PowerPoint Pick & Mix Menu
You may be new to PowerPoint, or already have a certain skill level that has developed from initial training and from your own experience of using it. However, there may be some areas you would like to learn to help you complete specific tasks. Use our Pick and Mix menu to choose the topics you want to learn, then email us by following this link , so we can create the perfect training mix, designed specifically to meet your needs.
Getting Started in PowerPoint
If you are new to PowerPoint, this is an ideal place to start. This topic will get you up and running with PowerPoint and will show you how to create a simple presentation.
At the end of this topic you will be able to:
° Find your way around the Ribbon
° Understand the different PowerPoint views
° Create a new blank Presentation
° Add and Delete Slides
° Save your Presentation
Text Techniques
Whilst the Slide masters determine the font, colour and attributes of your slide, there be will times when you want to manually change the formatting on individual slides or text boxes.
At the end of this topic you will be able to:
° Change and Format the Font
° Apply Word Art Styles
° Format Bulleted Lists
° Set Tabs and Indents
° Format Textboxes
Working with Layouts & Themes
Slide Layouts determine the layout of the different elements of your slide e.g. where the title, text, pictures, charts etc. are placed. Slide Themes control the overall look of your presentation including the colour, fonts and backgrounds used in your presentation.
At the end of this topic you will be able to:
° Understand Content Placeholders
° Add and delete Custom Place Holders
° Create a New Layout
° Apply a Theme from the Gallery
° Create a Custom Colour Theme
° Create a Custom Font Theme
° Apply a Background Style
Using Images
A Picture says a thousand words and PowerPoint is an ideal tool to support your presentation with visual aids.
At the end of this topic you will be able to:
° Insert Images into your Slides
° Resize and Crop Images
° Layer and Place Images
° Change the Shape and Colour of your Image
° Apply Picture Effects to your Image
Creating a Custom Template
If you want to create a PowerPoint template for your organisation, incorporating your Logo, corporate colours and fonts, this topic will show you how. Following on from the skills you have learnt in Working with Layouts & Themes.
At the end of this topic you will be able to:
° Create a Title Page for your Corporate Slides
° Insert and Place your Logo
° Save your Template
Using Smart Art Diagrams
SmartArt diagrams will help your audience to understand the inter-dependencies of objects or processes, visually. Smart Art can be used to show Organisational Charts, Hierarchy Diagrams and Flow Charts.
At the end of this topic you will be able to:
° Understand the Smart Art types and their uses
° Insert a Diagram
° Change the Smart art Styles
° Edit Diagram Text
° Modify the Diagram Structure
° Modify an Organisational Chart Structure
° Format a Diagram
° Manually Restructure a Diagram
Working with Charts
Your presentation may include figures and trends. An ideal way to help your audience understand them is by including Charts (or graphs) in your presentation.
At the end of this topic you will be able to:
° Start a New Chart
° Work with Chart data
° Understand Chart Types and Layouts
° Work with Labels and Control the Axes
° Format a Chart
Creating a Self-Running Presentation
A Self-Running presentation might be used at Trade Shows, to attract passers-by, in Waiting Rooms, to promote other services, and in shops and events, to promote products and services. Typically, self-running presentations will contain more information than the slide show that is a back-drop to a speaker.
At the end of this topic you will be able to:
° Set the length of time each slide appears on the
screen
° Make sure the Presentation continues to Run
Slide Transitions & Animation Effects
In PowerPoint, ‘Animation’ means the way an object (bullet point, picture, chart etc.) enters or exits a slide. A Slide Transition, on the other hand, refers to the entrance and exit of the entire slide.
At the end of this topic you will be able to:
° Assign Transitions to Slides
° Choose Transition Effects
° Use Custom Animation
° Assign Multiple Animation Effects to a Single
Object
° Work with Motion Paths
° Animate parts of a Chart
User Interactive Presentations
Here, the User is in control of the presentation, choosing how to navigate around it. Interactive Presentations might include hyperlinks to useful web pages, and buttons that lead users to specific slides in the presentation, such as those giving further details about specific products or services they might be interested in.
At the end of this topic you will be able to:
° Create Hyperlinks to websites and files
° Create Hyperlinks to other slides in your
presentation
° Create Graphical Hyperlinks
° Use Action Buttons
Adding Sound Effects, Music & Video
Depending on the purpose of your presentation and your audience, you may want to include some sound effects, voice recordings or a video file. These could be used to give a message from the CEO or an expert who isn’t at the presentation, or to demonstrate a new product.
At the end of this topic you will be able to:
° Insert a Sound File as an icon
° Fine Tune Sound Play Settings
° Assign a Sound to an Object
° Place a Video on a Slide
° Set Video Options
° Control when the Video will play
Sharing & Collaborating
It may be that several people will be collaborating on a PowerPoint Presentation, each adding their own area of expertise or commenting on another person’s. Comments act like Post-It notes, adding comments to the presentation without actually changing it.
At the end of this topic you will be able to:
° Add, Review and Delete Comments
° Share your Presentation File on the network
° Send your Presentation via email
Creating Support Material
Support material can include Hand-outs for your audience, to remind them of your presentation, or Speaker Notes which contain additional information to help the speaker with their presentation.
At the end of this topic you will be able to:
° Print Hand-outs
° Create Speaker Notes
° Print an Outline
Preparing Presentations for Distribution
You may want to share your PowerPoint presentation with others. When doing so, you need to be sure that they will be able to view the presentation, even if they haven’t got PowerPoint.
At the end of this topic you will be able to:
° Remove Personal Information from a File
° Finalise a Presentation
° Check for Prior-version Compatibility
° Encrypt the Presentation with a Password
° Publish your Presentation on a CD or DVD
° Work with PowerPoint Viewer