(MS Powerpoint 2013) Lecture 2

Introduction

Whenever you create a new presentation in PowerPoint, you'll need to know how to save in order to access and edit it later. As in previous versions of PowerPoint, you can save files to your computer.

When you create or edit a presentation, you'll use the Save command to save your changes. You'll use this command most of the time. When you save a file, you'll only need to choose a file name and location the first time. After that, you can just click the Save command to save it with the same name and location.

To Save a Presentation:

It's important to save your presentation whenever you start a new project or make changes to an existing one. Saving early and often can prevent your work from being lost. You'll also need to pay close attention to where you save the presentation so it will be easy to find later.

1. Locate and select the Save command on the Quick Access Toolbar.
2. If you're saving the file for the first time, the Save As pane will appear in Backstage view.
3. You'll then need to choose where to save the file and give it a file name.
4. The Save As dialog box will appear. Select the location where you wish to save the presentation.
5. Enter a file name for the presentation and click Save.

You can also access the Save command by pressing Ctrl+S on your keyboard.

Introduction

PowerPoint presentations are made up of a series of slides. Slides contain the information you will present to your audience. This might include text, pictures, charts, and more. Before you start creating presentations, you'll need to know the basics of working with slides and slide layouts.

Understanding Slides and Slide Layouts

When you insert a new slide, it will usually have placeholders. Placeholders can contain different types of content, including text, images, and more. Some placeholders have placeholder text, which you can replace with your own text. Others have thumbnail icons that allow you to insert pictures, charts, videos and more.
Slides have several different layouts for placeholders, depending on the kind of information you want to include. Whenever you create a new slide, you'll need to choose a slide layout that fits your content.

To Insert a New Slide:

Whenever you start a new presentation, it will contain one slide with the Title Slide layout. You can insert as many slides as you need from a variety of different layouts.

1. From the Home tab, click the bottom half of the New Slide command.
2. Choose the desired slide layout from the menu that appears.
3. The new slide will appear. Click any placeholder and begin typing to add text. You can also click an icon to add other types of content, like a picture or a chart.

To change the layout of an existing slide, click the Layout command and then choose the desired layout.

To quickly add a slide that uses the same layout as the selected slide, simply click the top half of the New Slide command.

Organizing Slides

PowerPoint presentations can contain as many slides as you need. The Slide Navigation pane makes it easy to organize your slides. From there, you can duplicate, rearrange, and delete slides in your presentation.

Working with Slides

• Duplicate Slides: If you want to copy and paste a slide very quickly, you can duplicate it. To duplicate slides, select the slide you wish to duplicate, right-click the mouse and then choose Duplicate Slide from the menu that appears. You can also duplicate multiple slides at once by selecting them first.
• Move Slides: It's easy to change the order of your slides. Just click, hold and drag the desired slide in the Slide Navigation pane to the desired position.
• Delete Slides: If you want to remove a slide from your presentation, you can delete it. Simply select the slide you wish to delete, then press the Delete or Backspace key on your keyboard.

To Format the Slide Background:

By default, all slides in your presentation use a white background. It's easy to change the background style for some or all of your slides. Backgrounds can have a solid, gradient, pattern, or picture fill.

1. Select the Design tab and then click the Format Background command.
2. The Format Background pane will appear on the right. Select the desired fill options. In our example, we'll use a Solid fill with a light gold color.
3. The background style of the selected slide will update.
4. If desired, you can click Apply to All to apply the same background style to all slides in your presentation.

To Apply a Theme:

A theme is a predefined combination of colors, fonts, and effects that can quickly change the look and feel of your entire slide show. Different themes also use different slide layouts, which can change the arrangement of your existing placeholders. We'll talk more about themes later in our Applying Themes lesson.

1. Select the Design tab on the Ribbon and then click the More drop-down arrow to see all of the available themes.
2. Select the desired theme.
3. The theme will be applied to your entire presentation.

Customizing Slide Layouts

Sometimes, you may find that a slide layout doesn't exactly fit your needs. For example, a layout might have too many placeholders, or too few. You might also want to change how the placeholders are arranged on the slide. Fortunately, PowerPoint makes it easy to adjust slide layouts as needed.

Adjusting Placeholders

• To Select a Placeholder: Hover the mouse over the edge of the placeholder and click (you may need to click on the text in the placeholder first to see the border). A selected placeholder will have a solid line instead of a dotted line.
• To Move a Placeholder: Select the placeholder, then click and drag it to the desired location.
• To Resize a Placeholder: Select the placeholder you want to resize. Sizing handles will appear. Click and drag the sizing handles until the placeholder is the desired size. You can use the corner sizing handles to change the placeholder's height and width at the same time.
• To Delete a Placeholder: Select the placeholder you wish to delete, then press the Delete or Backspace key on your keyboard.

To Add a Text Box:

Text can be inserted into both placeholders and text boxes. Inserting text boxes allows you to add to the slide layout. Unlike placeholders, text boxes always stay in the same place, even if you change the theme.

1. From the Insert tab, select the Text Box command.
2. Click, hold and drag to draw the text box on the slide.
3. The text box will appear. To add text, simply click the text box and begin typing.

Using Blank Slides

If you want even more control over your content, you may prefer to use a blank slide, which contains no placeholders. Blank slides can be customized by adding your own text boxes, pictures, charts, and more.

• To insert a blank slide, click the bottom half of the New Slide command, then choose Blank from the menu that appears.

While blank slides offer more flexibility, keep in mind that you won't be able to take advantage of the pre-designed layouts included in each theme.

To Play the Presentation:

Once you've arranged your slides, you may want to play your presentation. This is how you will present your slide show to an audience.

1. Click the Start From Beginning command on the Quick Access Toolbar to see your presentation.
2. The presentation will appear in full-screen mode.
3. You can advance to the next slide by clicking your mouse or pressing the Space Bar on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move forward or backward through the presentation.
4. Press the Esc key to exit presentation mode.