POWERPOINT BASICS. This Handout will primarily look at PowerPoint with a Mac, though much of the commands and screen shots will be similar for a pc.

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1 POWERPOINT BASICS Microsoft PowerPoint is a program that both students and educators can use. In an instructional sense, PowerPoint has the ability to show students slide-by-slide how to format an MLA paper, research on the Internet, create a resume, or whatever else the user wishes. Students can use PowerPoint to add creativity and individuality to a class presentation. This handout goes into the basics of PowerPoint: how to create a document, change scheme and style, add slides, animate, and use action buttons. This Handout will primarily look at PowerPoint with a Mac, though much of the commands and screen shots will be similar for a pc. Creating a Document: If using a Windows system, go to the START button and scroll up to PROGRAMS. Then navigate to Microsoft Office. Then choose PowerPoint. When using Mac, there should be a menu bar on the bottom of the screen. PowerPoint looks like a big orange P. A screen like this will appear. Click open for a Blank PowerPoint Presentation: 1

2 Choosing Style: Once your blank document pops up, you can immediately change the style so that each added slide will be identical to the first. The Format button is located on the top toolbar and controls Design, Layout, Scheme, and Background. Design chooses the Skin, also referred to as the background, of your PowerPoint; in the below example, Blue Horizon is a slightly shaded blue style. Choose whichever fits your taste best or keep it blank. Layout will decide the configuration of text boxes and pictures 2

3 Color Scheme allows you to change all the colors used in the slides including: the shadow of the text, the text itself, fills for graphs, accents, hyperlinks, and the background. You can personalize your scheme by hitting the Custom tab. Background utilizes these same color tools. 3

4 Creating and Adding Slides: Once you have chosen your style and color scheme, adding slides is a breeze. Simply hit the Slide + button from the top menu. This is located on the right side! *** This menu bar is extremely helpful in quickly creating or formatting slides. Adding Pictures to PowerPoint: = Create = Layout = Design = Grayscale View The easiest way to add pictures, at least with a Mac, is to drag the photo into the slide of your choice. Click and hold the left mouse button over the picture and move it into the PowerPoint application. After your picture has made it into the slide, the position can be changed using the same click and hold technique. An alternative way, which can also be used with Windows, is to click the Insert tab from the top toolbar and scroll down to Picture. Select From File and then choose the picture you desire. Animating with PowerPoint: Located in the same bar as font style, Animation Effects has a hotkey. = Animation Effects Once that has been clicked, a window will appear 4

5 Each button has its own operation. While each button has its own purpose, the main concept is to add life to your slide. For example, animate title and/or slide text adds an effect to area, i.e a spiral entrance or zoom in. =Animate Title =Animate Slide Text = Drive in/out = Fly In = Camera Effect = Flash Once = Fly out = Laser Text Effect = Typewriter Effect = Reverse text Order = Drop In/Dropout In addition to these features, by hitting you can open up a list that carries many more animations Hit Add Effect to open the list. Once you have completed adding in animations, hit the button in the Animation Effects menu. This will show you a preview of your animation. An alternate way to view 5

6 this would be to watch your whole show. Access this by hitting the Slide Show button in the top Menu, then clicking View Show. Action Buttons: Action buttons can be a complicated, yet interactive aspect of PowerPoint. You can direct viewers to the end of the show, revisit a slide, or to a website. In the same menu as View Show, scroll down to Action Buttons. 6

7 The Blue box is the Action Button, (don t worry you can change the colors, or even make it transparent and put it over an image so it looks like the picture is the button). As seen in the picture, by hitting the Hyperlink to: (as seen in the above graphic) drop down menu users can specify where to send viewers. If you want to send them out to a website, you may have to specify on which program to run In Conclusion: This hand out has covered some of the basic commands and abilities of Microsoft PowerPoint. Starting with how to create a document, we visited how to change style, add images and animations, and how to add effects such as action buttons. 7

8 The best thing to do from here is to practice using the application, or to get an even better idea, head to the LAVC Writing Center Website and watch these tools used in the PowerPoint Basics Interactive PowerPoint! Last revised: 10/19/2010 8