PowerPoint is a program to help create and present presentations. This handout introduces the basic features of Microsoft PowerPoint and covers the basics of creating simple presentations and editing and formatting the PowerPoint slides.

 

 

  
Starting A Presentation
  1. Go to the Start menu. Choose Programs and then click on Microsoft PowerPoint.
  2. Double-click the icon of any PowerPoint document. When you double-click a PowerPoint document, PowerPoint opens with the document already loaded.

Choose Blank Presentation if you want to start with a clean slate. This method is recommended because it provides the most flexibility and lets you focus on content first rather than appearance.

After you choose Blank Presentation, select the layout of your slides from the New Slide dialog box. Choose from slides with titles and bullets, titles only, titles and clip art, and other options. For example, choose the Title Slide and click OK.

 

  
Add New Slide
  1. To insert a new blank slide, do either of the following:
    • On the Formatting toolbar, click New Slide .
    • With the insertion point in the Outline or Slides tab, press Enter.

 

  
Saving
Changes you make to a document are not saved to disk until you issue a Save command. Saving is quick and easy, and you should save often to minimize the loss of your work. PowerPoint has two save commands, Save and Save As, that work similarly. Both commands are on the File menu.

Save

When you save a new presentation for the first time, PowerPoint displays a dialog box similar to the Open dialog box. Select the disk in which to save the presentation and specify a name for the file. When you save an existing document that you have been editing, the newly saved version replaces the older version.

Save As

This command displays a dialog box where you can choose a document name and destination folder or disk. Use the Save As command whenever you want to save a copy of the current document with a different name or in a different folder or disk. The newly saved copy becomes the active document

Three presentation formats:

  • filename.ppt  -- a normal presentation file that can be edited
  • filename.pps -- a PowerPoint "show"  -- cannot be edited after it is saved in this format
  • filename.pot --  PPT Template -- new presentations can be created from your own template

Entering Slide Titles and Bullets
Typing in PowerPoint's Outline view is similar to using a word processor. Type your slide title or bullet point and press Return to start a new slide or bullet. To force a line break within a slide title or bullet, press Shift-Enter (Shift-Return on the Mac). This starts a new line for the same title or bullet.
 
 
Slide
 

 

Apply a Template to a Presentation

A template is a PowerPoint presentation that defines how your text and slide background will look. A plain presentation is simply black text on a white background.

To apply a template to your presentation

  • choose Slide Design from the Format menu. The available templates will appear in the Task Pane, and once you select one, PowerPoint will apply it to all the slides.
  • designs can be changed within a presentation but it is generally not recommended by designers

    Define Slide Transition and Animation
    Transition effects help define how a presentation move from one slide to the next. Animation defines how you want your listed information to come in and out of the presentation.

    Apply transition effects in Slide Sorter View or by selecting the Slide Transition command on the Slide Show menu. Keep in mind that the Transition command only sets the desired transition for the selected slides.
     
Before you print your slide presentation, make sure the slide size and orientation is correct. Also, decide whether you want to print in color or black and white.

Change these settings using the Page Setup and Print commands on the File menu.

Slide Setup
The Slide Setup dialog box has controls for slide size and orientation. Choose the appropriate slide size and orientation before you do significant formatting in your presentation. Changing slide orientation from portrait to landscape or vice versa may require editing and reformatting slides.

Printing
To print your slide presentation, choose Print from the File menu, or click the Print button on the toolbar. In the Print dialog box you can choose how many copies you want to print. Use the Print What: drop-down list to select whether you want to print just the slides, notes, or handouts with multiple slides per page.