enter] to go to that slide.

AutoShape Defaults

If you plan on using a specific fill color, line color, line style, or shadow for each AutoShape in a

presentation, you can set these attributes as AutoShape defaults. This means that each AutoShape you

create will automatically use these attributes. To do this, select an AutoShape that you'd like to set defaults

for. Now, click the Draw button on the Drawing toolbar and choose Set AutoShape Defaults. Each shape

you create will use these same attributes, even if you change these attributes for another AutoShape.

Create Connector Lines Between Objects

You can easily create flowcharts or other connected object schemes using PowerPoint's Connectors feature.

PowerPoint's Connectors feature enables you to connect AutoShapes, text boxes, WordArt, clip art--even

OLE objects. To do so, first insert, modify, and position at least two drawing or OLE objects as you want

them to appear on your slide. Next, display the Drawing toolbar (if it isn't displayed already) by right-

clicking on any open toolbar and selecting Drawing from the resulting shortcut menu. To connect two

objects, choose AutoShapes/Connectors from the Drawing toolbar. Select the connector tool you'd like to

use, then position the pointer over one of the objects you'd like to connect. When you do, the pointer

changes to a connector icon, and the object's connector handles are displayed in blue. Place the pointer over

the connector handle you'd like to connect from, then click the mouse button once. Now, place the pointer

over the connector handle of the object you'd like to connect to, then click the mouse button again. When

you do, PowerPoint inserts a connector line between the objects' connector handles. If you decide that

you'd like to rearrange the location of the connected objects, simply drag them to the desired location--the

connectors stay in place and adjust their path accordingly.

Copy Images

To make multiple copies of an object, hold down the Ctrl key while you drag away as many copies as you

need. To see how this works, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt.

Select a picture and click Insert. Press and hold Ctrl while you drag a copy of the object to a new location.

You can repeat this as often as needed. Just keep holding down Ctrl and dragging away copies. This works

in all Office programs.

Drag and Drop PowerPoint Slides

In PowerPoint, you can drag and drop slides from one presentation to another. To do this, choose File/Open

to open two different presentation windows. Now, choose Window/Arrange All and PowerPoint

automatically tiles the presentations so that both are visible. Next, change both of the windows to Slide

Sorter view. This makes the transferring process much easier. To transfer slides, simply click and hold on

the slide you'd like to move and drag that slide into the other presentation.

Draw and Erase During PowerPoint Slide Shows

You can use the shortcut command Ctrl+P to access the Pen tool during a slide show. Click your mouse

and drag to use the Pen tool to draw on the slide during your slide show. To erase everything you've drawn,

press the E key.

Change the Colors of Your Textures in PowerPoint

Textures make great backgrounds for PowerPoint slides. Unfortunately, there aren't many standard

PowerPoint textures to choose from. This can pose a problem, especially if you're looking for a specific

color. If you want to change the color of a background texture, use the Rectangle tool to draw a rectangle

that fills the entire slide. Next, choose No Line from the Line Color dropdown list. Then, click on the Fill

Color dropdown list and select More Fill Colors. Choose a color from the Standard or Custom Color

palette. As soon as you find the right color for your background fill, select the Semitransparent check box

located in the bottom-left corner. When you've finished, click OK. The semitransparent rectangle changes

the color of your original texture background. You can change any texture fill using the same procedure,

just as long as you make a copy of the shape containing that texture and place it on top with a

semitransparent color.

Create Scrolling Credits in PowerPoint

You can create a scrolling list of credits in PowerPoint. To do this, you create a text box, add text, and

place the text box above the PowerPoint slide you want your credits to scroll across. Once you position

your text, you can use the Custom Animation feature's Crawl From Bottom effect to animate your credits.

When you run your slide show, the credits will scroll from the bottom of the screen and disappear when

they run off the top.

Create a Panoramic View in PowerPoint

Nowadays everything uses a wide screen view, including DVDs and video games. So why not follow the

leader and create your own panoramic slide views in your PowerPoint presentations? You can add

Panoramic slides to an entire presentation by changing the height of your slides in Page Setup. To do so,

choose File/Page Setup to open the Page Setup dialog box. Change the number in the Height box to 4

inches and then click OK. Your slides are now set up as a Panoramic view. You can add elements to these

slides just as you would a normal 10 x 7.5-inch slide.

Black the Screen During a Slide Show

There are times when you need to pause during a slide show; for example, you may need to answer some

unexpected questions. When you pause your slide show, you may not want to leave a slide in view. So

just set the screen to black. Just press B, and PowerPoint will display a completely black screen. To get

back to your current slide, press B again. You can also turn the screen white if you prefer. Just press W to

turn it white and W again to return.

Creating Hand-drawn Effects in PowerPoint

To produce a hand-drawn effect in PowerPoint, select a clip art image and ungroup the selection to turn it

into a drawing object. Once you ungroup the image, immediately regroup it. Once you regroup your image,

choose Format/Object to open the Format Object dialog box. Next, select the Colors And Lines tab and

choose Fill Effects from the Fill Color dropdown menu. Now, select the Gradient tab in the Fill Effect

dialog box and choose the One Color option button in the Colors areas. Then, choose a color from the

Color 1 dropdown menu and use the Dark/Light slider to adjust the gradient. Click OK when you've

finished to return to the Format Object dialog box. Click OK in the Format Object dialog box to return to

PowerPoint and see your hand-drawn image.

A PowerPoint Visual Effect

Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt and select a scenery type of picture

(although any picture will do). Click the picture to select it and size it to fill the entire slide. Next, choose

Draw, Ungroup. Say Yes to convert the image to a Microsoft Office Drawing Object. Then, leaving all the

picture elements selected, choose Draw, Group. Then click the down arrow to the left of the Paint Can and

choose Fill Effects.

In the Fill Effects dialog box, click the Gradient tab and then select the Two Colors radio button. Select

two light colors for Color 1 and Color 2. After you make the color selection, click OK to close the dialog

box and apply the color selection. Experiment with different color combinations such as black and white,

or black and red.

Change Clip Art Colors in PowerPoint

If you want to quickly change the colors in a clip art object, so that the colors in your image coordinate

with the color scheme of your presentation, you can use PowerPoint's Recolor feature. To quickly access

this feature, right-click on your clip art image and select Format Object from the resulting shortcut menu.

Next, select the Picture Tab and click the Recolor button. Now you can easily adjust the colors of your clip

art image using the Recolor Picture dialog box. To preview your changes, click the Preview button.

Make PowerPoint Slides From an Outline

You can create a PowerPoint slide show from a Word outline. Just create your outline using a standard

outline format. Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Slides From Outline. When the

Insert Outline dialog box appears, find your Word file and double-click it. Each Heading 1 title becomes

the title of a slide. With the slides created, you can now supply the graphics and any additional text you

require.

Printing PowerPoint Slides

If you need to print only certain slides from a slide show, there is an easier way than printing them one at a

time. Choose View, Slide Sorter. Then click the first slide you want to print and hold down Shift while you

click the remaining slides you wish to print. Once you've selected your slides, choose File, Print. When the

Print dialog box opens, select the button labeled Selection and click OK to begin printing.

Hiding slides in PowerPoint (97,2000)

To hide a slide during a presentation, first click the Slide Sorter View button or choose Slide Sorter from

the View menu. Click on the slide you want to hide and click the Hide Slide button on the Slide Sorter

toolbar. After you hide the slide, PowerPoint encloses the slide number in a box with a diagonal line

through it. Now that you've hidden a slide, PowerPoint will skip it during the actual slide show unless you

choose to display it. If you need to hide multiple slides, hold down the Shift key (or Ctrl in 2000), select

each slide you wish to hide, and then click the Hide Slide button.

Creating Guides in PowerPoint

If you need guides on your slides in order to place objects in a certain spot, go to View, Guides. You will

see the standard vertical and horizontal guides that partition your slide into four sections. If you need more

guide lines, there is an easy way to create them. Hold down the Ctrl key, click on either the vertical or

horizontal guide, and drag your mouse to create a new guide line. These lines will not print.

Set Up a Black Last Screen in PowerPoint

A good way to signal the end of your presentation is to set the screen to black (or some other color) at the

end of your slide show. To do this, open your slide show and choose Tools, Options. When the Options

dialog box opens, click the View tab. Now select the check box labeled End With Black Slide and click

OK to close the dialog box and save your selection. If you want to end your slide show with some other

color onscreen, simply create a blank slide at the end of your slide show and set its background color to

whatever you want.

Rotating AutoShapes in PowerPoint

To rotate an AutoShape in 15-degree increments, click the Free Rotate button and hold down the Shift key

as you drag on your shape.

Running a Slide Show Without Opening Powerpoint

When your audience is waiting expectantly for a professional slide show from you, you would like to start

up immediately at the touch of a button. You don't even want them to see PowerPoint opening. Try this:

Run Windows Explorer and locate your slide show file. Right-click the icon and choose Show. PowerPoint

opens and runs your slide show. When the show finishes, PowerPoint closes. Your audience never sees the

PowerPoint working window at all.

If you don't want your audience to see you running Explorer, place a shortcut to the file on your desktop.

Then, when you're ready to start the show, right-click the shortcut and choose Show.

Slide Show Pointer

The following keyboard shortcuts will help you quickly control the appearance--and disappearance--of

your slide show pointer during a presentation.

Press Ctrl-H to hide the button and the pointer immediately.

Press Ctrl-A to display the pointer as an arrow and to display the button.

Press Ctrl-U to automatically hide the button and pointer in five seconds.

Get the Old PowerPoint 97 Slide View

Slide view in PowerPoint 2000 isn't the same as Slide view in earlier versions. If you prefer the old Slide

view, you can get it back easily. Hold down the Control key while you click the Slide View icon at the

lower left of your screen. To return to the new PowerPoint 2000 style Slide view, simply click the same

icon again.

Use of Capital Letters

When creating slides in PowerPoint, try to avoid using all caps in your titles (or anywhere in your slides).

Concentrate instead on choosing an attractive and easily readable font and font size. Uppercase letters are

often less attractive than lowercase and usually more difficult to read.

Additional Autoshapes

If you don't find the AutoShape you need among the hundreds of basic shapes, flowchart elements,

connectors, lines, callouts, and so forth that are available on the AutoShapes button's categories and

palettes, be sure to choose the last command on the AutoShapes menu: More AutoShapes.

Clicking this button opens the More AutoShapes dialog box, which looks like the Clip Art Gallery. But

don't be fooled. More AutoShapes offers most of what's available as clip art, but it also has many more

simple pictures-musical notes, puzzle pieces, office furniture, and other conceptual images. Just navigate

through the categories (the same as in the Insert Clip Art dialog box plus several additional ones) and

choose the shape you want to place on your slide. When you return to the slide, you can reformat many of

these shapes by double-clicking them and changing the settings in the Format AutoShape dialog box.

How to Edit AutoShapes in PowerPoint

It's a lot simpler to edit a drawing or shape that's already created than it is to create one from scratch using

PowerPoint's drawing tools. The Edit Points tool in the Draw menu gives you some powerful editing

capabilities for this, but there's one problem: It's not available when you select an AutoShape. To edit an

AutoShape:

First, click your AutoShape to select it. Press Ctrl-X to cut the AutoShape to the Clipboard. Next, select

Edit, Paste Special to open the Paste Special dialog box. Choose Picture (Enhanced Metafile) from the As

list box, then click OK. The AutoShape reappears on your slide. Right-click the AutoShape, point to

Grouping, then select Ungroup from the pop-up menu. PowerPoint displays a message box warning: "This

is an imported picture, not a group. Do you want to convert it to a Microsoft Office drawing object?"

Click Yes. The object is no longer an AutoShape but a fully editable drawing object. You can now use the

Edit Points tool in the Draw menu or any of PowerPoint's other drawing tools to edit the object as you like.

View Slide Show in Mini-View

If you hold down the Ctrl key while you click the Slide Show button in the lower-left corner of the screen,

PowerPoint displays your slide show in a small window rather than full screen. If you find something you'd

like to change, click back in the main PowerPoint window. The screen show window minimizes itself onto

the Windows taskbar. Navigate to the slide that needs editing, make your changes, then click the

PowerPoint Slide Show button on the taskbar to resume your mini-show right where you left off, with your

most recent changes in place.

Graphic Editing

PowerPoint offers some powerful graphics-editing capabilities. For example, if you have a clip art picture

that you want to use a portion of, all you have to do is separate what you want from what you don't, and

delete the portion you don't want. First, insert the the clip art picture you want to work with. Right-click the

picture, choose Grouping, and select Ungroup. Answer Yes to verify that you want to convert the picture to

PowerPoint objects. Next, click somewhere on the slide away from the picture to deselect every object,

then click on an individual object you'd like to get rid of and press Delete. Continue this process until all

the unwanted parts have been deleted. Finally, select the remaining parts of the picture (Ctrl + A will get

them all), right-click, choose Grouping, and select Group. Doing this will make the remaining picture act as

a single unit.

Use Your PowerPoint Graphics in Other Apps

If you want to put a chart or drawing that you have created in PowerPoint into another program, you can

easily convert it to JPG or GIF format. First, choose File, Save As. In the Save As dialog box, pick the

format you want from the Save As Type drop-down list box. In this case, you'd pick either JPEG File

Interchange Format (* .jpg) or GIF Graphics Interchange Format (* .gif). Next, enter a name in the File

Name text box and click Save. PowerPoint displays a message box that asks "Do you want to export every

slide in the presentation?" Click No to export just the current slide.

Transparent Objects In PowerPoint

If you have a ClipArt picture on a PowerPoint slide, you can draw an AutoShape positioned over the

picture and have the picture show through. Open a blank slide and choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. Insert

the picture and then close the Insert ClipArt dialog box. Click the Oval tool in the Drawing toolbar and

draw a circle. Move the circle over the drawing. Right-click the circle and choose Format AutoShape.

When the Format AutoShape dialog box opens, click the Colors and Lines tab. Under Fill, click the arrow

at the right side of the Color list box and select a color. Select the check box labeled Semitransparent and

click OK. Your ClipArt picture will now show through the circle.

Turn Off PowerPoint's Animation Effects

If you don't want to display a slide show's animation effects, you can temporarily disable them using the

Set Up Show dialog box. Choose Slide Show, Set Up Show. Next, select the Show Without Animation

check box in the Show Type panel. Click OK to apply the change and then press [F5] to launch your slide

show. As you advance through the slide show, none of your animations will play. When you want to

display your animation effects, reopen the Set Up Show dialog box and deselect the Show Without

Animation check box.

Inserting Text in AutoShapes

By default, some AutoShapes, such as the Basic Shapes and Block Arrows collections, don't automatically

allow you to insert text in them. To insert text in an AutoShape that doesn't allow this by default, right-

click on the AutoShape and then choose Add Text from the resulting shortcut menu. Word converts the

AutoShape and places the insertion point inside it, where you can begin typing.

Inverting Text Objects in PowerPoint

Although you can rotate objects by clicking the Free rotate button on the Drawing toolbar, here's a quick

way to flip your text. First, choose Insert/Text Box and enter some text. Next, click and hold on the upper-

right selection handle of your text box and drag the handle down until it's below the text. When you let go

of the mouse button, the text flips upside down. This will also work with graphics.

Create a Presentation With More Than One Design Template

If you want to use more than one template background in a presentation, open a presentation using a

template and save the first slide in this presentation as a JPEG Interchange Format. Now, open a new

presentation with a different template and insert the JPEG file you saved as a picture.You can resize this

JPEG to cover your slide and act as an actual template background. Any new slides you add to this

presentation will use the template you selected when you opened the presentation.

A Powerpoint Color Effect

The Wizard of Oz film starts out in black and white. When Doroty opens the door, the movie switches to

color. You can create this effect in PowerPoint. Open a blank slide. Choose Insert/Picture/ClipArt and

insert any picture. Then, choose Insert/Duplicate Slide to copy the slide. Go back to the first slide and

select the picture by clicking it. When the Picture toolbar opens, click the Image Control button (second

from the left) and choose Grayscale. Then choose Slide Show/View Show. When the first slide appears,

click the mouse to move to the second slide. The ClipArt picture remains in place, but suddenly appears in

color.

Drawing Lines In PowerPoint

You can draw a perfectly straight line in PowerPoint by holding down the Shift key while you draw the

line. You can also draw the straight line at a perfect angle as well. To try this, click the Line tool and then

hold down the Shift key while you draw a line. Without releasing the mouse button or the Shift key, move

the mouse to drag the line around in a circle. The line will snap into position every 15 degrees.

Jump to the Web from PowerPoint

You can launch your default Web browser without exiting PowerPoint. To do this, first choose View,

Toolbars, Web to display the Web toolbar. Next, click the Start Page button on the Web toolbar to open

your default Web browser, which opens with your home page. You can also jump to a specified Web

address within PowerPoint. To do this, click the Go button on the Web toolbar and select Open from the

resulting dropdown list. This opens the Open Internet Address dialog box. Enter the Web site you want to

go to in the Address text box and click OK to launch your default Web browser.

Importing Into PowerPoint

Many people like to work in Word as much as possible and then import the Word document into

PowerPoint. To do this, run Word and open the document you want to use in PowerPoint. Now choose

File/Send To/Microsoft PowerPoint. This will open PowerPoint and load the current Word document into a

new slide show.

Maintain Consistency Between AutoShapes

When you're adding several AutoShapes to a slide, you'll often want them to have consistent formatting,

such as fill color and 3-D effects. Although you can apply the formatting after the fact, you'll save time if

you set the AutoShape default that applies to all newly created AutoShapes. To do so, add an AutoShape

and format it as you want. Then, while the object is selected, click the Draw button on the Drawing toolbar

and select Set AutoShape Defaults. Note that the default you set applies only to the current presentation.

This also works in Excel and Word.

Viewing Animated GIFs in PowerPoint 2000

Try inserting animated GIFs into your PowerPoint presentations. An animated GIF is a moving image. You

can find collections of these on the Internet. Animated GIF pictures don't play while you're working on

your presentation in Normal, Slide Sorter or Slide views. To play an animated GIF picture, you must

switch to Slide Show view.

Using the Office Clipboard in PowerPoint 2000

When working with PowerPoint (or other Office 2000 programs), you'll find the new Office Clipboard

handy. Suppose, as an example, that you need to insert several Clip Art pictures into a series of slides.First,

choose View, Toolbars, Clipboard to open the Clipboard toolbar. Now choose Insert, Picture, Clip Art. In

the Insert Clip Art dialog box, right-click a picture and choose Copy. Select another picture and copy it.

Next, close the Insert Clip Art dialog box (click on the X in the upper right corner). Now you can click the

first item to insert the first Clip Art selection into the slide. Create a new slide and click the second item to

insert that picture onto the second slide. After you're finished with the Clipboard contents, you can click the

Clear Clipboard button to start fresh. You can copy up to 12 items to the Clipboard.

Change the Color Scheme of Multiple Slides in PowerPoint

You can quickly change the color scheme of several slides in your presentation without having to change it

for all of them. To do this, first switch to Slide Sorter view. Next, hold down the [Ctrl] key and click on

each slide that you want to modify. Then choose Format, Slide Color Scheme from the Menu Bar and make

all of your changes. When you're satisfied with your new scheme, click Apply so that the new color scheme

affects only the selected slides.

Inserting Bullet-Free Text In PowerPoint

When you enter text into a PowerPoint bulleted list, each line has a bullet. Normally, you type in a line and

press Enter to move to the next line which inserts another bullet. If you would like to enter a line without

a bullet, type Shift + Enter and PowerPoint will move to the next line without inserting a bullet.

PowerPoint Movies

PowerPoint doesn't limit you to the custom animations you can apply to PowerPoint objects-you can also

insert short movies into PowerPoint slides. To check this out, run PowerPoint and open a blank slide.

Choose Insert|Picture|ClipArt. When Insert ClipArt opens, click the Motion Clips tab. Next click Academic

and insert the cat on the chalkboard. Press F5 to view the slide show.

Rotating AutoShapes in PowerPoint

It's easy to rotate an AutoShape. Just select it then click on the Free Rotate tool on the Drawing toolbar.

Drag one of the green handles on the AutoShape to rotate it. To rotate an AutoShape in 15-degree

increments, click the Free Rotate button and hold down the [Shift] key as you drag on your shape. To rotate

the object around the handle opposite the handle you're using, click [Ctrl] while you drag the shape.

Using Personalized Menus and Toolbars

Office 2000 programs display only the commands that you use most often on the new personalized menus

and toolbars and then expand to show the rest. Also, toolbars share space in a single row so that more

screen space is available for your work. If you would prefer to see all of your toolbars on separate rows and

to see your menus expand the minute you click on them, do the following:

1. Right-click anywhere on your toolbars; choose Customize at the bottom.

2. De-select the top two checks (Standard and Formatting toolbars share one row and Menus show recently

used commands first).

3. Then click Close at the bottom of the window.

Hiding Objects in PowerPoint

When you run your show and an object enters the slide, you can make the picture disappear with a single

mouse click.

Click the Rectangle tool on the Drawing toolbar. Use the mouse to draw a rectangle over your animated

picture. Now you need to set the rectangle color to match your background. For this example, the

background is white. Click the arrow at the right side of the Fill Color button on the Drawing toolbar.

When the Fill Color menu opens, select white.

Next you need to eliminate the lines that make up the rectangle. To do this, click the arrow at the right side

of the Line Color button and select No Line from the menu.

Finally, right-click the rectangle and choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box

opens, click the Effects tab. Click the arrow at the right side of the Entry Animation list box, then select

Appear from the list. Click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.

Now run the slide show. The animated picture enters the slide. When you are finished viewing the picture,

click the mouse button. The figure disappears because the white rectangle now appears over it.

Rehearsing PowerPoint Timing

When you want to run your PowerPoint slide show automatically, you need to set the appropriate timing

for each slide. To do this, open the slide show you want to work with and choose Slide Show/Rehearse

Timings. When the slide show opens, you'll see a small timer on the screen. Watch the timer and decide

when you need to move to the next slide. When ready, click the screen to move to the next slide. The timer

will reset to zero and begin timing your new slide. When you reach the last slide, PowerPoint will ask if

you want to save the timings. Click Yes if you're happy with the timings and No if you need to make

changes.

Formatting Shapes In PowerPoint

When you place an AutoShape in a PowerPoint slide, you can select the slide and choose Format,

AutoShape to open the Format AutoShape dialog box. You can then use the dialog box to modify the lines,

colors, etc. You can also open the AutoShape dialog box with the right mouse button. Just right-click the

shape and choose Format AutoShape. An even quicker way to open Format AutoShape is to double-click

the shape.

A Black-And-White PowerPoint Presentation

If you want to see how your slides would look printed on a black-and-white printer, you can preview your

presentation in black and white. Choose View, Black and White from the Menu Bar. Click the button again

to return to color.

Selecting Hidden Objects In Powerpoint

There are times when you need to select an object that's hidden behind another object. Try this: press Esc to

make sure that nothing is selected. Now, press the Tab key until the desired object is selected. To see how

this works, first draw a small rectangle. Next draw a larger rectangle over the small one so the small one is

completely hidden. Press Esc to make sure all objects are deselected and then press Tab on the keyboard

until the small rectangle is selected. You will see the handles to indicate that it's selected.

Ordering Graphics In PowerPoint

When you deal with more than one picture in a PowerPoint slide, you may need to change the picture order

so the correct picture will appear on top. To see how this works, open a blank slide and choose Insert,

Picture, Clip Art. Insert several pictures and then close the dialog box. Next, move the edge of one picture

over the other picture. Right-click the picture that appears on top and choose Order, Send to Back. The

other picture will now appear on top.

Save a PowerPoint Slide as an Image

Saving a slide as an image file allows you to open the file in an image-editing program so you can edit it

for other uses or insert it into another program. First, open your presentation in PowerPoint and navigate to

the slide that you want saved as an image. Choose File, Save As and in the Save As dialog box select JPEG

File Interchange Format (JPG), Graphics Interchange Format (GIF), or any other available graphics file

format from the Save As Type dropdown list. Give your image a filename and click Save. When the

message box pops up, click No to export only the current slide. Now you can open the file in other

programs.

Inserting Clip Art Images In PowerPoint and Word

When you choose Insert, Picture, Clip Art, you can insert a Clip Art picture into a PowerPoint slide by

clicking the picture you want to use and then clicking the Insert clip button. You can also drag the picture

from the Clip Gallery to the slide. In Word, if you drag the picture to your document, it bypasses the black

box around the image. It goes straight to the white handles which will allow you to move and size the

picture.

Creating Small Images

Sometimes you have to create images in PowerPoint that require a lot of detail. This can be difficult if

you're creating a small image like a logo. To rectify this problem, create the image at a large size and then

resize it. You still get the detail you need, but without all the hassle.

Cycle Through Objects in PowerPoint

If you have multiple objects on a slide, press the [Tab] key to select one object at a time or to go from one

object to the next.

Moving a Graphic on a PowerPoint Slide

To fine-tune the placement of a graphic or text box on a PowerPoint slide, use the arrow keys. Select the

graphic, then press the UP, DOWN, LEFT, or RIGHT arrow keys to move the graphic in the desired

direction.

Apply Transition Effects to Multiple PowerPoint Slides

Here's a shortcut that enables you to apply the same transition effect to multiple slides at once:

1. On the View menu, click Slide Sorter.

2. Select the slides you want to apply the transition effects to by clicking one slide, and then holding down

the CTRL key while you click each additional slide.

3. On the Slide Show menu, click Slide Transition.

4. In the Effect box, click the transition you want, and then select any other options you want.

5. Click Apply.

Saving A PowerPoint Presentation As A Slide Show

If you would like to start a specific slide show without first having to 1) open PowerPoint, then 2) load the

slide show, and then 3) start the slide show, then what you need to do is save the file as a slide show. To do

this, run PowerPoint and open the presentation that you want to use. Next choose File, Save As. When the

Save As dialog opens, click the arrow at the right side of the "Save as type" list box and select PowerPoint

Show (*.pps).

Click Save to save your file as a slide show file with a .pps file extension. To run the show, just double-

click the pps file.

Showing a PowerPoint Presentation Without Opening PowerPoint

The previous tip was one way to accomplish this. Another way is to save your presentation to your desktop.

Then right-click the file and choose Show. Press the Escape key to stop the show.

Navigation Buttons In PowerPoint

If you choose to use them, PowerPoint has its own navigation buttons. To use these, open a slide and then

choose Slide Show, Action Buttons and select the button you want to use. Use the mouse to draw the

button. When you release the mouse button, PowerPoint opens the Action Settings dialog box. Select the

actions you want to use and click OK. You can then format the fill and line colors. You can also access the

Action Buttons in AutoShapes on the Draw toolbar.

Working With Fonts In Office 2000

In Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, you can easily change the font and font size without ever lifting your

hands from the keyboard. To change the font, press Ctrl + Shift + F. This will select the Font box. Next you

can press the Up and Down arrows to select the font you want to use. After you make a selection, press

Enter. To change the font size, press Ctrl + Shift + P and then use the Up and Down arrows to select a font

size. Press Enter after you make a selection.

Drag and Drop PowerPoint Slides

In PowerPoint, you can drag and drop slides from one presentation to another. To do this, use the menu

command File, Open to open two different presentation windows. Now, choose Window,Arrange All and

PowerPoint automatically tiles the two presentations so that both are visible. Next, change both of the

windows to Slide Sorter view. This makes the transferring process much easier. To move slides, drag the

slide you'd like to move into the other presentation. To copy a slide from one presentation to another,

hold down the [Ctrl] key and then drag the slide.

PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts

There are many standard keyboard shortcuts that apply to all Microsoft Office programs, and there are

some that apply only to specific programs. For example, in PowerPoint you can press Ctrl + M + Enter to

create a new blank slide just like your current slide. If you need to duplicate a slide, navigate to that slide

and press Ctrl + D. And, to run a slide show, press F5.

Edit on the Fly in PowerPoint

Have you ever wished there was an easier way to view the results of your edits without having to launch

your slide show and then toggle back to PowerPoint to make additional changes? Well, editing on the fly

really is easy in PowerPoint if you know the shortcut command. Hold down the [Ctrl] key while you

choose View, Slideshow and a miniature, yet fully functional, slide show appears in the upper corner of the

screen. Now you can make changes to your slides in PowerPoint, such as adjusting borders or updating

hyperlinks, and see how they affect your presentation without having to relaunch it; all edits are applied to

the mini slide show as soon as you make them.

Duplicating An Object In PowerPoint

Here's another way to copy an object in a PowerPoint slide. Right-click the object and hold the mouse

button for a few seconds before you release. A menu will now appear and you can choose Copy Here to

create a duplicate. The copy will appear on top of the original object. You'll have to use the mouse to drag

it to a new location.

Continuous Music in PowerPoint

You can start music on the first slide (or any slide) and have it continue through the remainder of the slide

show. To see how this works, open a presentation with several slides. Go to the first slide and choose

Insert, Movies And Sounds, Sound From File. Select the sound file you would like to use for your show

and click OK. Use the mouse to move the sound icon out of the way. Right-click the Sound icon and

choose Custom Animation. When the Custom Animation dialog box opens, click the Timing tab and then

select the Animate and Automatically radio buttons. Leave the time set to 0 seconds and click the Play

Settings tab. Select the Continue Slide Show and After radio buttons. Set the number of slides to the

maximum number of slides in your show. Next, click More Options. When the Play Options dialog box

opens, select the check box labeled Loop Until Stopped and click OK. Back in Custom Animation, click

OK to close the dialog box and apply your settings. The music should now play throughout the slide show.

Choose Slide Show, View Show to start up your show.

Watermarks in PowerPoint Slides

Open PowerPoint and choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt, then double-click a picture to insert it. At this point,

the floating Picture toolbar should appear. If it doesn't, choose View, Toolbars, Picture to enable it. Now

click the Image Control button in the Picture toolbar (second from the left) and choose Watermark.

Slide View in PowerPoint

By default, PowerPoint 2000 opens in a three-pane view. You have the Slide pane, the Notes pane, and the

Outline pane. If you prefer the old way with just the slide view, you can hold down the Ctrl key and click

the Slide View button in the lower left corner of the PowerPoint window. Unfortunately, you have to do

this each time you open PowerPoint--there is no way to permanently change the default.

Hide Popup Menu Button in PowerPoint

The popup menu button that appears in the bottom-left corner of your slides in Slide Show view can be

helpful during a presentation, but it can also be distracting. To hide it, choose Tools, Options. Then click

on the View tab, deselect the Show Popup Menu Button check box in the Slide Show panel and click

OK. Now the next time you watch your presentation in Slide Show view the popup menu button will not

show.

Getting Help During a PowerPoint Slide Show

There are times when you may need some help with keyboard shortcuts during a slide show. This is usually

the case during your practice periods. To access Help during a show, you can press F1, or Shift + ?. Either

shortcut will open a dialog box that displays the keyboard shortcuts that you can use during a slide show.

Perfect Circles in PowerPoint

To draw a perfect circle, click the Oval button to activate the drawing tool. Then hold down the Shift key

while you draw. If you need to draw a number of perfect circles at one time, double-click the Oval button

and draw one circle. Then, position your insertion point at the place on your slide where you wish to add

another circle and click the left mouse button. You can continue to add additional circles by clicking your

mouse. To stop adding circles to the slide, click the Oval button on the Drawing toolbar.

Remove Unused Toolbar Buttons

If you have buttons on your toolbars which you never use, you can remove them. To remove a button from

a toolbar in any Office program, hold down the Alt key and drag the button off of the toolbar. If you decide

you want the toolbar back to it's original configuration, right click the toolbar, choose customize, select the

relevant toolbar on the Toolbar tab and click the reset button.

Easily Launch Formatting Dialog Boxes in PowerPoint

If you want to format a text box or an AutoShape (including lines) on a slide, you can choose Format,

Textbox or Format, AutoShape to launch their respective dialog boxes. A quicker method is to double-click

on the boundary of a textbox or anywhere on an AutoShape and either the Format Textbox or the Format

AutoShape dialog box will immediately open so you can edit the slide object.

Using a Scroll Mouse for Easy Navigation in PowerPoint

A scrolling mouse gives you some additional shortcuts in PowerPoint. If you scroll up or down while

you're in Slide View, you can move through all of your slides sequentially. If you want to zoom in on an

area of a slide (and zoom back out again), hold down [Alt] as you work the scrolling wheel.

Create a Self Running PowerPoint Presentation

To create a self running PowerPoint show from any PowerPoint presentation, open the presentation and

choose Save As. Under files of type, select PowerPoint Show (.pps) and click OK. The show will now run

automatically whenever it is opened.

Setting a Digital Photograph as a Slide Background in PowerPoint

Creating a custom slide background from a digital photograph can create a unique backdrop for your

presentation, and it can keep the image out of the way while you create your other slide elements. To paint

your slide with a photograph, first choose Format, Background. Next, choose Fill Effects from the

background Fill panel's dropdown and click on the Picture tab in the Fill Effects dialog box. Then click

Select Picture, navigate to and select your saved image file in the Select Picture dialog box, and click

Insert. You should now see a small sample of it on the Picture property sheet in the Fill Effects dialog box.

Click OK to return to the Background dialog box and click Apply To All to fix the image to the

background of all your slides, or click Apply to set it to just the current slide's background.

Quickly Insert a Blank Slide in PowerPoint

If you need to insert a blank slide in a PowerPoint presentation, you can do so by holding down the [Shift]

key and clicking the Insert New Slide button. By doing this, you bypass the New Slide dialog box.

Using the Slide Show View Button

As you know, to view your show, you can either choose View, Slide Show or click the Slide Show View

button (located near the bottom left corner of your screen). Or, if you're using PowerPoint 2000, you can

press F5. There are several other actions associated with the Slide Show button. To see a miniature preview

of your slide show without leaving the PowerPoint workspace, hold down [Ctrl] and click the Slide Show

View button. If you want to quickly launch the Set Up Show dialog box so that you can adjust settings,

hold down [Shift] as you click the Slide Show View button.

PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts

Ctrl + Shift + D will make a duplicate of the current slide.

Ctrl + M will insert a new slide, allowing you to select the slide layout.

Ctrl + K will open the window to insert a hyperlink.

Page Up will move you back one slide.

Page Down will move you forward one slide.

Shortcuts While Running Your Slideshow:

Enter, N, or the right arrow will advance your slideshow one slide.

Backspace, P, or the left arrow will go back one slide in your slideshow.

Esc will end your slideshow.

B will display a black screen. (B again will return from the black screen.)

W will display a white screen. (W again will return from the white screen.)

A number then Enter will go to that slide number.

For an entire list of shortcuts, run your presentation and press the F1 key.

From Word to PowerPoint

To quickly create slides in PowerPoint, first create a text outline in Word using either Outline View or the

Style list. Then go to File, Send To...Microsoft PowerPoint. PowerPoint will open and each heading of

your outline will be placed on a separate slide as a title with any subheadings as a bulleted list below the

title. You can then add graphics, backgrounds, animation and sounds to complete your presentation.

Display Keyboard Shortcuts with Screentips

If you move the mouse pointer over a toolbar button and leave it there for a few seconds, you get a

ScreenTip that describes what job that button performs. If you'd like to have the ScreenTip also display the

shortcut keys, in Word you choose View, Toolbars, Customize. When the Customize dialog box opens,

click the Options tab. Then select the Show Shortcut Keys In ScreenTips check box and click Close to save

your changes. As a test, move the mouse pointer over the Bold button. The ScreenTip will display Bold

(Ctrl+B). When you make this change in Word, it will also apply to the other Office programs.

Quickly Access Recently Used File List

In the MS Office programs there is a list of recently used files at the bottom of the File menu. Most people

access these with the mouse. You can also access these files with the keyboard. First press Alt + F (to

activate the File menu). Then press the number listed beside the file name in the list. The file will open

ready for use.

Match Clipart Colors to PowerPoint Presentation Design

If you want to quickly change the colors in a clip art object so that the colors in your image coordinate with

the color scheme of your presentation, you can use PowerPoint's Recolor feature. Right-click on your clip

art image and select Format Picture from the resulting shortcut menu. Next, select the Picture Tab and click

the Recolor button. Now you can adjust the colors of your clip art image using the Recolor Picture dialog

box. To preview your changes, click the Preview button.

Drag and Drop Text Editing in PowerPoint

You can select text within a text box and drag it to a new location on your slide to create a new text box

containing the text you selected. In order for this to work, you need to be sure the Drag And Drop Text

Editing option is enabled. To check it, choose Tools, Options from the Menu Bar and then click the Edit

tab. If it isn't selected, click Drag And Drop Text Editing (so that a check mark appears in the check box)

and click OK.

Turn Off the Office Assistant

If you don't wish to use the Office Assistant, you can turn it off. Right-click on the paper clip icon and

choose Options. On the Options tab, deselect the arrow in front of Use the Office Assistant. It won't come

back until you go to Help, Show Office Assistant. If you just choose Hide, it will come back when it thinks

you need help.

Quickly Create a Numbered List in PowerPoint

It's easy enough to apply the numbering format to a list in PowerPoint by selecting the text in a textbox and

then clicking the Numbering button on the formatting toolbar. However, even this simple step can be

bypassed. The next time you want to create a numbered list in a text box, type 1, press [Tab], and then type

in the first entry. To move onto the next entry, press [Enter] and PowerPoint automatically enters a 2 and

moves your insertion point to align with the first entry. You can continue creating the list in this way and

PowerPoint will continue to insert consecutive numbers.

Office 2000 Personalized Menus (revisited)

One of the new features in the Office 2000 programs is the personalized menu. As you work, Excel

remembers the commands you use most and displays those, while hiding commands you rarely use. In

other words, the personalized menus adapt to your work habits. The hidden commands are still available--

just click the double arrow at the bottom of the menu to see them. (If there's no double arrow, then all of

that menu's commands are already displayed.) If you prefer, you can wait just a few seconds for the menu

to expand.

You may find this new feature annoying after a while since it creates a second, unnecessary click if you

want to access a hidden menu. Fortunately, you can turn off this feature. Choose View, Toolbars, then

select Customize. In the Customize dialog box, click the Options tab and deselect the Menus Show

Recently Used Commands First option in the Personalized Menus And Toolbars section. If you want to see

all of the buttons on your Toolbars, also deselect Standard and Formatting Toolbars Share One Row.

Apply Transition Effects to Multiple PowerPoint Slides

On the View menu, click Slide Sorter. Select the slides you want to apply the transition effects to by

clicking one slide, and then holding down the CTRL key while you click each additional slide. On the Slide

Show menu, click Slide Transition. In the Effect box, click the transition you want, and then select any

other options you want. Click Apply.

Display Shortcuts During a Slide Show

If you need quick access to keyboard shortcuts during your PowerPoint slide show, press F1 (or SHIFT+?)

and Slide Show Help will display automatically.

Lasso Objects in PowerPoint

Yesterday's tip for lassoing icons on the desktop also works for selecting objects on a PowerPoint slide.

Hold down the left mouse button and drag a rectangle around all of the objects you wish to select. A

dotted-line rectangle is drawn and everything in the rectangle is selected once you release the mouse

button. You must have the object completely in the rectangle - if an object is only partially in the rectangle

it will not be selected.

Quickly Change the Background for Multiple Slides in PowerPoint

You can quickly change the background color or fill for multiple slides in your presentation without having

to change it individually. Switch to the Slide Sorter View and hold down [Ctrl] as you click on each slide

you wish to modify. Next, choose Format, Background to launch the Background dialog box. Then select

the color or fill effect that you want for the selected slides. Finally, click Apply when you're satisfied with

your changes. This will update the selected slides while keeping the unselected slides unchanged.

Keyboard Shortcut for Inserting New Slides in PowerPoint

To quickly insert a new slide with the previously inserted slide's layout, hold down Ctrl and press Enter. If

you have placeholders on your slide, you'll first cycle through each of the placeholders as you continue

pressing Ctrl and Enter. Once you cycle through all of the placeholders, a new slide is inserted. If the

previously selected Slide Layout was the Title Slide, your new slide will appear with the Bulleted List

layout.

Create a Summary Slide in PowerPoint

After you've created your presentation, open the Slide Sorter. Select the slides that you want included in

your summary. Click the Summary Slide button on the Slide Sorter Toolbar. PowerPoint will create a new

slide that lists all the titles from the selected slides. The summary slide will be placed just before the first

selected slide. You might want to change the "Summary Slide" title to something else, but for the most

part, the time-consuming part is done.

Creating Patterned Lines in PowerPoint

Patterned lines can add a unique look to that same old shape. If you've tried using patterns in lines before,

you probably weren't too fond of the results. The trick is using a line width of 10 points or more to see the

pattern within the line. Create a horizontal line, right-click on it, and choose Format AutoShape from the

shortcut menu. From the Color dropdown list, select Patterned Lines. In the Patterned Lines dialog box,

select a pattern you think looks interesting, choose a foregraound and background color and click OK. In

the Weight box, click the up arrow to change the line to 10 pt. Click OK to see the change. This works in

any program with the Draw toolbar.

Creating Embossed Images in PowerPoint

You can create embossed images using Microsoft's Clip Gallery. To do this, select a clip art image and

ungroup it so that it becomes a drawing object. Immediately regroup the object. Next, click the Shadow

Settings button on the Drawing toolbar and select Shadow Style 17. Once you apply Shadow Style 17,

choose Format, Object. Select the Colors And Lines tab. Then, select the same color you used as a

background color from the Fill Color dropdown menu and click OK. If the embossed effect is difficult to

see, use the Nudge Shadow buttons on the Shadow Settings toolbar (at the bottom of the Shadow menu) to

adjust the position of your image's shadow. You may also need to change the Shadow color if you use a

colored background.

Move Your Objects with More Control in PowerPoint

By default, the Snap To Grid option is turned on in PowerPoint. But, since the grid is invisible, you may

not have even known it exists. With the Snap To Grid option on, you can only arrange objects on your slide

along invisible horizontal and vertical lines. This is a great tool to help you align objects on your slide, but

when you want to place an object between two grid lines, this feature gets in the way. To turn off Snap To

Grid, choose Draw, Snap, To Grid. To turn it back on, choose Draw, Snap, To Grid again.

Creating Simple Shadows in PowerPoint

There is an easy technique you can use to create shadows in PowerPoint. First, insert a blank slide into

your presentation. Go to Insert, Picture, Clip Art. From the Clip Gallery, select a clip art image. After

inserting the image, resize it so that you can see most of the details. Press Ctrl + D to duplicate it.

Next, choose Draw, Ungroup and click Yes when the warning dialog box appears. After you ungroup the

image, immediately choose Draw, Group so that the entire image is a solid object once again. At this point,

select Fill Effects from the Fill Color dropdown list. Click on the Gradient tab and select the One Color

option button in the Colors panel.

Next, select the color black from the Color 1 dropdown list and position the Dark/Light slider slightly to

the right of center so that it's more towards the Light side. When you've finished, click OK. Then, choose

Draw, Order, Send To Back and offset the shadow. By offsetting the shadow at different angles, you can

create a variety of effects.

Quickly Animate the Slide Miniature in PowerPoint

First, you must be in Black and White view. Then if you choose View, Slide Miniature in PowerPoint, a

small window displaying your slide will appear. You can quickly preview this slide's animation in the Slide

Miniature window if you right-click on the window and then choose Animation Preview from the shortcut

menu. You can also right-click the slides in the Slide Sorter view and choose Animation Preview without

being in Black and White view.

Flying Airplane Animation for PowerPoint

To create an ascending (or plummeting) airplane in a PowerPoint slide, rotate the nose of the plane up or

down as you drag copies away to create the impression that it is taking off or landing (or crashing).

To create the show, locate a small plane in ClipArt and insert it onto the slide. Set its animation to Crawl

From Left. Next, hold down Ctrl and drag away a copy of the plane. With the copy still selected, choose

Draw, Ungroup. Then choose Draw, Group. This will allow you to rotate the plane. Now, right-click it and

choose Custom Animation. When the dialog box opens, click the Effects tab and choose Flash Once, Fast

from the list. Now click the Timing tab and select the Animate and Automatically check boxes. Click OK

to close the dialog box and apply your changes.

Once you've set the animation, continue to drag away copies of the second plane. The idea is to drag as

many copies as you need to produce smooth motion. As you drag away each new copy, select Rotate and

rotate the plane to point more vertically. If you drag away each copy, you don't need to set the animation

for each one--it takes on the attributes of the one before it. This could also be used for a rocket or

something falling from the sky.

Multiple Format Painting

When you need to copy a format to more than one place, just double-click the Format Painter button on the

toolbar. When you double-click, the mouse remains in format paint mode until you click the button again.

You can format any number of words, cells, and so on in this mode. The Format Paint button appears

depressed as long as you stay in it. Press Esc to turn off the function. This works in Word, Excel,

PowerPoint and Publisher.

Quickly Duplicate a PowerPoint Slide

There are times when you need several slides that are basically the same but contain slightly different

content. Instead of recreating the slide for each instance or copying and pasting the objects, just duplicate

the slide. One way to do this is to display the slide in Slide view then choose Insert, Duplicate Slide from

the menu bar. The new slide is added after the original slide. Now just modify the new slide. Another way

is to copy the slide in Slide Sorter view. First display Slide Sorter view, then select the slide to be

duplicated. While holding down the Ctrl key, drag the selected slide to a new location. A duplicate of the

slide is made in the presentation. Double-click on the duplicate and edit it as needed.

Using the F12 Function Key in Word, Excel and PowerPoint

F12 (alone) is the Save As command.

Shift + F12 is the Save command.

Ctrl + F12 is the Open command.

Ctrl + Shift + F12 is the Print command.

Changing an AutoShape

There may be times when you want to completely change an AutoShape from one to another. For instance,

you may want to change one banner shape to another. While you can just delete your original AutoShape

and then draw a new one, it is easy to change AutoShapes by following these steps:

1. Make sure the Drawing toolbar is displayed.

2. Select the AutoShape you want to change. Handles should appear around the outside of the shape.

3. Click on Draw on the Drawing toolbar, and then choose Change AutoShape. The familiar AutoShape

categories will appear.

4. Select the AutoShape you want to use.

This changes the AutoShape used, without changing the overall size or shape of the bounding rectangle

that contains the AutoShape. You can then proceed to edit the new AutoShape, as desired.

Wait Until Hyperlinks Load

If you're using a PowerPoint presentation that makes use of hyperlinks, make sure you wait until the hand

icon appears when you hover your pointer over a hyperlink before you click on it, especially if you're using

a slow computer. The hand icon is the indication that PowerPoint has registered the action setting (the

hyperlink) and is ready to proceed with the directions contained within it. If you click too early, you run the

risk of bypassing the hyperlink altogether and moving directly to the next sequential slide.

Draw AutoShapes From the Center

To draw your AutoShapes from the center instead of from the corner, select the AutoShape you'd like to

draw using the Drawing toolbar. When you do, the insertion point changes to crosshairs. Next, position the

top of the crosshairs where you want the center of your AutoShape to end up. Now, hold down the Ctrl key

as you click and drag to draw the AutoShape.

Hiding Slides in PowerPoint

To hide a slide in your presentation, first click the Slide Sorter View button or choose Slide Sorter from the

View menu. Click on the slide you want to hide and click the Hide Slide button on the Slide Sorter toolbar.

After you hide the slide, PowerPoint encloses the slide number in a box with a diagonal line through it. If

you need to hide multiple slides, hold down the Ctrl key, select each slide you wish to hide, and then click

the Hide Slide button. The hidden slides will not show when the slide show is viewed.

Working With the Slide Master

Slide Master is a special slide. Anything you place on Slide Master will appear on all of the slides in a slide

show. Suppose, for example, you would like to place a star in the corner of every slide. Choose View,

Master, Slide Master. On the Draw toolbar, choose AutoShapes, Stars and Banners, and choose the star.

Use the mouse to draw, place, color and size your star. Choose View, Normal to return to your slides. The

star will now appear on each slide in the show, as well as on any new slides you create.

Text on Colorful Backgrounds

Sometimes, your custom background is so colorful that you can't pick a contrasting color to use for text.

This usually happens when you use a picture for your background. Type your text in the text box, then

double-click the text box's border to open the Format Text Box dialog box. For the Fill Color option,

choose white or a pastel shade of the predominant color in the section of picture behind the text box,

then click the Semitransparent option. Choose Preview to verify your color choice. The Semitransparent

setting uses the chosen color in every other pixel of the text box and the background shows through the

remaining pixels. The result is that your background picture appears as a watermark behind the text box.

Then choose a complementary text color that contrasts with the semitransparent color. Not only is your text

legible, but the text box is a design element as well.

Temporarily Disable the Snap To Grid Feature in PowerPoint

Sometimes you need to move an object and it seems to skip over the spot. By default, PowerPoint has an

invisible grid to help align objects. But if you hold down the [Alt] key when dragging an object, your

object won't snap to the grid on your slide. The grid is temporarily disabled so you can move the object to

the exact location you want.

Play Music During Your PowerPoint Presentation

The music can be in an audio file on your hard drive or it can be on a CD that you'll have with you during

the presentation. If it's the latter, you may want to save the music from the CD onto the hard drive to have it

all in one place. Here's the procedure:

1. Go to the title slide.

2. Click Insert, Movies and Sounds. Select "Sound from File" or "Play CD Audio Track."

3. Browse the hard drive for the sound file, or specify the CD start and end track. You'll receive a dialog

box asking if you want it to automatically play at the start of the presentation.

4. If you answer "no" to this dialog, PowerPoint will place a speaker icon on the presentation, and you can

click on it when you want the music to play.

5. If you want the music to loop, right-click on the speaker icon, and select Edit Sound Object. Check the

"Loop Until Stopped" checkbox. The music should play continuously throughout the presentation.

Restore a Picture's Original Proportions in PowerPoint

When you insert a picture or clip art object on your PowerPoint slide, odds are that you'll need to resize it

to achieve the results you're looking for. However, after doing so, you may find that you'd prefer to use the

picture's original size settings. You can quickly restore the original proportions of a picture object in a few

short steps. To do so, select the picture, then select Format/Picture from the menu bar or click the Format

Picture button on the Picture toolbar. Next, click on the Size tab, and then click the Reset button. To

preview the new settings before applying them permanently, click Preview. If you're satisfied with the

results, click OK. If not, click Cancel to avoid applying the new settings.

Working With Multiple Slide Shows in PowerPoint

If you have more than one presentation open in PowerPoint while you work, organizing your workspace

can be a problem. You can resize the window of each presentation individually, but a much easier and

more efficient method is to use the Arrange All feature. Open all the presentations that you need to work

with in PowerPoint, choose Window, Arrange All, and PowerPoint resizes them automatically so that they

all fit on your screen while using the maximum amount of workspace available. You can then open each

presentation in Slide Sorter View and drag and drop slides from one presentation to another.

Animating Individual Pie Chart Pieces in PowerPoint

If you want to animate the individual pieces of a pie chart, first create the chart and then choose Ungroup

from the Draw menu (say Yes to the dialog box that comes up and you may have to choose Ungroup twice

if you are working in XP). If you are working with a 3-D pie, you will need to group all of the pieces of

each pie piece. Select all the pieces that constitute the make-up of a pie piece by clicking the individual

pieces while holding down the Shift key, and then choose Group from the Draw menu. Use the same

process to group each individual pie piece. Once all the pieces of your chart are grouped, you can edit the

options in the Timing area of the Custom Animation dialog box to animate your chart. Since each pie

piece is its own group, you can choose the exact order that you want each piece to appear and how you

want it to enter the slide.

Animating a Bouncing Image in PowerPoint

Imagine someone dropping a ball and watching it bounce. You can duplicate this effect on a slide to help

emphasize a point. To do this, first insert an image (or draw a round AutoShape and fill with a color). With

it selected, press Ctrl + D to make a duplicate of the selection.

There are now two images on your screen. Select one of the images and move it off the bottom of the slide

so it's lined up below the original image. Next, right-click on the image that's positioned off your slide.

From the resulting shortcut menu, choose Custom Animation to open the Custom Animation dialog box.

Click on the Effects tab (if it isn't already selected) and select Fly, From Top from the dropdown lists in the

Entry Animation And Sound area. Then, click on the Order & Timing tab, choose the Automatically option

and change the default setting from 0 to 2.

Now, select the first image from the Check to animate slide objects list box. Set the Start Animation to

Automatically and leave the default setting of 0 seconds after previous event. Then, click on the Effects

tab. For Entry Animation and Sound, select Fly, From Bottom. Then click OK. When you run the slide

show, the image will drop from the top of the slide and then bounce back up from the area below the slide.

Increase or Decrease Text Size

To quickly increase or decrease the size of text, select the text you want to resize. Then, to increase the font

size, press Ctrl + Shift + >. To decrease the font size, press Ctrl + Shift + <. This works in Word,

PowerPoint, FrontPage and Publisher.

Quickly Zoom In and Out of Your Office Documents

If you have a wheel on your mouse, you can use the wheel button to quickly zoom in and out of an Office

document. Hold down the Ctrl key as you rotate the wheel button forward or back. This works in Excel,

Word, PowerPoint, and Publisher as well as many other Microsoft programs.

Copy and Paste up to 12 Pieces of Information at Once

If you're constantly copying text and data between different Office programs, there's a way to save time by

copying multiple items at once. For example, you can copy a chart in Excel, switch to PowerPoint and

copy a bulleted list, switch to Internet Explorer and copy a page of text, and then switch to Word and paste

the collection of copied items into your document. Here's how:

1. In any Office 2000 program, on the View menu, point to Toolbars and click Clipboard to display the

Office Clipboard.

2. Select an item you want to copy.

3. Copy the item into the Office Clipboard by clicking Copy on the Edit menu or clicking the Copy button

on the Clipboard toolbar.

4. Repeat steps one through three until you have copied all the items (up to 12) you want. If the item you

want to copy is in another program, switch to that program first.

5. In an Office program, click where you want to paste the items.

6. To paste all the items at once, click Paste All on the Clipboard toolbar. Or to paste the items one at a

time, click the icon for the item you want to paste.

Change the Font or Size of Text Using Keyboard Shortcuts

You can use keyboard shortcuts to access the Font box and the Font Size box on the Formatting toolbar and

then quickly change the font or size of selected text. Here's how:

1. Select the text you want to change.

2. Press Ctrl + Shift + F to access the Font box or Ctrl + Shift + P to access the Font Size box.

3. Press the Up Arrow or the Down Arrow to select the font name or size you want.

4. Press Enter to accept the font name or size.

Note: This tip works in Excel, FrontPage, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word.

Mouse Pointer in PowerPoint Presentations

Have you ever found yourself giving a presentation using PowerPoint and wishing for a mouse pointer?

While viewing the presentation, press the letter A and the pointer will appear. To make it disappear, press

the letter A again.

Change a PowerPoint Slide Layout

If you complete a slide using an AutoLayout slide and decide you need a different layout, you don't need to

start over. While you're looking at the slide you need to change, go to the Format menu and choose Slide

Layout. Choose the one that meets your current needs and click Apply. Instantly you're returned to the

presentation with your slide in its new format, ready for editing.

Change Fonts on a PowerPoint Presentation

If you finish your presentation and realize that you would like to change the font, there is an easy way to do

so. On the Menu Bar, choose Format, Replace Fonts. In the "Replace" field use the drop-down list to pick

the font you want changed. Below that, in the "With" field, use the list to select the font that's to take its

place. Click Replace. Throughout the entire presentation the old font is out and the new font is in. Font size

and formatting is retained—just the font itself is replaced.

Copying Character Formatting

Often it is beneficial to copy character formatting from one place in your document to another. Word

provides a shortcut for doing this:

1. Select the characters whose formatting you want to copy.

2. Click on the Format Painter tool on the Standard Toolbar (the paintbrush).

3. Select the text you want formatted.

You can also copy the same format repeatedly by double clicking the Format Painter tool in step 2. You

will then be able to apply the same formatting until you turn of format painting by clicking on the tool.

Shortcut to Change Case of PowerPoint Text

You can quickly cycle through three case options by pressing Shift + F3. Select the text you wish to modify

and press Shift + F3. If the text is all lowercase, it changes to title case. If you want to make it all caps, all

you have to do is press Shift + F3 again. To return the text to its original state, press Shift + F3 a third time.

If the text is already title case, Shift + F3 changes it to all caps the first time you press the keys and to

lowercase the second time you press them. This technique also works in Word.

Set AutoShape Defaults in PowerPoint

To change the default formatting of any shape you add to a slide, just double-click a shape to open the

Format AutoShape dialog box, make your line and color modifications, and, in the lower-left corner of the

Colors And Lines tab, click the Default For New Objects check box. Click OK to return to your slide. From

now on - until you change it - this formatting will apply to every new autoshape you insert on a slide.

Set Text Defaults in PowerPoint

To change the default formatting of text, select any text or text object; choose Format, Font; select the font

style, size, color, and effect you want; then click the Default For New Objects check box in the lower-right

corner of the Font dialog box. Click OK to return to your slide. From now on, your text will carry the new

default formatting.

Animating PowerPoint ClipArt

How would you like to have a ClipArt picture put itself together right before the audience's eyes? To see

how to create this kind of animation, run PowerPoint and choose Insert/Picture/ClipArt. Right-click the

picture you want to use and choose Insert to place it on your slide. Now select the picture, then choose

Draw/Ungroup. If a dialog box comes up, say Yes. Next, choose Slide Show, Custom Animation. When

the dialog box opens, click the Effects tab. In the "Check to animate slide objects" list, click the first object.

Then hold down the Shift key and scroll down to select the last object. With all objects selected, click the

arrow at the right side of the "Entry animation and sound" list box and select an effect. Now click the Order

& Timing tab and then select the radio button labeled Automatically. Click OK to close the dialog box and

then press F5 to run the slide show. Each part of the ClipArt picture will appear as you instructed when you

chose an effect.

Enhance PowerPoint Graphics

Here's an effect that you can use to enhance some of your graphic objects in PowerPoint. Run PowerPoint

and open a blank slide. Choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. When the Insert ClipArt dialog box opens, select a

picture, right-click it and choose Insert. Close the ClipArt dialog box.

Now, to create the effect, you'll place a semitransparent white rectangle over a portion (or all) of the

picture. To do this, click the Rectangle tool (in the Drawing toolbar) and draw the rectangle over whatever

portion of the picture you choose. Next, right click the rectangle and choose Format AutoShape. When the

dialog box opens, click the Colors and Lines tab. Under Fill, click the arrow at the right side of the Color

list box and choose white. Select the check box labeled Semitransparent and click OK to close the dialog

box and save your setting selection.

Change the Font Size by Typing the Point Number

If you know the font point size you want to use, click on the Font Size point number on the Text

Formatting toolbar. This will select the number. Then type in the new point size. This saves clicking the

down arrow to choose a new number. This works in most programs.

Drawing Lines in Office Programs

The Drawing toolbar allows you to create a number of shapes that were previously only available through

the use of a drawing program. One such shape is a line. To draw a line, follow these steps:

1. Select a line weight and type by clicking on the Line Style tool on the Drawing toolbar.

2. Click on the line tool.

3. Position the mouse pointer where one end of the line is to be located.

4. Click and hold the mouse button.

5. Drag the mouse until the line is the desired length.

6. Release the mouse button.

The Difference Between Save and Save As

When you use the Save command, you save your work under it's current file name. If you've never saved

whatever it is you're working on before, then you'll get an opportunity to name it.

When you use Save As, you get a chance to save what you're working on as a new file. Let's say you're

working on a word processing document. It's a new document and you decide to save it. A box comes up

that lets you give it a name. Now, let's say you add something to it. If you use the Save command again, it

simply saves it with no questions asked under the existing file name.

Now let's say you make a modification to the file, but you want to keep the original version as well. This is

where you use Save As. When you use the Save As command, it allows you to save your current file as a

new file with a new name. Now when you go to open your files, you'll find you have both the original

version and the new, Saved As version.

Working With AutoShape Toolbars In PowerPoint

If you're inserting numerous AutoShapes into a slide show, you might find it more convenient to work with

floating toolbars. To do this, click AutoShapes and then select a toolbar that you want to convert to a

floating toolbar (Basic Shapes for example). Once you make your selection, move the mouse to the right

and grab the toolbar at the top (there's a bar there), then drag the toolbar out away from the other toolbars.

To return a toolbar to its original position, double-click its title bar (at the top of the toolbar).

Remove Part of a Picture in PowerPoint

In PowerPoint, you may find a picture you like but only wish to use part of it. Select the clip art you want

to edit. Click Ungroup from the Draw menu. Say Yes to convert it to a Microsoft Office drawing object.

Choose Draw, Ungroup again. Click away from the picture.

Then click on an object in the picture you wish to delete and press Delete on the keyboard.

Recording a Narration in PowerPoint

To record a narration into a PowerPoint slide you must plug in a microphone. Then:

1. Go to the Slide you wish to add a narration to.

2. From the Insert menu select Movies and Sounds.

3. Click Record Sounds.

4. When ready, click the Record button (the red circle).

5. When finished recording, click the black Stop button.

6. Click OK.

You can move the sound icon to a different place on the slide. The narration will play automatically when

the show runs.

Link Two Presentations Together for Continuous Playback

To link two presentations together for continuous playback, first save both presentations you'd like to loop

in a folder. Next, choose one of your presentations and double-click on the last slide. With the last slide

visible, choose Insert, Object. Select the Create From File option button and then click the Browse button.

Select the other presentation you'd like to link to. Click OK. Next, click the Link check box and the Display

As Icon check box. Click OK to insert the link. Drag the resulting icon off the side of your slide. To tell

PowerPoint when to display the linked presentation, right-click on the icon and choose Custom Animation.

If the Effects tab isn't already visible, select it. Next, change No Effect in the Entry Animation And Sound

area to Appear. Then, click on the Multimedia Settings tab and select Show from the Object Action

dropdown list. Finally, click on the Order & Timing tab and select Automatically. A time of 00:03 seconds

is fine. Click OK to apply the changes.

Now set up your slide transitions. Then, choose Slide Show, Set Up Show to open the Set Up Show dialog

box. In the Show Type area, select the Loop Continuously Until 'Esc' check box. Your second presentation

should start as soon as the first one finishes and then loop back to the first to begin again.

Inserting Multiple Drawing Objects

There may be times when you want to insert multiple drawing objects (such as squares, rectangles, ovals,

or circles) in your worksheet. Rather than click on the drawing tools on the Drawing toolbar before creating

each object, double-click on the drawing tool you want to use. The tool is locked into place, and you can

create as many of the objects as you wish. When you are finished creating them, click on the tool again or

press the Esc key to return the mouse pointer to normal. You can also do this with AutoShapes, but the

process is a little different:

1. Click on the AutoShapes tool on the Drawing toolbar.

2. Click on the category you want to use.

3. Notice that at the top of the AutoShapes menu there is a small horizontal bar. Click on this bar and drag

it to some other location on your screen. When you release the mouse button, the AutoShapes menu

appears on its own, floating on your desktop.

4. Double-click on any item on the menu. It remains selected.

5. Create any number of that AutoShape in your document.

6. Press Esc or click on the AutoShape again (in the floating menu) to return the mouse pointer to normal.

This also works in other Microsoft Office programs.

Sorting Files in the Open Dialog Box

To sort files by Name, Size, Type or Modified Date, click on the column header at the top of each column.

This also works in e-mail folders.

Using PowerPoint's Pack And Go Wizard

To make sure that you have everything you need for your next presentation, you may want to use the Pack

And GoWizard. The Pack And Go Wizard helps you gather all the presentation files, fonts, colors, graphics

and audio clips that you need for your next big presentation. To begin, first open the presentation you wish

to pack. To use the Pack And Go Wizard, choose File, Pack And Go. The Pack And Go Wizard opens

automatically and guides you through the process of obtaining the files and fonts you need to ensure that

your presentation looks as good on the road as it does on your computer.

Use a Thumbnail Image of a Previous Slide

If you want to reference a previous slide on your current slide, you can insert a thumbnail of the slide you

want to reference. First, choose View, Slide Sorter and select the slide that you want referenced. Then

choose Edit, Copy to copy an image of the slide to the clipboard. Next, double-click the slide on which you

want to place the thumbnail image, and choose Edit, Paste. In PowerPoint 2002, choose Edit, Paste Special

and choose Picture. This is a quick and easy way to insert a slide thumbnail as a reference.

Copy Objects

To make multiple copies of an object, hold down the Ctrl key while you drag away as many copies as you

need. To see how this works, open PowerPoint. Choose Insert, Picture, ClipArt. Insert a picture. Press and

hold Ctrl while you drag a copy of the picture to a new location. You can repeat this as often as needed.

Just keep holding down Ctrl and dragging away copies. This works in most programs with AutoShapes,

Images, Text Boxes, etc.

Create Connector Lines Between Objects

You can easily create flowcharts or other connected object schemes using PowerPoint's Connectors feature.

You can connect AutoShapes, text boxes, WordArt, clipart, etc. First insert, modify, and position at least

two drawing objects or clipart as you want them to appear on your slide. On the Drawing toolbar, choose

AutoShapes/Connectors. Select the connector tool you'd like to use, then position the pointer over one of

the objects you'd like to connect. When you do, the pointer changes to a connector icon, and the object's

connector handles are displayed in blue. Place the pointer over the connector handle you'd like to connect

from, then click the mouse button once. Now, place the pointer over the connector handle of the object

you'd like to connect to, then click the mouse button again. When you do, PowerPoint inserts a connector

line between the objects' connector handles. If you decide that you'd like to rearrange the location of the

connected objects, simply drag them to the desired location--the connectors stay in place and adjust their

path accordingly. You can right-click on the connector line for more choices.

Change the Colors of Your Textures in PowerPoint

Textures make great backgrounds for PowerPoint slides, but there aren't many standard textures to

choose from. If you want to change the color of a background texture, follow these steps:

1. First, apply a texture to your slide using Format, Background.

2. Then, use the Rectangle tool to draw a rectangle that fills the entire slide.

3. Next, on the Draw toolbar, click the down arrow to the right of the Line Color button and choose No

Line.

4. Then, click the arrow to the right of the Fill Color button and select More Fill Colors.

5. Choose a color from the Standard or Custom Color palette.

6. Then, in the bottom left corner, drag the Transparency bar to 60%; click OK.

7. Last, on the Draw toolbar, choose Order, Send to Back.

The semitransparent rectangle changes the color of your original texture background.

Running a Slide Show Without Opening Powerpoint

When your audience is waiting for your slide show, you would like to start up immediately at the touch of

a button. You don't even want them to see PowerPoint opening. First, place a shortcut to the file on your

desktop. Then, when you're ready to start the show, right-click the shortcut and choose Show. PowerPoint

opens and runs your slide show. When the show finishes, PowerPoint closes. Your audience never sees the

PowerPoint application window.

Inserting Bullet-Free Text In PowerPoint

When you enter text into a PowerPoint bulleted list, each line has a bullet. Normally, you type in a line and

press Enter to move to the next line which inserts another bullet. If you would like to enter a line without a

bullet, type Shift + Enter and PowerPoint will move to the next line without inserting a bullet. This also

works in Word.

Using Animated GIFs in PowerPoint Presentations

An animated GIF is a moving image. You can insert animated GIF files into your PowerPoint

presentations. There are collections of these on the Internet which you can save the same way you save

other graphics. Animated GIF pictures don't play while you're working on your presentation in Normal,

Slide Sorter or Slide views. To play an animated GIF picture, you must switch to Slide Show view.

Viewing Whole Menus in Office Programs

If you have to click on the double arrows located at the bottom of the menus in Office programs to see all

of the options, there is a faster way to view the whole menu. If you double-click the menu name, it will

expand to show all of the items.

Adding an Action button to a PowerPoint Slide

You can add a button that performs a certain action, called an action button, to any slide in PowerPoint. To

do this:

1. Open the Slide Show menu.

2. Select Action Buttons.

3. Choose a button.

4. Use your mouse to draw the button onto the slide.

5. PowerPoint will detect when you release the mouse button. When it does, a dialog box will open.

6. Choose the action that you want.

7. Click OK.

Using Curved Text in PowerPoint

You may want to spice up your PowerPoint presentation a little with curved text. This is done by using

WordArt. To create curved text, you should first create some WordArt:

-On the menu, go to Insert, Picture, WordArt.

-Click on a style to select it.

-Click OK.

-Type in any text, choose the Font style and size, and click OK.

-Click on the WordArt you just created. A floating toolbar should appear. If it doesn't, right-click the

toolbar area and choose WordArt.

-From the toolbar, click the WordArt Shape button (it has a curved ABC on it).

-Choose the style of curved text you want.

You may need to change the size and shape of the text. This also works in Excel and Word.

Freeform Object-Editing in PowerPoint

Sometimes a slide's design requires that you draw a freeform shape with your mouse. (Go to Autoshapes,

Lines and then choose an option for drawing.) If you've tried to do this, you know how difficult it is to get

the shape the way you want it. There are several things you can do to edit the line or shape. Select the

freeform object on the slide and choose Draw, Edit Points. When the edit points appear on the line or

shape, you can then move them to reshape the object. You can also click anywhere on the line, hold down

the mouse button, and drag the line to a new position to create a new edit point. You can delete existing

edit points by pressing the Ctrl key while you click on the edit point you no longer want. Edit points give

you more precision with freeform drawings. This also works in Word.

Using Part of a Picture in PowerPoint

You may find a piece of clipart you like but only wish to use part of it. To use only a portion of a picture:

1. First insert it into your slide.

2. Then, select the picture click Ungroup from the Draw menu.

3. Say Yes if it asks to convert it to a Microsoft Office drawing object.

4. Then choose Draw, Ungroup again.

5. Then, click somewhere on the slide away from the picture.

6. Click on an object in the picture you wish to delete and press the Delete key.

Show Slides out of Order During a PowerPoint Presentation

If you are in the middle of a presentation and want to open a slide out of order, type the slide number and

press Enter. This works best when you know the number of the slide you want. It's a good idea to print out

a copy of your presentation for reference.

Write on a Slide During a PowerPoint Presentation

PowerPoint includes a virtual annotation pen that enables you to write on a slide while giving a

presentation. To use the annotation pen during a slide show:

1. Open the presentation in Slide Show view.

2. Right-click in the window, point to Pointer Options, and click Pen.

3. When you are finished using the pen, press Esc.

All pen markings are cleared when you leave the slide, so don't use the pen to make notes you'll want to

use later.

Create Images of PowerPoint Slides

Open the slide you want use as an image. On the View menu, click Notes Page. The slide will appear on

the notes page as an image. Right-click the slide image, and then click Copy on the shortcut menu. The

image is now stored on your Clipboard, and you can paste it as a resizable object into any Office document.

Tweak the Layout of PowerPoint Slides

If you need to fine-tune the placement of a graphic or text box on a PowerPoint slide, you can use the

arrow keys for more precise movement. First select the graphic, then press the Up, Down, Left, or Right

arrow keys on the keyboard to move the graphic in the desired direction.

Quick-Start Your PowerPoint Slide Show

If you want to quickly open your PowerPoint presentation, save it as a PowerPoint slide show file, and

when you double-click the file, it opens right up in slide show view.

To save your presentation as a slide show file:

1. Open the presentation you want to save as a slide show.

2. On the File menu, click Save As.

3. In the Save as type list, click PowerPoint Show. Your slide show file will be saved with a .pps file

extension.

When you open this file from your desktop, it will automatically start your presentation in slide show view.

When you're finished, PowerPoint automatically closes and you return to the desktop. If you want to edit

the slide show file, you can always open it from PowerPoint by clicking Open on the File menu.

Cut PowerPoint Graphics Down to Size

With added photos, the size of your PowerPoint presentation can become huge. You can compress images

manually, but there's a simpler way: PowerPoint XP can do it for you. On the Picture toolbar, click the

Compress Pictures button. If you don't see the Picture toolbar, go to View, Toolbars, and then click Picture.

To compress all pictures in the presentation, click All pictures in document. Under Change resolution,

select how you intend to use your presentation by clicking either Web/Screen or Print. To further reduce

file size, select the Delete cropped areas of pictures check box. Click OK.

Note: If you compress pictures or delete the cropped areas, you won't be able to restore your pictures to

their original resolution or size. This tip also works in Word XP.

Creating Guides in PowerPoint

If you need guides on your slides in order to place objects in a certain spot, go to View, Grid and Guides.

Click on Display drawing guides on screen at the bottom of the box. Click OK. You will see the standard

vertical and horizontal guides that partition your slide into four sections. If you need more guide lines,

there is an easy way to create them. Hold down the Ctrl key, click on either the vertical or horizontal guide,

and drag your mouse to create a new guide line. These lines will not print.

Drag Clip Art Into PowerPoint Presentations

An easy way to insert several clip art images into your presentation is to drag the images to your

presentation. With the Insert ClipArt dialog box open, navigate to the image, and then drag it into your

open presentation. Not only do you insert the image, but you also control where it's placed on the slide. The

Insert ClipArt dialog box is minimized when you drag the image to your presentation. Just click the

corresponding taskbar button to display the dialog box again.

Two Ways To Quickly Start A PowerPoint Slide Show

1. In Windows Explorer or on your desktop (where the file is saved), right-click any PowerPoint

presentation and click Show to start the presentation.

2. Rename the file extension on your presentation file from .ppt to .pps. When it asks if you are sure, click

Yes. Then you can double-click the file to launch the presentation.

Apply Transition Effects to Multiple PowerPoint Slides

Follow these steps to apply the same transition effect to multiple slides at once:

1. On the View menu, click Slide Sorter.

2. Select the slides you want to apply the transition effects to by clicking one slide, and then holding down

the Ctrl key while you click each additional slide.

3. On the Slide Show menu, click Slide Transition.

4. In the Effect box, click the transition you want, and then select any other options you want.

5. Click Apply.

Instant New Slide

There are two quick ways to insert a new slide into a PowerPoint presentation. Ctrl + M will create a new

slide immediately following the slide on which you're currently working. Ctrl + D will create a duplicate

slide of the one you're currently working with.

Mysteriously Changing Fonts

If your fonts look different when you show your presentation on another computer, it's because the fonts

are missing on that computer. To keep this from happening, you can embed the fonts into the presentation.

Go to File, Save As. Once in the Save As window, choose Tools, Save Options. In the "Font options for

current document only" section, select Embed TrueType Fonts. Then click OK. Now your presentation will

look the way you planned on any computer.

Select Several Objects at Once in PowerPoint

If you want to select several objects on a slide, click at the top left and drag a rectangle around all of the

objects. They will all be instantly selected. You must have the objects completely in the rectangle - if an

object is only partially in the rectangle it will not be selected.

The Gray Area in PowerPoint

When you are working on a slide, sometimes you might have problems deciding what to place and where

to place it. Rather than deleting elements and recreating them, you can move them off of the slide. Zoom

your slide to 50%. You can drag text boxes, autoshapes, custom animations, etc., to the gray area

surrounding your slide. Elements floating in the gray won't have an effect on your presentation. One

exception to this is the speaker icon that indicates you've connected a sound with the slide. Sounds set to

occur automatically will play even if the speaker icon is in the gray area.

Quickly Enter Text into PowerPoint AutoShapes

To enter text into a selected AutoShape, just start typing and PowerPoint immediately inserts the text into

the shape.

Take a Break During a PowerPoint Slide Show

When you want to stop for a break in your presentation without losing your place in the slide show, just

press the lowercase B key or press the Period (.). This will make the screen go black, and if it is a self-

running presentation, it will pause. When you are ready to resume the show, press either key again, and you

will start right where you left off.

Draw AutoShapes From Center

You can draw various shapes in your documents by selecting the AutoShape you'd like to draw using the

Drawing toolbar, then by clicking and dragging in your document to draw it. When you click and drag to

draw an AutoShape, Word plants one corner of the shape in the location you clicked on, and then it draws

the rest of the shape in the direction you drag. This makes it difficult to estimate where your AutoShape's

center will end up when you've finished drawing it. As an alternative, you can draw your AutoShapes from

the center instead of from the corner. To do so, select an AutoShape. The insertion point changes to

crosshairs. Next, position the top of the crosshairs where you want the center of your AutoShape to end up.

Then, hold down the Ctrl key as you click and drag to draw the AutoShape.

Create Movie-Style Crawling Credits in PowerPoint

1. In a PowerPoint presentation, create a new slide for credits or any other list that you want to scroll from

bottom to top.

2. Type your credits or other text. Don't worry about text running off the bottom of the slide.

3. Right-click the text, and choose Custom Animation.

4. In the Custom Animation task pane, click Add Effect, Entrance, More Effects, scroll down and choose

Credits. Click OK.

5. Click Play to see how the effect will look on-screen.

Using PowerPoint’s Transparent Feature

If you want your background to show though an object, you can make the object transparent. To do this:

1. Select the object that you want to make semitransparent.

2. If it is a graphic, go to the Draw menu and click Ungroup. Click Yes in the box that appears. Go back to

the Draw menu and click Ungroup again. Immediately return to Draw and choose Group.

3. Right-click the object. Choose Format Object. Click the Colors and Lines tab.

4. Drag the Transparency slider to choose the amount of tranparency you need. Click Preview in the

bottom right corner. Click OK when finished.

5. If you are making a text box transparent, skip step 2 and choose Format Placeholder in step 3.

Auto-Fit Text in Placeholder

One of the new features in PowerPoint 2000 is auto-fit text in a text placeholder. If you're typing in a

placeholder (for a slide title, body text, or bulleted lists) and you have a few extra words or lines in a

placeholder that won't fit on the slide, PowerPoint automatically changes the size of the text to fit the slide.

To turn off this feature, choose Tools, Options. Click on the Edit tab and deselect the Auto-fit Text To Text

Placeholder check box.

Create a Self Running PowerPoint Presentation

To create a self running PowerPoint show from any PowerPoint presentation, open the presentation and

choose Save As. Under files of type, select PowerPoint Show (.pps) and click OK. The show will now run

automatically whenever it is opened on a computer that has PowerPoint or a PowerPoint viewer. Press the

Esc key to stop the show.

Create Oval Pictures in Word, Excel and PowerPoint

1. Use the Drawing Toolbar to create an oval shape.

2. Click on the down arrow next to the Fill Color button (Paint Can).

3. Choose Fill Effects, and then choose the Picture tab at the top.

4. Click the Select Picture button, and then find the photo or graphic you want to use.

5. Double-click the file; click OK, and your picture will fill the center of your oval shape.

6. You can then move and resize the picture just like any graphic.

From Word to PowerPoint

To quickly create slides in PowerPoint, first create a text outline in Word using either Outline View or the

Style list. Then go to File, Send To...Microsoft PowerPoint. PowerPoint will open and each heading of

your outline will be placed on a separate slide as a title with any subheadings as a bulleted list below the

title. You can then add graphics, backgrounds, animation and sounds to complete your presentation.

Mouse Pointer in PowerPoint Presentations

Have you ever found yourself giving a presentation using PowerPoint and wishing for a mouse pointer?

While viewing the presentation, press the letter A and the pointer will appear. To make it disappear, press

the letter A again.

Create Custom Bullets in PowerPoint

You can import your own graphics to make bullets in PowerPoint. Let say you want to use either the SISD

logo or the SHS bearcat graphic as your bullet. First click here to save one of these graphics. Then, select

the text you want to make into bullet points. Next, choose Format, Bullets And Numbering from the main

menu. In the Bullets And Numbering dialog box, click the Picture button, and then click the Import button

in the Picture Bullet dialog box. Navigate to your saved logo file and click Add. You'll notice the logo has

been added to the bullets available in the Picture Bullet window. Select your logo graphic and click OK to

apply it. The bullet graphics you import will also be available to you in Word.

Using Only Part of a Picture in PowerPoint

In PowerPoint, you may find a picture you like but only wish to use part of it. To use only a portion of a

picture, you must first insert it into your slide. Then, select the picture you want to edit and click Ungroup

from the Draw menu. If it asks you to convert it to a Microsoft Office drawing object, click Yes. Then click

Draw, Ungroup again. Next, click somewhere on the slide away from the picture, and then click on an

object in the picture you wish to delete and press Delete. Delete as many pieces of the picture as you want.

Hiding Slides in PowerPoint

Sometimes when you create a PowerPoint presentation you might not want to show all slides to all of the

audiences. To hide a slide, click on the View menu in the toolbar and choose Slide Sorter. Right-click on

the slide you want to hide and choose Hide Slide. To show the slide again, right-click on it in Slide Sorter

view and choose Hide Slide again.

Creating Signs in PowerPoint

You can easily create signs using PowerPoint slides. With PowerPoint open, go to File, Page Setup. Click

the down-arrow next to the Slides Sized For list box. Select Letter Paper. Adjust the Width and Height if

necessary. Under Orientation, choose Portrait in the Slides section. Click OK and create your sign.

Aligning PowerPoint Objects

On a PowerPoint slide, you can easily align objects so they are in the basic category of left, right, or center.

To do this, click the Draw button. It’s located near the bottom-left of your screen. Select Align or

Distribute. Click Relative To Slide at the bottom of the list. Then, select one or more objects. Click the

Draw button again and select Align or Distribute. Then, make your choice and the object(s) will be

automatically aligned.

Select Multiple Objects in PowerPoint

To select multiple objects on a slide, hold down the left mouse button and drag a rectangle around all of the

objects you wish to select. A dotted-line rectangle is drawn and everything in the rectangle is selected once

you release the mouse button. You must have the object completely in the rectangle - if an object is only

partially in the rectangle it will not be selected.

Easily Add Slides from Old Files into New Presentations

To insert a slide from a different file, go to the Insert menu, and choose Slides from Files. When the Slide

Finder window opens, click the Find Presentation tab. Click the Browse button to locate the file that

contains the slide or slides you need in the new presentation.

Once a file is selected, the bottom boxes will fill with previews of the slides. To insert slides into your new

presentation, select them from the display. (Remember: the Shift key will select consecutive slides and the

Ctrl key will select non-consecutive slides when each is clicked).

When you have selected all the slides you need, click the Insert button. Click the Close button when

finished.

Animate GIFs in PowerPoint

An animated GIF is a moving image. You can insert animated GIF files into your PowerPoint

presentations. There are collections of these on the Internet which you can save the same way you save

other graphics. To play an animated GIF picture to see how it looks, you must switch to Slide Show view.

Drawing Staight Lines In Word and PowerPoint

You can draw a perfectly straight line by holding down the Shift key while you draw the line. You can also

draw the straight line at a perfect angle as well. To try this, click the Line tool and then hold down the Shift

key while you draw a line. Without releasing the mouse button or the Shift key, move the mouse to drag

the line around in a circle. The line will snap into position every 15 degrees. This works in all programs

that have the line drawing tool.

A Black-and-White or Grayscale PowerPoint Presentation

If you want to see how your slides would look printed on a black-and-white printer, you can preview your

presentation in black and white or grayscale. Choose View, Color/Grayscale, then Grayscale. A Grayscale

View toolbar will appear. To go back to Color View, click Close Grayscale View.

Slide Show Pointer

The following keyboard shortcuts will help you quickly control your slide show pointer during a

presentation.

Press Ctrl-H to hide the button and the pointer immediately.

Press Ctrl-A to display the pointer as an arrow and to display the button.

Press Ctrl-U to automatically hide the button and pointer in five seconds.

Using Capital Letters

When creating slides in PowerPoint, try to avoid using all caps in your titles (or anywhere in your slides).

Concentrate instead on choosing an attractive and easily readable font and font size. All uppercase letters

are often less attractive than lowercase and usually more difficult to read.

Add a Picture to Word, Excel, or PowerPoint

Once you save a picture to your computer, there are two easy options for getting it into your document.

You can go to Insert, Picture, From File on the Menu bar, or you can click the Insert Picture icon on the

Drawing toolbar at the bottom of the screen to browse to and select the picture you want to add to your file.

Show All of the Office Menu Items and Toobar Icons

When you first open Office programs, only certain items, supposedly the most utilized ones, are visible to

you when going through the menus. Other menu items require clicking on a down arrow at the bottom of

each menu. The shown menu items are supposedly the most recently used commands. Also, your Standard

and Formatting toolbars share a row and all of the icons are not visible. If you want all of the menu options

and all of the icons available all the time, go to Tools, Customize. On the dialog box that appears, select the

Options tab. Put checks by "Show Standard and Formatting toolbars on two rows" and "Always show full

menus"; then click the Close button.

Apply Different Slide Designs Within One Presentation

In PowerPoint, you can apply different designs to different slides. Select the slide you wish to apply a

design to, then right-click on the design you wish to apply. Choose Apply to Selected Slides. Do this for

each slide that you want to have a different design.

Customize the Shape of Your AutoShapes

Once you have drawn your AutoShape, look at it carefully while it is still selected. If there is a small

yellow diamond somewhere on the shape, you can reshape your drawing. Click, hold and drag the

diamond. You should see a dashed outline of what the new AutoShape will look like once you release the

mouse button as you drag it around. Find what you're looking for and release the mouse button.

Change Clip Art Colors

To change the colors in a piece of Microsoft Office clip art, insert the clip art graphic into your document

or presentation. Click on it once to select it. Click the Text Wrapping tool on the Picture toolbar and choose

Through. Click on the word Draw on your Draw toolbar at the bottom of your screen. Choose Ungroup.

Say Yes in the resulting dialog box. Without clicking anything, immediately go back to Draw and choose

Regroup. Click away from the graphic. Now, click on the various colors and use the Fill tool (paint can) to

change to the color of your choice. To move the graphic, click on the edge of the box and drag it to its new

location.

To Turn Off the Office Assistant in Microsoft Office Programs

If you don't wish to use the Office Assistant, you can turn it off. Right-click on the Office Assistant and

choose Options. On the Options tab, deselect the arrow in front of Use the Office Assistant. It won't come

back until you go to Help, Show Office Assistant. If you just choose Hide, it will come back when it thinks

you need help.

Working with the Slide Master in PowerPoint

The purpose of the slide master is to allow you to make global changes to the slides in a presentation.

Global changes may include font style, background, placeholder positioning, etc. For example, if you want

to change the size of the font for titles on all slides, you can make one change to the slide master. To view

the slide master, go to View, Master, and click Slide Master. Once you are in this view, you can edit the

slide master the same way you would edit slides in a presentation. Generally you will edit the slide master

when you need to making the following changes: formatting for title, body and footer text; placeholder

positions for text and objects; bullet styles; background design and color schemes. Changes made to the

master and objects inserted on the master will show on all slides.

Working with Text in PowerPoint

If you need to make multiple changes to your text in PowerPoint, you can quickly open the Font dialog box

where all of your choices are in one place. To open the Font box, press Ctrl + T.

Add a Picture to a Notes Page in PowerPoint

To add a picture, AutoShape, or other type of object to only one notes page, on the View menu, click Notes

Page, and then add the art.

Mouse Pointer in PowerPoint Presentations

If you need to use your mouse pointer while viewing your presentation, press the letter A and the pointer

will appear. To make it disappear, press the letter A again.

Layering Graphics In PowerPoint

If you have several pictures or objects on a PowerPoint slide, they are placed on the slide in the order that

you create them. If you need to overlap them, and they aren't in the correct order, right-click the picture that

appears on top and choose Order, Send Backward. The next picture will now appear on top. If there are

multiple objects and you want the top picture to go behind all of them, choose Order, Send to Back.

Change Fonts on a PowerPoint Presentation

If you finish your presentation and realize that you would like to change the font, there is an easy way to do

so. On the Menu Bar, choose Format, Replace Fonts. In the Replace: field use the drop-down list to pick

the font you want changed. Below that, in the With: field, use the list to select the font that you want to

take its place. Click Replace and then Close. Throughout the entire presentation the old font is changed

to the new font. Font size and formatting stays the same.

Shortcut to Change Case of PowerPoint Text

You can quickly cycle through three case options by pressing Shift + F3. Select the text you wish to modify

and press Shift + F3. If the text is all lowercase, it changes to title case. If you want to make it all caps, all

you have to do is press Shift + F3 again. To return the text to its original state, press Shift + F3 a third time.

If the text is already title case, Shift + F3 changes it to all caps the first time you press the keys and to

lowercase the second time you press them. This technique also works in Word.

Using Scanned Photos in PowerPoint

If you used scanned photos in PowerPoint, be sure to resize them to a smaller size before inserting them

into the presentation. Very large pictures can slow down your slide show when they start to load. Even if a

picture takes only a few seconds to load, it can throw off your entire presentation, as well as your timing.

Rearrange Order of Slides in PowerPoint

Normally, you would go to Slide Sorter to rearrange your slides. In the newer versions of PowerPoint, you

can rearrange slides while still in Normal view. Click on the Slides tab, which is found on the left side of

the screen when you're in the Normal view. If you've previously closed this tab, return to the View menu

and choose the Normal view. This will restore the panes, giving you access to the Slides tab again. Once

you have the Slides tab open, just click-hold-and-drag to rearrange your slides.

Create a Duplicate of the Current Slide

If you have spent a lot of time creating a slide in PowerPoint and need to create a similar one, it is easy to

create a duplicate slide from any slide in your current presentation. This way, you can create one slide and

customize it, then make duplicate slides, only changing text, graphics, animations, and multimedia as

necessary.

1. In the left pane of PowerPoint, select the Slides tab.

2. Click on the slide to duplicate.

3. Go to Insert, Duplicate Slide.

4. Your new duplicate slide will appear underneath your selected slide.

Insert Automatically Updated Time and Date on Each PowerPoint Slide

If you frequently use the same presentation and wish to show the current date and time each time you open

it, go to Insert, Date and Time. When the Header and Footer dialog box appears, click the Slide tab. Check

Date and Time, and click Update Automatically. Underneath Update Automatically, use the down arrow to

choose your desired date and time format. If you wish, check Don't Show on Title Slide. Click Apply to

All. The date and time will update whenever you reload the PowerPoint document or start the slide show.

Add Slides From Other PowerPoint Presentations

You can insert previously-made slides from one presentation into another. Open the presentation to which

you want to insert slides. Go to Insert, Slides From Files. In the Slide Finder dialog box, click Browse to

find the slide show from which you want to insert files. Underneath Select Slides choose the slides you

want to insert. Click a slide to toggle inserting on or off. Click Insert to insert the selected slides, or click

Insert All to insert all slides.

If you want the inserted slides to keep their formatting, be sure to check Keep Source Formatting in the

bottom left corner. If you don't select this, the inserted slides will take on the formatting of your current

presentation.

Before you click the Close button, you can click Add to Favorites to keep track of this inserted

presentation. This way, when you once again select Insert, Slides From Files, you can click on the List of

Favorites tab and your Favorite slide shows will be visible.

Add More Levels of Undo

If you make a mistake while editing a PowerPoint presentation or feel that a change is just not right, you

can usually undo the change by selecting Edit, Undo or pressing Ctrl + Z. However, PowerPoint is set to

remember only 20 changes. You can set PowerPoint to remember up to 150 operations, but note that if you

increase the level of remembered undos from 20 to 150, PowerPoint will eat up much more of your

available memory. Thus, it may be best to remember a lesser number of undos, such as 40 or 50. Go to

Tools, Options, and click the Edit tab. Next to Maximum Number of Undos, use the arrows to change the

20 as desired, from 3 up to 150. Click OK when finished. Note that if you started with 20 levels of undo,

and change the number to 30, you won't be able to immediately access 30 levels of undo. PowerPoint will

only remember the extra levels after you make this change.

Remove Black Slide at End of PowerPoint Slide Shows

PowerPoint ends presentations with a black slide. If you do not need this and want the black screen to go

away at the end of slide shows, go to Tools, Options, and click the View tab. Uncheck End with Black

Slide. Click OK to close the dialog box.

Change Text Case in PowerPoint

You can easily change the text case of a text box. Select the text you want to change, go to Format, Change

Case. Choose from the following options: Sentence case, lowercase, UPPERCASE, Title Case, or tOGGLE

cASE. When finished, click OK.

Preview Slides in PowerPoint

For a quick preview of a slide show while you're editing a presentation, hold down the Ctrl key, go to Slide

Show, View Show on the Menu bar (or hold Ctrl and click the Slide Show button in the bottom left corner

of the PowerPoint screen). Instead of launching in full-screen mode, the presentation, starting with the

current slide, will appear in a small window atop the slide being edited. To edit the slide and see your

changes in real time, resize the PowerPoint window so the preview slide is in view. Any modifications you

make will instantly appear in the preview window. Press Esc when finished previewing.

Align Objects on a PowerPoint Slide

There is a way to automatically place or align objects evenly with other objects in a slide. Hold down the

Ctrl key while you select the objects by clicking on them. Then click the Draw button at the bottom left of

the screen, and choose Align or Distribute. Select one of the options in the pop-up menu, and the objects

will be aligned or distributed automatically.

Hide a Particular Slide

Before showing a PowerPoint slideshow, there may be instances where you wish to hide a particular slide

from the audience. Perhaps a slide is not complete. Or, a slide may not relate to a particular group. To hide

a slide from the slide show without deleting it from the presentation file, select the desired slide and then

go to Slide Show, Hide Slide. A quicker way is to right-click the slide in the slide pane and choose Hide

Slide. Once the slide is hidden, you will see a line through the slide number. Right-click and deselect Hide

Slide to show it again.

PowerPoint Fonts

Are your fonts large enough for your audience? To test this, print the presentation on paper at nine slides

per page. Go to File, Print, then change Print What to Handouts, and set Slides Per Page to 9. If you can't

read all of the text on each slide, the people at the back of the room probably won't be able to read it either.

Start a PowerPoint Presentation

To quickly start your presentation, press the F5 key on your keyboard. Press the Esc key to end.

Beginning to End in PowerPoint

If you are working on a presentation that has a lot of slides, you can quickly go from one end to the other

with your keyboard. Pressing the Home key will take you to the first slide. Pressing the End key will take

you to the last slide. When you do this, be sure that you are not typing in a text box when you press the

keys.

Sounds in PowerPoint

If you have ever had a problem with the sound not being with your presentation, it could be because of the

way PowerPoint treats sounds. If the sound file is below a certain size, it is embedded into the presentation.

If it is above a certain size, it is linked. That means that if you play the presentation on another computer,

the sound may not be there. There is a way to correct this so that the sound file is embedded. Of course, it

will make the presentation file larger. Go to Tools, Options, and click on the General tab. Where it says,

"Link sounds with file size greater than...," up the size to fit your sound file. It will then be embedded into

the presentation.

Using a Mouse Pointer in PowerPoint Presentations

If you are giving a presentation and would like to use a mouse pointer, press the letter A and the pointer

will appear. To make it disappear, press the letter A again.

Create a Numbered List in PowerPoint

An easy way to create a list in PowerPoint is to type the number 1, press the Tab key, and then type the text

next to it. Press Enter, and PowerPoint will automatically enter the number 2 and align the insertion point

to the first entry. As long as you continue with your list, PowerPoint continues to insert consecutive

numbers. To end the list, just press Enter twice. Whatever punctuation you put after the 1, it will continue

the list with that same punctuation.

Save a PowerPoint Slide as a Picture File

Once you have created your PowerPoint presentation, you can make picture files of all or certain slides in

the presentation. Click on the slide that you wish to save as a picture. Choose File, Save As... Give the file

a name. In the Save as type: drop down list, choose the .jpg format. Click the Save button. You can then

open the file and edit it as you would any graphic.

Select Hidden Objects on PowerPoint Slides

If you are trying to edit an object on your slide that is covered by another object, click the mouse outside of

the slide area, (or press the Esc key on the keyboard) so that nothing on the slide is currently selected. Use

the Tab key on the keyboard to cycle through the graphic objects on the slide until the one you want to edit

is selected.

Recording a Narration in PowerPoint

You can easily record a narration into a PowerPoint slide if you have a microphone. Go to the slide you

wish to add a narration to. Go to Insert, Movies and Sounds. Click Record Sound. When ready, click the

Record button (the red circle). When finished recording, click the black Stop button. Click OK.