MS PowerPoint

Tips and explanation

Table of Contents1. Create a presentation

1. Open a new presentation2. Edit slides3. Background 4. Transition5. Practical tools

2. Create a Powerpoint Template1. Introduction2. How to use a template3. How to create a template

3. Do’s & Dont’s4. Tips5. Use PowerPoint in a training6. Interesting links

1. Create a presentation (1)Open a new presentation

MS PowerPoint is a program in which you can simply create presentations

You can create a new presentation by clicking: ‘file > new’. You will see the following scheme where you can choose your format.

You can enter text when the textbox is selected

To insert a new slide, go to: ‘Insert > New slide’, or Click in the toolbar on or Use the shortkey: Ctrl + M

If you are familiar with MS Word you probably will not have difficulties with the layout options of PowerPoint since the menu structures is the same.

1. Create a presentation (2)Edit slides

1. Create a presentation (3) Background

To change the colour of your background, go to: ‘Format > Background’. You will see the next screen:

You can choose what colour to use and you can apply this background to all your slides (‘Apply to all’) or just to the one you are working on (‘Apply’).

Choose your transition type

Choose transition speed, varying from slow to fastHere you can add a sound

Choose if you want to go manually to the next slide or automatically

Click this button if you want to apply your choices to all slidesTo view the show, click on this button

PowerPoint has a lot of options for transitions between slides. If you go to ‘Slide Show > Transition’ you will find the left screen

1. Create a presentation (4.1) Transition

Despite the large amount of funny transition possibilities in PowerPoint, do not try to use all of them in one presentation. Your audience will be distracted by sounds or movements.

1. Create a presentation (4.2) Transition

At the left side in your screen all slides are presented in a small version. This helps to navigate through the presentation. The bordered slide is the one in which you can make adjustments.

At the left bottom you will find three icons:

Shows the selected slide on full screen Overview of all slides is given

Normal view, you can adjust your slide when thisicon is active

1. Create a presentation (5) Practical tools

2. PowerPoint Templates (1) Introduction

A PowerPoint template is a design for a presentation.You can use standard designs, but you can also create your own in which you can add characteristics which you will use throughout your whole presentation. For example: Background, font type, colors, line spacing etc.

Once you have created a template you don’t need to adjust these characteristics on every slide.

In MS PowerPoint some template designs are already available. To use these in your own presentation go to: ‘file > new’.

You will see a screen like the picture on the right. Here you choose for: “from design template”

2. PowerPoint Templates (2.1) How to use it

Now you will see a screen like the picture on the right. You can open a template by clicking on it. Or if you can brows to a certaint template on your computer by clicking on ‘Browse’.

2. PowerPoint Templates (2.2) How to use it

Once you have opened a template all the fixed characteristics are presented and ready to use like the pictures below. You can simply add your text.

2. PowerPoint Templates (2.3) How to use it

You can also create your own template for example with your company logo and the fonts you usually use.

To create your own template open a new presentation in PowerPoint. (‘File > New’)

Then click: ‘View > Master and choose for Slide Master.

2. PowerPoint Templates (3.1) How to create a template

PowerPoint automatically adds some features in a slide which you can adjust

2. PowerPoint Templates (3.2) How to create a template

To add a master for a title slide, rightclick in the left part of the screen (see picture) and choose ‘new title master’

2. PowerPoint Templates (3.3) How to create a template

When you finished your own template it is important to save it as a design template. Normally when you save a presentation, your filename will end with ‘.ppt’. But the name of a template will end with ‘.pot’. To save your file

go to: ‘File > Save as’. Choose to save your file as a ‘Design Template’ (see picture).

2. PowerPoint Templates (3.3) How to create a template

3. Do’s and Don’ts (1)

Keep it short When you show a slide your audience will directly read everything on it. It is important not to put too many words on one slide; otherwise the audience is not listening to you anymore. The maximum amount of words on your slide should be around 20.

Use catchwords To meet the latter criteria you should stick to catchwords only.

Round off your numbers In a presentation your audience is probably not interested in exact numbers, but in relations between numbers. With round numbers you will keep a clear overview and your audience will not be distracted by all those numbers.

3. Do’s and Don’ts (2)

Use contrasting colors: The background of your slide should contrast with the text on it.

3. Do’s and Don’ts (3)

4. Tips (1) Check for updates

To get the latest version, you can do this at: http://office.microsoft.com/nl-nl/officeupdate/default.aspx

Start professionally When you create a file with the extension ‘.pps’ PowerPoint automatically opens your file from the explorer as a presentation. You can go to: ‘file > save as > then type .pps behind the name. Or in some versions you can choose for file > save as > PowerPoint show.

The advantage of this option is that you do not need to open the program PowerPoint. In this way, your audience can not see the slides on beforehand.

4. Tips (2)

Jump to a slide To jump to a slide, simply press the slide number and the ‘enter’ button and PowerPoint automatically jumps to your slide.

Restart the presentation To restart your presentation press the left and right mouse button at the same time during two seconds. PowerPoint will start all over with you presentation.

5. Use PowerPoint in a training (1) If you want to give training to your

audience, PowerPoint is a very useful tool You can easily put pictures and text in it It is even possible to let local people

translate slides

On the next slides you find some examples of a training given in Yemen (2006) on Spate Irrigation by MetaMeta.

5. Use PowerPoint in a training (2)

6. Interesting links www.quasar.ualberta.ca/edit202/tutorial/PowerPoint/Pow

erPoint.htmAn overview of links to PowerPoint tutorials

www.presentationhelper.co.ukPowerPoint Tips, general presentation explanation, PowerPoint templates etc…

http://www.awesomebackgrounds.comLots of backgrounds for your PowerPoint presentations

http://www.computertips.com/Microsoftoffice/MsPowerPoint/aheader.htmAll sorts of tips on PowerPoint