PowerPoint Tutorials and Tips, Part 1

Here is my first post of the PowerPoint Tutorials and Tips at ellenfinkelstein.com, explaining many of Powerpoint’s potent features and how they can be used in your presentation. The difference between a good presentation and a great presentation is how effectively you use Powerpoint’s capabilities in your presentation. Powerpoint is the presentation program from Microsoft’s Office suite of applications (Here is the second part of the Powerpoint material from this site.)


PowerPoint AutoShapes (Shapes) & Text Boxes:
Powerpoint users can extend their creativity using auto shapes to create custom shapes to be used in their presentations. The tutorials below explain working with auto shapes and text boxes.
 - Creating soft edges
 - Changing the default for new objects
 - Create multi-color gradients
 - Turn AutoShapes into pictures
 - 3D effects with radial gradients
 - Cycle through overlapping objects to select them
 - Layer two fill effects
 - Rotation tips
 - Use transparency gradients
 - Attach objects exactly
 - Create Bezier curves
 - Create cutouts
 - Use materials and lighting for interesting fills
 - Create text reflections
 - Create soft shadows


PowerPoint Backgrounds & Color:
Keeping in line with creating simple and effective presentations, it is essential to maintain a single color and texture. The background can also be divided into specify sections on the presentation. A Color Scheme is usually a standard that is used in the design of the slide. The links below explain how a background can be set and how to use color schemes.
 - Backgrounds: Using mid-range colors
 - Using Web page backgrounds in PowerPoint
 - Copying colors from a Web site
 - Create multi-color gradients
 - Create an instant background from a photo
 - Choose fonts and colors for legibility
 - Create a simple border
 - Choose colors based on desired results


PowerPoint Charts, Tables & Diagrams:
To further augment the visual appeal of Powerpoint, we can use charts and tables to explain, say the growth of a company or the increase in sales. The tutorials given below show how you can create and use charts and tables.
 - Designing chart titles
 - Formatting bar charts
 - Animate a chart or table
 - Push PowerPoint charting options to the limit
 - Create effective graphs/charts
 - Create a timeline/agenda in PresentationZen style NEW


Hyperlinks:
Web browsers have a front and back button. Similarly, Powerpoint uses hyperlinks to move front and back between slides to allow users review them. The links below explain how to implement hyperlinks in your Powerpoint presentation.
 - Create hyperlinks in a timed presentation
 - Create invisible buttons


Images in PowerPoint:
In these tutorials, we further explain the manipulations that can be carried out on images in a Powerpoint presentation.
 - Managing graphics to reduce size
 - Importing art into the Clip Gallery
 - Resizing your presentation
 - Colorizing a photo for a background
 - Turn AutoShapes into pictures
 - Recolor bitmap images
 - Find free photos
 - Where and how to insert an image
 - Inside secrets to making your visuals look professional
 - Crop around an image
 - Emphasize a section of text or an image
 - The Magic of False Backgrounds
 - Recolor graphics in PowerPoint 2007
 - Cool contour shadows
 - 3D and reflection technique
 - Magnify an image
 - Change a picture in PowerPoint 2007


Music, Sound, & Video in PowerPoint:
Apart from using pictures and custom shapes, we can also use audio and video content in a slide to make it more interactive. These tutorials explain how to use audio and video in a Powerpoint slide.
 - Playing music continuously in a Web-based presentation
 - Play music or narration throughout a presentation
 - Control movies with buttons
 - Synchronize animation with music


PowerPoint Slide Layout:
To help with slide layout, we can use Guides that are easily available in Powerpoint. We can also use a pre-defined master Guide for the rest of the slides in a presentation. The links below deal with slide layout and its intricacies.
 - Creating a grid for perfect layout
 - Nudging objects slightly
 - Reapply the slide layout
 - Beyond Words
 - Create a custom layout
 - Put objects exactly on top of each other
 - Align objects perfectly


PowerPoint Slide Masters & Templates:
At some point during the presentation, you may want to follow a design throughout your slides. This can be done using Templates and the tutorials below explain how do go about working with them.
 - Creating multiple slide “Masters” in PowerPoint 2000
 - Create your own template
 - Get rid of a template


Text & Fonts:
Fonts and text on a slide must be readable and should have the right color. They should also have a constant size and weight. The tutorials below give you an in-depth coverage on the kind of text and fonts you can use in a slide.
 - Choosing the most readable font
 - Controlling text shadows
 - Animating text on top of text
 - Fitting more text in a Placeholder or AutoShape
 - Text animation techniques
 - Choose fonts and colors for legibility
 - Set vertical alignment of text
 - Emphasize a section of text or an image
 - Highlight important words
 - Quickly change text color line by line


Animation & Transitions in PowerPoint:
Powerpoint’s animation feature is used to create slide-by-slide animations for use in presentations. The tutorials below help you create and use various animations and effects with objects on the screen.
 - Putting Flash animation in PowerPoint
 - Animating text on top of text
 - Animate a chart or table
 - Motion path animation effects
 - Create the effect of a line drawing itself
 - Use triggers to create interactive charts
 - Synchronize animation with music
 - Text animation techniques
 - Multimedia animation techniques
 - Create a pop-up window
 - Animate a revolving earth
 - Cascading animation
 - Dissolve one image into another
 - Create a slide show that really slides!
 - Highlight important words
 - Use advanced animation to show growth & motion
 - Make an object disappear behind another object
 - Magnify an image
 - Animate a table in 2007
 - Quickly change text color line by line
 - Match the end of a motion path animation to the beginning of another
 - Animate a bouncing ball
 - Circle an object
 - Tutorial on animation and best practices
 - Duplicate animation
 - Animation for entertainment

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