Using Powerpoint

PowerPoint is a very useful presentation tool, and it is included in Microsoft Office. With the release of Office 97 PowerPoint received a major facelift and many more multimedia features have been added. This helpsheet will cover the new and old versions of PowerPoint.

Getting Started

• Run PowerPoint by clicking on the icon on your desktop, or if you have Windows 95 select it from the Start menu under Microsoft Office.

• From the dialog box select <TEMPLATE> and click <OK>

• In PowerPoint 97: From the Presentation dialog box either select Blank Presentation or you can click on the Presentation Designs tab and choose from a variety of background styles for your presentation.
• In PowerPoint 4.0: From the new presentation dialog box select <TEMPLATE> and click on <OK>. From the file dialog box select <SLDSHOW> then select any of the files which end in .ppt. A preview of the slide should appear in the bottom corner of the box. Click <APPLY> to use your chosen slide template.

• The New Slide dialog box will appear. For your first slide click on the option in the top left corner of the dialog box (Title Slide).

• Click in the top box on your slide which says "Click to add title" and type in the title of your presentation. Press <ENTER>. Click in the second box and type your name. Press <ENTER>

• To change the colour and size of your writing. Double-click on the text to highlight it, then in PowerPoint 97 select the Format menu and click on Text. In PowerPoint 4.0 Select the Format menu and click on Font. Change the text, then click on <OK>.

• To add the next slide, select the Insert menu and click on New Slide. Choose the layout of your slide and click on <OK>.

Adding Clip Art

In PowerPoint 4.0 select the Insert menu then Clip Art.

In PowerPoint 97 select the Insert menu, then Picture then Clip Art.

In both versions you will be presented with the Clip Art Gallery dialog box. Once you have chosen a picture, double click on it to insert it into your presentation. You can resize the picture by pointing to one of the small squares at the corners of the picture box. Keeping the left mouse button held down, you can now stretch or shrink the box to the required size. Holding down the left mouse button with the pointer inside the picture box will allow you to move the picture around the slide.

Inserting Pictures from Encarta

Run Encarta at the same time as you have PowerPoint open.When you find a picture you wish to insert, select Copy picture. Switch back to PowerPoint and from the Edit menu select Paste. Resize or move this picture as before.

Animating your presentation

You can set your presentation so that the words and pictures gradually appear on the screen. In PowerPoint 97 this is called "animation", in earlier versions this was called a "build". It is best to set these up after the text has been added.

In PowerPoint 4.0: Click on the text you wish to build up. From the Tools menu select Build. From the build dialog box check the box next to Build Body Text. Then select any one of the options from the Effect drop down menu. Click on <OK> to finish.

In PowerPoint 97 click on the first piece of text you wish to animate. Its box will become visible. Then from the Slide Show menu select Preset Animation. Select from the list of options given. This can then be repeated for any other text that you wish to animate. Animate can also be used on pictures.

Transitions

When the slideshow moves to the next slide, it is possible to set up different special effects; for example the new slide may glide in from the left, or it gradually fade in from a blank screen. These are called transitions.

To use these, click on the View menu and select Slide Sorter. You will be presented with an overview of all your slides. Click on your first slide to highlight it, and in PowerPoint 97 choose the Slide show menu and select Slide transition.

In PowerPoint 4.0 choose the Tools menu and select Transition. From the dialog box you can set the type of transition and also how fast it will happen. There is also a preview of what the transition will look like. When you have finished, click on <APPLY>. If you would like all your slides to do the same thing, click on <APPLY TO ALL>.

In PowerPoint 4.0 choose the Tools menu and select Transition. From the dialog box you can set the type of transition and also how fast it will happen. There is also a preview of what the transition will look like. When you have finished, click on <OK>.

Viewing your presentation

In PowerPoint 97 click on the Slide Show menu and select View Show. Clicking on the left mouse button will build the slide up or will move to the next slide.

In PowerPoint 4.0 click on the View menu and select Slide Show. If you have previously rehearsed the slide timings then click on Use Slide Timings. Select All then click on <SHOW>. Press <Esc> to exit the slide show.

Timings

It is possible to set up the slide show to build up and move from slide to slide automatically instead of waiting for you to click the mouse button

In PowerPoint 4.0 click on the View menu and select Slide Show. Select Rehearse new timings then click on <SHOW>. In PowerPoint 97 choose the Slide show menu and select Rehearse timings. In both versions you will see the first slide and a small clock. When you click the left mouse button either the next object will build up on the screen or the next slide will appear. The program records the time for each of these to happen. After the last slide click on <YES> to record the times and then <YES> to view slide sorter. View your slide show as before and the show will run automatically.

Saving your presentation

From the File menu, select Save. Give the presentation a filename then click on <OK>

Printing

From the File menu, select Print. It is possible to print one slide per page, or you can print "handouts" that have 2, 3 or even six smaller copies of the slides on one page. To do this click on the Print What box and make a selection from the drop down menu.

To print one slide per page: select Slides (in PowerPoint 97 select Slides without animations).

To print 2 slides per page: select Handouts, (2 slides per page.)