Learn the methods and tips to master Microsoft PowerPoint

Learn the methods and tips to master Microsoft PowerPoint

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PowerPoint is a application used for the creation of presentations. These presentations are laid out in a "storyboard" type fashion, where individual slides are created and formatted with text and images. PowerPoint presentations are widely used in classrooms as note outlines for teachers, and for project presentations by students. The point of the slides in PowerPoint presentations is NOT to fit as much detailed information as you can onto a single slide. Rather, each slide should contain elements that briefly sum up the major idea(s) of what you will be presenting for the duration of the slide. The style in which you create slides is completely up to you. PowerPoint allows you to choose from a wide variety of formats that include sections such as titles, lists, images, or charts. Any of these can be incorporated into your presentation. The main thing to keep in mind, however, is that an audience will be viewing this material; it must be large enough to read, yet not so large that it takes up far too much of the screen to include relevant information.

Opening PowerPoint:

To begin running PowerPoint, go to the Start menu, and navigate to "Programs." If you navigate to the Programs menu, and from there, navigate to the Microsoft Office applications, you will see Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 listed.

About the Slides:

On any given slide in a PowerPoint presentation, you can present your information in a variety of ways. You can type in text using text boxes, insert images or sounds, create charts, graphs, or lists, and make text columns. Each separate element in a slide (be it text or an image) is considered its own object, and can be moved and modified independently from other objects in a slide. We will get into the specifics of how to actually create these elements in a bit, but you should know from the start that you are not limited when creating a slideshow.

The Opening Screen:

When you start PowerPoint, a number of screens and panels will appear on your screen. You can go in a number of directions from here.

Across the top of the screen, you’ll notice a toolbar that looks similar to ones used in word processing program. These tools allow you to format and edit text and other elements in your slide. We’ll get into more detail about this toolbar later on in the tutorial. On the left side of the screen, there’s a panel with two tabs called “Slides” and “Outline” this allows you to view all of your slides in your slideshow as small images (in the “Slides” mode) or as text (you can view as text if you click on the “Outline” tab). The panel on the bottom has more tools for editing your slides, such as Drawing and AutoShapes.

The Task Pane:

The panel on the right side of the screen is actually called the “Task Pane.” As the name implies, it controls all the main slide control tasks for your presentation. If you ever lose sight of this panel, go to the menu bar in PowerPoint, navigate to “View,” select the “Toolbars” menu, and make sure “Task Pane” is selected.

When you first open PowerPoint, the “Task Pane” is set to display as the “Getting Started” panel. This will help you in beginning your presentation. If you click on the small triangle, you can expand the menu to see all of the submenus included in the Task Pane:

You may find the third potion of the menu the most useful. Using these menus, you can format the Slide Layout, Slide Design (make custom color schemes, and animations), Custom Animations, and Slide Transitions. For now, let’s take a detailed look at the "Getting Started" panel on the right side of the screen.

Open a PowerPoint File:

In the "Open" section on the bottom of the “Getting Started” panel, you have the option to open a pre-existing PowerPoint file (PowerPoint files end in the file extension ".ppt") by clicking on the "Open" icon. When you click on the "Open" icon, navigate your computer to locate the file you wish to open. Select the file name and click "OK" to open the file. You can edit the presentation as needed.

Create a New Presentation:

If you want to start a new presentation, you can do one of many things. Click on the "Create a new presentation..." button. You'll notice a change in the "Getting Started" panel. It's now called "New Presentation," and you can also move forward, back, and go "home" using the buttons on the top of the panel if you want to go back and read information you may have passed.

In the "New" section, you can make a new presentation using a blank presentation, a design template, the AutoContent wizard, an existing presentation, or from a photo album. At this point, we’ll describe in detail the different ways you can begin your new presentation.

Blank Presentation:

Click on the “blank presentation” button. The panel will then give you a number of slide layouts to choose from.

Please note the different kinds of objects in the slide layouts: long bars of gray represent text boxes, boxes with little pictures in them represent image objects, and the bulleted lists represent unordered lists. If you choose to select from one of these pre-made slide layouts, keep in mind that you can change the positioning and even delete some of the objects in the layout. Nothing is set in stone, and you can always modify objects, even in the pre-made slide layouts. If you want to try to be a little more advanced, you can choose to make a completely blank slide, and then insert objects and text as you work (the blank slide is the one at the top of the “Content Layouts” area in the “Slide Layout” panel).

Find a layout you like, and click on it in the panel window. As soon as you click on the layout in the “Slide Layout” panel, the layout will be applied to the current slide. From this point, you are free to create the rest of your presentation as you see fit. To create a new slide based on a pre-made layout, right-click on the layout you like in the “Slide Layout” panel, and select “Insert Slide.” You will then see the new slide appear on your screen, as well as in the “Slide” view on the left side of your screen. If you want to change the order of the slides you made, simply click and drag the selected slide in the “Slide” panel to the desired location. Please read the “Create Slide Content” section for more information on how to add content to slides.

Design Template:

In the “New” section of the “New Presentation” panel, click on the “From Design Template” button. The following panel will then appear:

This is a list of different design templates. They are pre-made backgrounds and layouts that you can use to build your presentation. Use the scroll bar to see the entire list of designs. When you see a design template you like, simply click on the design, and it will be applied to your presentation. Now, every time you make a new slide, it will retain the design template you selected. You can choose a new design template by clicking on a different design in the “Slide Design” panel on the right. You can right-click on a design template to bring up even more options. You can apply a design template to selected slides, all the slides, use the design for all new presentations you create, or choose to view large preview versions of the slide designs. At this point, you may create new slides as needed. Please read the “Create Slide Content” section for more information on how to add content to slides.

AutoContent Wizard:

AutoContent Wizard acts like an interactive tutorial that will make suggestions for the creation of slides and content. If you have never made a slideshow presentation using PowerPoint before, then you might want to consider using this feature. In the “New” section of the “New Presentation” panel, click on the “From AutoContent Wizard” button. The following window will then pop up:

Go through all the steps the Wizard takes you through, and you’ll have the beginnings of a template in no time. All you have to do is click on the “Next” button to continue through the Wizard. If you wish you edit slides individually, please read the “Create Slide Content” section for more information on how to add content to slides.

Existing Presentation:

You can also choose to make a presentation from an existing file. To choose this option, click on the “From Existing Presentation” button in the “New” section of the “New Presentation” panel on the right

Note: If you no longer see the “New Presentation” panel, click on the house (Home) icon in the panel on the right. This will take you to the “Getting Started” panel. From there, click on “create a new presentation,” and you will see the various “New presentation” options.

Photo Album:

You can create a new presentation based on images you have saved on your computer or digital camera. Select the “Photo Album…” button from the “New Presentation” panel. The following window will then pop up: