HOW TO CREATE A SLIDESHOW IN POWERPOINT FOR BEGINNERS

HOW TO CREATE A SLIDESHOW IN POWERPOINT FOR BEGINNERS

Start by opening a "Blank presentation" in PowerPoint. When you first open PowerPoint you will have the options of using the AutoContent wizard, a Template, or a Blank presentation. At some point you should experiment with the first two options, but for now, simply select "Blank presentation," then click on the "OK" button.

Select the "Title Slide" option. We will be coming back to this window later to select other styles of slides from the palette. Since we are just beginning, click on the option in the top left corner. You will notice that the name for that particular slide layout appears in the box in the bottom right corner. Click "OK."
Type in your title and subtitle. Simply click in the box and start typing. If you don't have a subtitle, you can leave it blank.

Select a background for the entire presentation. Under the "Format" menu select "Background." Click on the bar under the sample slide, and select "Fill Effects." Play with the Gradients, Textures, and Patterns which can be accessed by clicking on the tabs at the top of that window. Once you have selected a background you like, click on "OK." Then click the "Apply To All" button. This will put the same background on all of your slides. (Consistency is important!)

Add new slides. Under the Insert menu, select "New Slide" or click on the  icon on the button bar across the top of the screen. (Getting to know these buttons can save lots of time in using any program.) Once again you see the "New Slide" palette. You may try any of these slide templates. In fact, why not take a few minutes to click on each one to see what they are. Remember that the name of each template will show up at the bottom left corner of the window. If you use any of the slides with clip art, you will be prompted to click on an area in the slide to select the clip art that you want placed there. Create all of the slides you want in your presentation before going on to the next step.

Set the transitions for your slides. You will first want to select a slide. The best way to do this is from the slide sorter view. To get there, click on the  icon in the bottom left corner of the screen. This will allow you to see all of your slides at once. Click once on the first slide to select it. (Double-clicking on a slide will open that slide.) From the Slide Show menu, select "Slide Transition." On this window you may select from the many transitions that show up directly under the picture. The words "No Transition" are part of a pop-up menu. Click on those words and slide the mouse to the transition you would like to try. A sample of that transition shows up on the sample picture. You may want to change the speed of the transitions. You can also select a sound for the transition here, but remember that sounds can be distracting if you are using this presentation to teach a lesson. If you are using this for a self-running presentation you can adjust the settings in the Advance box. (If you leave the "On mouse click" box checked, the presentation won't run by itself. When setting up a self-running presentation, be sure to leave enough time for viewers to read what is on the screens.) When you have the settings the way you want them, click on the "Apply to all" button. This will set the same transitions for all of the slides in your presentation. (You can set transitions for individual slides, but for consistency and time�s sake, make them the same for now.)

Add some more pizzazz to your presentation with animation! From the slide sorter view, double click on any one of your slides to see it in large view. (You cannot set custom animations from the slide sorter view, however, you can set preset animations from there.) Once in the single slide mode, select "Custom Animation" from the Slide Show menu. (Note: Custom Animations does not have an Apply to All feature, so you will need to set Custom Animations one slide at a time.) From this window you are given the opportunity to "bring in" each object on your slide. Several steps are necessary for this process:

• Become familiar with this window.
  Animation order shows the order that the objects will be brought into the slide.
  • The picture in the top center is a preview area.
  • The Timing tab lets you set the timing of each object�s animation.
  • The Effects tab is where you will set how you want the objects brought in and with what sound.
  • The Chart Effects tab is only for slides which have charts.
  • The Play Settings tab is for video clips that you have put on slides. (Not something to go into at this point.)
• Set the order for objects to be brought into the slide by clicking on the name of an object in the bottom left box, then clicking on the Animate radio dial button. (A radio dial button is a round button. When selected, it turns black in the center.) The objects will be placed in the animation order box in the top left. If the order is not correct, simply click on the name of an object and click the up or down arrows to get it into the correct order.
• Set an animation for an object by clicking on an object, then clicking on the Effects tab. Under "Entry animation and sound" click on the top pop-up menu to see a list of all of the animations available. Select one from the list. Then select a sound from the next pop-up menu. For a text object, you have options on the right for introducing text. You may want to take time to experiment with those.
• Before clicking OK, click on the Preview button to see if everything is set the way you want it. If not, change it now. If you like it, click on OK.

Run your slide show! It is always good practice to run through your presentation several times to make sure that things are how you want them. If you don't like something, change it. (Also be sure to run the spell checker before showing your presentation to anyone. Spelling and grammar mistakes can be very embarrassing when you are up front!) To run the show, get to the first slide, either by clicking on it in the slide sorter view, or by scrolling up to it using the scroll bar. Then, click on the  icon at the bottom left of the screen. To stop the presentation in the middle, press the escape "esc" key on the keyboard.

...AND YOU'RE GOOD TO GO!