Lesson 2: How to Create the Core of Your Presentation
Spell Check and Slide Sorter
Spell Check
Spell check is a wonderful tool to help us edit our presentations. PowerPoint provides a spell check feature similar to that of Microsoft Word.
To run spell check do the following:
1.) Open the Tool menu.
2.) Select Spelling. (Or you can just hit the F7 key as a shortcut.)
3.) The Spelling window will open and will ask you to change or ignore certain spellings.
AutoCorrect Feature
I’d also like to point out another useful feature called “AutoCorrect”. There are several words that we often misspell. You can create a list of words that you commonly misspell and put in the proper spelling. Open the Tools menu and select AutoCorrect.
The AutoCorrect window will open. At the bottom you will see a list of commonly misspelled words and their corrections. Anytime you type the word incorrectly, as defined by this list, the computer will automatically correct the word with the proper spelling.
You can also use this feature if you like to write in shorthand. For example, let’s say that you have to type the company name of Bob’s Burger Hut and you don’t like to type it out every time. You just want to type BBH instead and let the computer write out the whole name. In the AutoCorrect window type in “BBH” (no quotation marks) in the “Replace” box. Then type “Bob’s Burger Hut” (no quotation marks) in the “With” box. Click “Add” to add it to the list. Click “OK” to go back to your presentation.
Now let’s see if this works. On a slide type “BBH” (no quotation marks) and hit return. The “BBH” should be replaced with Bob’s Burger Hut. Note that case doesn’t matter.
Slide Sorter
Let’s quickly look back at the Slide Sorter options. (Step by Step) Chapters 1 & 2.
This time we have a longer presentation to work with and we are better at navigating around the program. I wanted to talk about the Slide Sorter again because it can prove helpful when modifying an existing presentation. You have determined that the order of your slides in not quite right and that you want to insert and delete slides.
Slide Sorter
1.) Open the View menu.
2.) Select Slide Sorter
To rearrange the slide order, click once on the slide you wish to move. Drag it between the desired slides.
To delete a slide, click once on the slide and hit the “Delete” key.
To insert a new slide, click once on the slide that will precede your new slide. Insert a new slide from the Insert menu.
The Slide Sorter view provides a quick overview in which you can edit your presentation.
Remember to go back to the “Normal” view when you are finished using the Slide Sorter.
Topics for Discussion
1. What types of Clip Art and images are you interested in using in your presentation?
2. Are you familiar with Word Art capabilities?
3. Are you familiar with free vs. fee based Clip Art websites?
4. There are alternate methods to modifying text and images including shortcut keys and menus. What do you prefer to use? (Menus, shortcut keys, or toolbars)
5. Did you know you can download different font types by searching Google or Yahoo? Just type in “free fonts” and see the website results.
