MaryBeth Rajczewski

The Basics of PowerPointMicrosoft PowerPoint is the premiere presentation software. It

enables you to create professional presentations in a short amount oftime. Presentations using PowerPoint are generally more respectedthan those using standard overhead transparencies. These instructionswill teach you how to create a simple PowerPoint presentation.

Who Should Use These Instructions?

You should use these instruction if you:

• need or want to learn to use PowerPoint to create a presentation• have not used PowerPoint before• have used PowerPoint before, but have only limited experience• have lots of PowerPoint experience, but would like a refresher

You should not use these instructions if you:

• are an expert at PowerPoint• have absolutely no computer experience

What Are the Prerequisites?

• These instructions assume you know some basics about com-puters; for example, you know how to navigate through a menu ofoptions, you know how to use a mouse, and you know terms suchas click and drag.

• If you want to add charts or graphs to your slides, you mustknow how to create charts and graphs in Microsoft Excel or asimilar spreadsheet application. If you want to learn how tocreate charts and graphs, there are many Microsoft Excel refer-ence books available.

SOURCE: Lee Odell and Susan M. Katz, Writing in a Visual Age

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Creating a New Presentation

Opening PowerPoint

1. Click on the Start icon in thebottom left corner of the screen.

2. Use your mouse to move the cursorup to Programs.

3. From Programs, move your cursorover to Microsoft PowerPoint.

4. Click on Microsoft PowerPointwhen this box is highlighted.

What Equipment Is Necessary?

• A PC that has Microsoft PowerPoint loaded on it.• A working mouse.

Once you complete the steps in these instructions, you will beable to create basic PowerPoint presentations. You will also know howto use some of the key features that enable you to make more profes-sional presentations. Since PowerPoint is such a powerful tool, thereare many features that cannot be discussed in these basic instructions.Once you become familiar with the basics, you are encouraged to learnabout some of the more sophisticated features. You’ll be amazed at allyou can do with PowerPoint.

SOURCE: Lee Odell and Susan M. Katz, Writing in a Visual Age

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Creating Slides

Choosing a Type of Slide

PowerPoint lets you create many different types ofslides, including:

• text-only slides

• slides with charts

• slides with tables

• slides with clip art or pictures

Each time you create a slide, you first need tochoose the type of slide you want to create. Youwill see a box that shows pictures of differentkinds of slides. The pictures are organized intocategories in the task pane at left. PowerPointcalls these different types of slides AutoLayouts.

1. In the Slide Layout box, choose the type ofslide (AutoLayout) you want to create.

2. Click on the picture showing the type ofslide you've chosen.

NOTE: There are some very sophisticated typesof slides available in the dialog box. They aremore difficult to create and are beyond thescope of these instructions.

Getting Started

1. The task pane to the left will appear.Under the heading New, click BlankPresentation.

2. If the task pane shown here does notappear when you open the program, moveon to “Creating Slides,” the next step inthese instructions.

SOURCE: Lee Odell and Susan M. Katz, Writing in a Visual Age

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Adding Information to Your Slide

There are different instructions for each typeof slide you can create. Follow the instructionsfor the type of slide you chose in the previousstep.

Text-Only Slides

1. Add text to different areas of the slideby clicking in areas that say "Click toadd…" and then typing your text.

NOTE: Text can be formatted using the samemethods as in Microsoft Word. You canmodify fonts and sizes by clicking Format onthe menu at the top of the screen and thenFonts.

Slides with Charts

1. Click on the area of the slide that says“Click icon to add content,” and selectthe small icon that looks like a bargraph. A sample chart will be displayedwith an Excel worksheet underneath.

2. Modify the titles and numbers on theExcel worksheet. The chart willautomatically change to include thenew information.

NOTE: These instructions assume you knowhow to create and modify charts usingMicrosoft Excel.

SOURCE: Lee Odell and Susan M. Katz, Writing in a Visual Age

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Slides with Tables

To Create a Slide

1. Click on the area of the slide that says“Click icon to add content,” and selectthe small icon that looks like a table.The Insert Table dialog box will appear.

2. Enter the number of columns.

3. Press Tab on your keyboard.

4. Enter the number of rows.

5. Click OK. The table will appear onyour slide.

To Modify a Slide

1. To add information, click the cell youwant or press Tab to move from onecell to the next.

2. To resize a table:

a. Click and hold a box in any corner.

b. Drag your mouse until you havemade the table smaller or larger.

SOURCE: Lee Odell and Susan M. Katz, Writing in a Visual Age

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Slides with Clip Art

Microsoft makes available many types of clip-art images that you can import into your Power-Point presentation. You can also insert anyother pictures into a slide that you have storedon your computer.

1. To view clip art options, Click on thearea of the slide that says “Click iconto add content.” A dialog box labeledSelect Picture will appear.

2. An alternate way to insert pictures is toclick Insert on the toolbar at the top ofthe screen. Then click Picture and thenClip Art. An Insert Clip Art task panewill appear.

3. Use the search box to use keywords tosearch. All the pictures available in thatcategory will appear.

4. Use the scroll bar on the right tosearch through the pictures.

5. If you find a picture you want to insert,click the picture. A menu will appear.Then click OK. The picture will appearon your slide.

SOURCE: Lee Odell and Susan M. Katz, Writing in a Visual Age

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6. If you don’t find a picture that you like:

a. Click the Clip Organizer. A dialog boxwill open with a collection list. You canbrowse categories of clips under OfficeCollections.

b. Click Clips Online to connect toMicrosoft’s library of additional clip art,searchable and organized by category.

Inserting the Next Slide

1. To create the next slide in yourpresentation, click Insert on the toolbarat the top of the screen.

2. Click New Slide.

3. Go back to the instructions for “CreatingSlides” and complete the steps for“Choosing a Type of Slide” and “AddingInformation to Your Slide.”

4. Repeat this process for each new slideyou want to create for your presentation.

SOURCE: Lee Odell and Susan M. Katz, Writing in a Visual Age

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Looking at Your Presentation

Viewing All Your Slides

Once you have created all the slides you need,you can view all of them on the screen at thesame time. This enables you to determine ifany changes need to be made and helps youprepare for the order and timing of the presen-tation.

1. Click View on the toolbar at the top ofthe screen.

2. Click Slide Sorter. You will see smallversions of all your slides.

NOTE: In Slide Sorter View, you can delete slides, hide slides,change the order of slides, modify slides, and perform othertasks. These advanced features are beyond the scope of theseinstructions; assistance can be found in PowerPoint’s Helpfeature.

SOURCE: Lee Odell and Susan M. Katz, Writing in a Visual Age

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Viewing Your PowerPoint Presentation

You will show your completed presentation asa slide show. Your slides will appear one at atime on a full computer screen or an overheadprojection screen, depending on how you givethe presentation. You should practice viewingyour show as a slide show at least once beforeyou give your presentation to prepare yourtiming and coordinate the slides with any com-ments you want to make.

1. Click Slide Show on the toolbar at thetop of the screen

2. Click View Show. The first slide in yourpresentation will appear on the screen.

3. Use the spacebar or click the mouse tomove from one slide to the next. (Toback up a slide, use the left arrow key.)

NOTE: The rectangle that sits in the bottomleft-hand corner of the screen during yourpresentation allows you to view your slidesin a different order or to end the showimmediately. Click on the rectangle duringthe presentation to see these options.

SOURCE: Lee Odell and Susan M. Katz, Writing in a Visual Age

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Using PowerPoint Features toEnhance Your Presentation

PowerPoint has many different features thatyou can use to enhance your presentations.These instructions will discuss two of the easi-est features to use—creating backgrounddesigns and adding animation when movingbetween slides—but there are many others.

Creating Background Designs

PowerPoint has background slide designscalled Design Templates that you can add toyour slides. Design Templates help give yourpresentation the appropriate tone. There aremany different choices in PowerPoint—I havedemonstrated three in the accompanying pic-tures. Each Design Template can also be cus-tomized using color schemes.

SOURCE: Lee Odell and Susan M. Katz, Writing in a Visual Age

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Choosing a Design Template

1. Click Format on the toolbar at the topof the screen.

2. Click Slide Design. A task paneshowing design templates will appear.

3. Click on the picture of a template. Thedesign will be applied to all the slidesin your presentation.

4. To apply a different color scheme, clickColor Schemes. To apply a colorscheme only to specific slides, click onthe box at the right of the design’spicture and click on Apply to SelectedSlides.

Adding Animation When Moving betweenSlides

When you move from one slide to the next,the next slide will simply appear on thescreen. PowerPoint allows you to make yourpresentations more interesting by adding ani-mation when moving between slides. The ani-mations are called Slide Transitions; theyallow you to choose how the slide will appearon the screen. For example, if you choose thetransition Wipe Right each slide will appearas though it is starting on the left side of thescreen and slowly moving right until it is cen-tered on the screen.

SOURCE: Lee Odell and Susan M. Katz, Writing in a Visual Age

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Choosing a Slide Transition

1. Click Slide Show on the toolbar at thetop of the screen.

2. Click Slide Transition. The SlideTransition task pane will appear.

3. Scroll through the drop-down menu toview available options.

4. Click on the names of some transitionoptions to see them demonstrated.

5. Click on the name of the transitionyou want to use.

6. Click Apply to All if desired, or varyyour transitions to suit particular slidesor sections of your presentation.

NOTE: If you do not click Apply to All, onlythe current slide selected will have thistransition effect. Some users prefer to createdifferent transition effects for each slide. Todo this, you must click on each of yourslides in Slide Sorter View, then complete thesteps for “Choosing a Slide Transition.”Continue this process until all of your slideshave different transition effects.

SOURCE: Lee Odell and Susan M. Katz, Writing in a Visual Age

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