Shifty Business in PowerPoint
Are you an MS PowerPoint user who frequently uses the Slide Master or Handout Master?
What about the Set Up Show window? Now, I know you’ve got to be using that one!
Are you tired of all the menu searching you have to do to get where you need to be?
Some of you may have solved your problem by adding more buttons to your already… Continue reading
Current Date and Time
Not too long ago, I got an e-mail from a reader who needed to know the keyboard shortcuts for the current date and time in MS Word.
Since these are always handy tidbits to know, I thought it would make a quick and useful wrap-up to the week!
In MS Word:
Format Copy and Paste
Do you like the Format Painter in MS Word and MS PowerPoint?
Do you find it frustrating that when you forget to double click the button, it shuts off after just one paste?
Or, have you ever tried to interrupt the process of format painting by editing some text, only to find that the program has “forgotten” the formatting you intended to paint once you were… Continue reading
Emphasize It!
Have you ever given an MS PowerPoint presentation and found yourself wishing that you had a way to really emphasize a picture, chart, text or whatever? You know, really make it jump off the screen.
What if you could find a way to have the object grow before the audience’s eyes?
That would certainly direct their attention to your intended subject rather quickly, wouldn’t you say?
Well, if… Continue reading
Oh, No You Don’t!
Okay, so you used yesterday’s PowerPoint Slide Master tip and put a background graphic in your presentation.
Are you sorry you did that now?
I hope not!
But, do you wish you could have that graphic removed from just a slide or two?
Alright, that’s no problem. You just have to know where to look.
First, go to the slide that needs the graphic from the… Continue reading
Do you frequently use MS PowerPoint?
Ever wonder what that Slide Master thing is all about?
Well, to put it as simply as I can, the Slide Master is a part of your design template and it’s meant to store information about font, background colors, graphics, etc. If you set one of these elements in your Slide Master, it
From Beginning to End and Back Again
Working on a PowerPoint presentation? Need to move quickly from one end to the other?
No problem.
Provided you do not have the cursor actively in a text box, the Home key will move you to the first slide of the presentation.
As you can now guess, the End key will zip you off to the last slide of the presentation.
If you… Continue reading
Back to the Way it Was
Do you use one of the newer versions of MS PowerPoint?
How do you like the new version of the Normal View?
I’m sure some people love all the little panes that automatically surround your slide. I mean, a place for notes right at the bottom and a visual of slides or an outline down the left side are just the things some people… Continue reading
Selecting Multiples
Have you ever been working in MS PowerPoint and wished you could select more than one of the slides at a time? Maybe you have several slides for which you’re going to set the slide transition the same. In that case, wouldn’t it be nice to set these things all at once, instead of over and over again, one slide at a time?
Of course it would! Who… Continue reading
More PowerPoint Undos
Do you “undo” a lot in MS PowerPoint?
Ever run out of undo steps and wish for more?
If your response was yes, here’s what you need to know about PowerPoint to get a few more undo steps added to your list.
To change the undo number, you first need to go to the Tools menu, Options choice, Edit tab.
On the Edit tab, you must… Continue reading
Forward and Back
Give a lot of MS PowerPoint presentations?
If you do, then I’m sure you know to click the left mouse button to advance your presentation, right?
You probably even know that you can spin the mouse wheel down to advance the show or up to retrace your steps.
But, did you know that there are a variety of keys that will advance your presentation or back it… Continue reading
A Little Rehearsal
Do you use MS PowerPoint presentations that are set to advance automatically?
Ever find yourself frustrated as you try to guess just how many seconds to display each slide? I mean, if you are sitting there looking at this…
…and wondering how many seconds to enter into the field (found with Slide Transition information), then maybe, you simply need to consider rehearsing.
PowerPoint has a feature… Continue reading
Just Taking a Scroll
Give a lot of PowerPoint presentations?
Tired of all the click, click, click required to give your presentation?
What about the hassle to move back a step, once you’ve made that extra click?
Do you have a scroll wheel on your mouse?
Yes? Well, good, because I just might have a suggestion you may take a liking to.
While giving a presentation, try scrolling the mouse… Continue reading
Quickly Display That Info
Do you have MS PowerPoint set up to put the date, time, slide number or footer information on your presentation slides?
I’m sure you know how to access them through the Insert menu, but how about a quick key combination to get you to the same place?
Yes? I thought so.
Well, here it is: Alt + Shift + P. With that, the Header and Footer… Continue reading
A “Polished” Finish
You’ve seen it hundreds of times. You’re in a workshop or meeting and the presenter, who’s using MS PowerPoint, gets to the end of their slide show.
What happens?
They click on the last slide and poof!
On the screen is the PowerPoint program window, the file menu, the standard toolbar and all. Does something like this ring any bells? (Okay, so their screen had content on… Continue reading
Give It a Break
You’re in the middle of a PowerPoint presentation and you need a break in the show. Maybe you’ve got this great discussion breaking out and it’s time to wander from the presentation to explore new ideas or maybe it’s just plain old coffee break time.
Whatever your reason, if you need a break in your presentation, what do you do?
(If you’d known that you needed… Continue reading
A New Order
Do you use MS PowerPoint’s Slide Sorter view to rearrange your presentations?
Ever find yourself wishing that you didn’t have to switch from the Normal view to accomplish this task?
Do you have PowerPoint XP or 2003?
If you answered yes to all three questions, then I have some good news for you. In the newer versions of PowerPoint, you can rearrange slides while still in the… Continue reading
The Simultaneous Edit and Preview
I don’t know about you, but I find that sometimes I need to see exactly how a slide will appear while I’m still working on a PowerPoint presentation. It sure would be nice to see how the finished product will appear right next to my editing screen. (I get so tired of starting and stopping slide shows just to see how they look).
Well, believe… Continue reading
Many Slide Designs, One Presentation
Did you know that you can choose to use multiple slide design templates within the same PowerPoint presentation?
As I’ve observed people using PowerPoint, I’ve noticed they always seem to apply a slide design template to the master with the assumption that it’s their one and only chance to make this decision.
But, what if you’ve got a long presentation with some very definite sections… Continue reading
Partial Word Selections
While highlighting parts of more than one word in either MS Word or PowerPoint, have you ever noticed that the program will automatically highlight all affected words completely?
I mean, it’s a good thing if you actually want complete words highlighted, but what if you don’t? What if you truly wanted to highlight a strange segment? Now what?
Well, I can think of several options, but the… Continue reading
More Emphasis in PowerPoint
When giving an MS PowerPoint presentation, do you find yourself looking for a “big splash” to get the audience focused? I mean, something that stands out a bit more than a simple mouse pointer?
If you are, then this tip’s for you!
Instead of a simple mouse pointer, let’s get the pen cursor into the show. Basically, the pen will allow you to “write” freehand on… Continue reading
The Case of the Missing Pointer
Have you ever found yourself giving a presentation using MS PowerPoint and wishing for a mouse pointer?
We all know that a click of the mouse will advance the action on a slide or move to the next slide, but where does that pointer go?
It sure would be nice at times to have it to really focus the audience’s attention somewhere on the… Continue reading
One Click Insert
Have you ever seen this?
Well, you probably have if you’re using a newer version of MS PowerPoint. The question is, do you know what to do with it?
If you fall into the “I don’t have a clue category,” then it’s you that I’d like to address today.
The most common thing I see when working with people is the instinct that drives them to… Continue reading
One Task Pane, Many Uses
Have you seen this Task Pane from MS PowerPoint?
Yep, that’s right! It’s the Slide Layout Task Pane. (Format menu, Slide Layout choice).
Did you know that with this one Task Pane, you can both insert slides with the specified layout and alter the layout of already created slides?
Well, if you didn’t know this one before, you do now!
So, here’s the deal.… Continue reading
Drop Cap
What is a drop cap? Well, it is that ever so small, yet beautiful addition to a document. You may be amazed at how easy it is to put such a great touch on your documents.
To put a Drop Cap on your publication, you should first decide where the drop should happen.
Once the decision is made, the rest is quick and easy.
You begin by… Continue reading
Quick “Flipping” Through Your Presentation
I’ve noticed that many users of MS PowerPoint always seem to use the scroll bar to move from slide to slide while editing in the Normal view.
It’s not a bad way to work and PowerPoint will even update you as to which slide you’re at while you scroll through the presentation.
But, what if you’re not sure exactly which slide you need?
Then… Continue reading
Banish the Blank Slide Jitters
When you start a new PowerPoint presentation, do you stare at that first blank slide and freeze? Do you have problems figuring out just how to start when that blank white slide just stares back at you?
If you have this type of reaction to a blank slide, you may be happy to learn that PowerPoint has some built in help, and I mean a… Continue reading
