Lesson 1: The Basics of PowerPoint
Ready, Set, Here we go!
You’ve purchased the books. You have the PowerPoint application on your computer. You’ve decided you’re ready to get started. You’re ready to start creating PowerPoint presentations. So here we go!
PowerPoint has similar features to other Microsoft applications such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. You will find that these applications share similar toolbars, menus, and various features. You can open your PowerPoint application by either choosing it from your computer menu or double-clicking on the PowerPoint icon.
A dialogue box will appear with the following choices:
1) AutoContent Wizard
2) Design Template
3) Blank presentation
4) Open an existing presentation
Let’s look at when and why we would want to use each of these features.
AutoContent Wizard
Refer to pages 5-9 of (Step by Step) for specific instructions
The AutoContent Wizard is a helpful feature for both beginning and experienced PowerPoint users. The AutoContent Wizard leads you through basic components of your presentation including the presentation type, style, and options. Presentation types are pre-designed templates for company meetings, employee orientations, marketing plans, etc..
PowerPoint will provide an entire presentation’s worth of slides that follow a standard format. For example, the “Recommending a Strategy” presentation will provide you with the following slides:
1) Title Page
2) Vision Statement
3) Goals and Objectives
4) Today’s Situation
5) How did we get here?
6) Available Options
7) Recommendation
Each slide has the same background colors, text, and theme. Text on each slide provides a guide of topics and information that you may or may not need in the presentation. The AutoContent Wizard is wonderful if you have never written a certain type of presentation before and acts like an easy-to-use content guide. I have found the AutoContent Wizard to save time for work related projects.
* Note: We’ll discuss how to modify the text and graphics in later lessons.
Design Template
Refer to pages 23-36 of (Step by Step) for specific instructions
Let’s say that you already know the content and flow of your presentation. You don’t want to spend time with the AutoContent Wizard, which may have extra templates you don’t need. Instead, you would like to create different types of PowerPoint slides on your own, but you want all of the slides to have the same background color, text font, and overall theme.
In this case, you would select the “Design Template” when you open up PowerPoint. A “New Presentation” window appears with the “Design Templates” tab selected. Several different design templates are available for your use. For example, if you click once on “Artsy” you will be able to preview the colors and font of the “Artsy” template. The preview should show up on the right hand side of the “New Presentation Window”.
Note: Sometimes a “preview” is not available and you have to actually open the design template to view it.
Select a design template by double clicking on the name of the design template. You will be asked what type of slide you wish to create. Select “Title” slide. You will now be able to view the design template. You then can create your presentation slide by slide, keeping the same design template theme.
Blank presentation
Choosing this option just opens up a blank presentation with no preset slides or themes. This option is used mainly when you have a very short presentation that doesn’t need to follow a theme or if you are creating a presentation of images or text only. This feature is not very exciting to use.
Open an existing presentation
This option is one of many ways to open a previously created PowerPoint presentation. The “open” feature is similar to Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. You would highlight the file name and select “Open”.
