PowerPoint Tips
Page 6

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.