Opening Power Point

To open the Power Point (PP) program you can either click on the Start button, select Programs, and then click on Power Point or you can also open Power Point by double clicking on any file that is created in Power Point from My Computer or Windows Explorer.
 
 

Opening Presentations

In PP, files are called presentations. To open a PP file, click on Open an Existing Presentation option in the PP dialog box that pops open when you first launch PP. You can also click on the Open toolbar button to open a PP file.

Opening, closing, saving, getting help, and printing files in PP are similar to performing these commands in other Office ’97 applications. You should be familiar with all of these options for this class.
 
 

New Presentations

To start a new PP presentation, when you first open PP a dialog box appears. You can start a new presentation by either choosing on Auto Content Wizard, Template, or a BlankPresentation. If PP is already opened you can click on the new button from either the toolbar or the Menu bar. If you choose from the toolbar you will start creating a blank presentation. If you choose New from the File Menu you can also select Auto Content Wizard, Template, or Blank Presentation.

The Auto Content Wizard will assist you in creating a presentation. When you click on that option a window appears. To continue press the NEXT button. The next question asks what type of presentation you are going to be delivering. Click on the appropriate category then hit the NEXT button. The Wizard then asks how your presentation will be delivered. Most often you will select the first option: presentations, informal meetings, and handouts. The second option is if your presentation is going to be displayed on the Internet or on a Kiosk (which is like an ATM machine). The next two questions are easy to follow, answer them and continue until you reach the finish option. When you click on Finish your presentation will appear. The presentation will have a nice background and a few slides outlining the entire presentation. Use the outline as a guide.

The Template option also helps you create a presentation. A template is a preset document, so all you have to do is fill in the blanks or make a few changes. When you choose the Template option a window pops up and you can choose from a variety of background designs. Click on OK when you have selected one. PP will then ask you to choose a Slide Layout (which will be discussed later) and then show you your slide. Unlike the Wizard, using a Template provides you only with one slide and it does not provide you with an outline for the presentation. You create the rest of the slides on your own.

With the last option, Blank Presentation, you get even less help from PP. With this option you have to create everything yourself from scratch.
 
 

Moving Around in Power Point

To move from one slide to the next you should use your scroll bars. Note: there are many different ways to view your slides and presentation. To switch views you can either click on the View menu or choose a view from the icons displayed in the bottom left hand corner.       A small description of each view is listed below.

  Slide View
Slide View shows you one slide at a time. This is the view you most often should be in.

  Outline

Outline View shows you a diagram of what your presentation looks like, minus the pictures and backgrounds. Outline View only shows you the order the slides are in and the level of each text. You can promote or demote  any text, meaning changing it from a heading or subheading. Outline view is nice because you can type your entire presentation in outline form before looking at it in slide form. Note: the spell checker still works in this view. Also you have a sample of your slide in the top right corner to see how it looks in slide view.

To add a slide place your cursor at the bottom of the slide that will come before the new slide, then hit the ENTER key on your keyboard. To delete a slide, place your mouse within that slide and choose Delete Slide from the Edit Menu.

  Slide Sorter
In Slide Sorter view you can see more than one slide at a time. You can also click and drag on top of any slide to rearrange the slide order.

  Notes Page
Notes Page view is helpful for the presenter because you have room at the bottom of each slide to write down what you want to say as each slide is presented. Also, you can use Notes Page view to create handouts for the audience by typing the highlights of the lecture as each slide was presented. Whatever you type in the Notes area will not be displayed in your slide show presentation.

Working with Slides

Slide Layout
When you create a new slide, PP asks what type of slide you are interested in creating, which is called the Slide Layout. You can change the Slide Layout at any time. The different Slide Layout options are as follows:

Inserting Slides
You can insert slides in any Slide View. One way to insert a slide is to choose New Slide from the Insert Menu. Another way to insert a slide is to choose  from the toolbar.

Deleting Slides
There are many ways to delete slides. In Outline View and Slide Sorter View you can click on any slide and press the DELTE key. In all of the views, you can click on a slide (in Slide View you need to be viewing the slide that you want to delete) and choose Delete Slide from the Edit Menu.

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