PowerPoint Tips
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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.