4.2 BASIC OPERATIONS

PowerPoint is used to create, view and present slide shows that combine text, shapes, pictures, graphs, animation, charts and videos

Creating a Presentation

This is the first view which one gets when Power Point is opened. This called the Normal View of the workspace. There are three main areas in the Normal view:


 a.   Slide Pane: This is the big area in the middle where the slide is made. This has boxes with dotted lines called the placeholders. Placeholders contain text items or non-text items like pictures, charts etc.

b.   Slides Tab: On the left is the area which has thumbnail versions of the slides in the presentation and the slide which is currently being edited is highlighted.

 c.    Notes Pane: In the bottom area is the Notes Pane where the notes needed to be referred during the presentation are written.

Inserting a new slide

Each Presentation opens with a single slide. New slide can be added to the presentation by selecting New Slide option on the Home Tab in the menu. This way new Slide gets inserted below the slide selected in the Slides Tab.

The Layout of the slide can also be selected from the gallery of layouts. Once the layout is selected that kind of Slide will get inserted. If no layout is selected the default layout slide will be inserted.

A Slide Layout arranges the content of the slide for e.g., One may want the slide to have a Title and a picture with text or a Title with two pictures with text for comparison or a slide with just a Title placeholder.

The title and subtitle can be written in the Title placeholder. The Content placeholder will contain the text or graphic elements like charts, pictures, movie files etc.

Some of the layouts have two of these content placeholders so that one can put the content text in one and graphics in the other like the example shown in Figure 4.2

Add a new slide to the new presentation and choose the Layout for the same:

  • Click New slide Option on the Home Tab in the menu.
  • Click the Layout Option on the Home Tab. The List of Layouts is displayed.

  • Select the layout for the slide. Every slide can have a separate layout.
  • Select two different layouts for the two slides as shown in Figure 4.3.

  • Click on the placeholder to write the title and add text.
  • The default formatting of the text is bulleted list. Use the different levels of text within the bulleted list to write major and minor points.
  • Select the various commands in the Font group on the Home Tab menu to change the character formatting such as font size and colour.

Notes can be referred to at the time of presentation can be written in the Notes pane at the bottom area of the Normal View. These notes will help to keep the matter in the presentation slides precise and to the point. These can be printed and used by the presenter at the time of giving the presentation.

  • Click on the Notes Pane and write notes for the presentation
  • To print these notes, select the Print Option from the Microsoft Office button. Choose the Notes Page option from the Print What list.

Opening and Saving a Presentation

One can open a New Presentation or open an existing one using the Microsoft Office menu button.

  • Select New option to open a new presentation.
  • Lists of templates available are displayed as shown in Figure 4.6. Choose any one to open the new presentation in the selected template.

·       To open an existing presentation choose Open option and select the presentation to be opened.

 

  •        To save the Presentation, choose Save option from the Microsoft office button and give the name for the presentation.

Applying a Theme to the Presentation

Every Presentation can be based on a Theme which determines the look and color of the slides and gives the presentation a constant look to all the slides.

A Theme includes the following elements:

  •          Background design
  •          Colour scheme
  •          Font types and sizes
  •          Placeholder positions

The colour scheme will include the background colours, font colours, fill colours or the shapes, borders and table colours etc. The theme will not affect the layout chosen for the presentation and basic layout will remain the same but will be implemented with the theme.

To choose a Theme for the presentation:

  •         Click the Design Tab on the menu.
  •          The Theme samples are shown as thumbnails in the Themes group.
  •          When any theme thumbnail is chosen, a preview of the same is shown on the slide
  •          When the theme is selected by clicking on the thumbnail, it is applied to all the slides in the presentation


Every new Presentation is by default opened with the Office Theme. New Theme can be chosen and applied as and when required.

Working with Pictures and Clipart

The Presentation can be given bright and colourful appearance by adding Pictures and Clip Arts. There are two different methods of inserting pictures and non-text items into the slides.

Inserting a Picture

When a new slide is added, different icons appear on the Placeholder. These icons are used to insert the non-text items like pictures, clip arts, animation files etc.

  •        Click on the Clip Art icon in the placeholder.
  •        The Clip Art pane will open as shown in Figure 4.9. Search for the kind of clip needed.

  •        Select the Clip that is to be inserted into the slide. The picture will automatically get sized and inserted in the placeholder as shown in Figure 4.10.
  •        The position and size can be modified as required.

Another way is to use the Insert tab in the menu. All non-text items like pictures, sound files, animation files, text boxes, hyperlinks etc. can be added from this menu option.

Once the file is selected, it gets inserted into the slide. The position and size can be modified as required.

Please note that when a picture is added into the presentation it can increase the size of the presentation.

Formatting the Picture

The Picture or Clip Art can be formatted to change the picture brightness, compress the picture, change its contrast, or give new picture styles.

  • Click on the Picture or Clip Art to be formatted.
  • The Picture Tools -> Format menu appears with various options like Picture Brightness, Contrast, Resize, Border, Styles, and Effects etc.
  • Any of these can be applied to the selected picture or Clip Art.

Arrange the Pictures & Clip Art

After the Picture or Clip Art has been selected and formatted, all the objects on the slide have to be aligned correctly.

  • Choose all the place holders that have to be aligned.
  • Then use the Arrange option in the Format Tab to Order, Group and position the objects.

Working with Animation and Videos

The Text and objects like charts, graphs, bullets, tables etc can be animated within a presentation. Special sound effects or visual effects including movement can be applied to the objects to control the flow of information or to focus on important points as well as give a better look to the presentation.

There are built-in animation effects within PowerPoint which can be used on the individual slides within the presentation or the layout can be customized. Also, custom animation effects can be created if required

Apply built-in Animation effect to an object

To apply a built-in animation effect:

  • Select the text or object that has to be animated
  • On the Animation Tab, in the Animation group, choose the Animation effect from the Animate list,

Custom effects can be added by to the objects by choosing the Custom Animation option from the Animation Tab.

Adding Slide Transition.

PowerPoint provides various types of slide transitions like Blinds Horizontal, Box in, Box out Blinds Vertical, Checkerboard Across, Checkerboard Down etc.

The same transition can be added to all slides or different transition can be applied to different slides.

  • Select the Slide from the Slide window to which slide transition has to be applied
  • On the Animation Tab, in the Transition to this Slide group, choose any of the transition effect option.
  • The transition speed between the current slide and the next slide can also be set.
  • To apply the same effect to all the Slides, Click Apply to All option.

The sound effect for the Slide transition can also be chosen from the Transition Sound List.

Add and Play Movie in a Presentation

Movies are video files with formats such as AVI or MPEG. Animated GIF files which include motion can also be included. Unlike the pictures, clipart drawings etc which are embedded in the presentation, the movie files are linked to the presentation. If the location of the file is modified, the movie file cannot be located.

To add a Movie to the slide:

  • In Normal View, click the slide to which the movie has to be added.
  • On the Insert Tab, in the Media Clips group, select the Movie option.
  • Choose the option Movie from File, locate the folder that contains the file and then select the file to be inserted.
  • Choose from the option to play the movie automatically or When Clicked. This will allow the movie to be played either automatically when the slide appears or has to be started explicitly by clicking on the movie button.

When a movie is inserted, a pause trigger is added called Trigger. This is added because the movie frame has to be clicked within the slide to play the movie. The movie can be played Full Screen also by choosing the Play Full Screen option.

Viewing and Printing the Presentation

Once the Presentation is ready, one has to prepare to present it. It can be viewed as slide show on the computer first. Spell check utility can be used to run spelling cheeked. Notes can be viewed in Print Preview mode to see how they would look when printed.

Rearranging and adding or deleting slides

The order of the Sides can be changed at any point of time.

  • To rearrange the slides, Choose View tab from the menu and select the Slide Sorter option.
  • Here all the slides are shown as thumbnails. Any slide can be selected and moved around to re-arrange the order of the slides.

 

In the Slide Sorter view mode, any slide may be deleted by choosing the Delete Slide option on the Home Menu. And new slide can be added by choosing the New Side option on the Home tab.

Viewing the Presentation

After the Presentation is prepared, it can be viewed in Slide Show mode which will give an idea as to how the slides will appear during the presentation display.

  •          To open Slide Show mode, Click Slide Show tab and click Start Slide Show to start from first slide or current slide. It can also be started by clicking on the Slide Show button on the lower right part of the PowerPoint window.
  •          The Slides will start appearing on the computer screen.
  •          Once can navigate through the slides either by using the Slide show toolbar at bottom of screen or simply by clicking the mouse button.
  •        To come out of this mode simple press ESC key at any point. This will return the view to Normal mode.

Once can also set up a Custom Slide show to display only a selected list of slides. This feature helps to create a 30-minute show or a 60-minute show from the same presentation as and when required.

Spell Check, Print Handouts and Notes

To remove any spelling errors, the Spell check option can be used. On the Review tab, in Proofing group, click Spelling and then choose the correct options as the spell checker moves from one slide to another.

The Handouts for the audience or the Notes for the speaker can be printed using Print Preview option on the Microsoft Office button.

  • Select the Print Preview option on the Microsoft Office button.
  • Select Handouts from the Print What list.
  • Choose one of the Handout types from the list
  • As the Handout type is selected, the same is displayed in the preview mode to show it will look when printed in the selected format.

To Print the Notes for the Speaker, select the Notes Page option from the Print What List as shown in Figure 4.23.