Making and Editing Screenshots in PowerPoint 2010

Transcription

1 Making and Editing Screenshots in PowerPoint 2010 Using screenshots in PowerPoint is an excellent way to illustrate an important point about an application or Web site. Although specialized software can be very handy for capturing images of a computer screen, it is not always necessary to use a program outside of PowerPoint. PowerPoint has versatile tools built in that can help make and apply screenshots to your presentation. When you start PowerPoint your screen will resemble the illustration below. Make sure the Home tab on the ribbon is selected, then click the Layout button in the Slides zone. Layout button 1

2 Select the Blank layout from the panel. This layout will be easiest to work with right now. You will now have a blank slide. Using the PowerPoint Screenshot Tool New in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2010 is a Screenshot tool. This tool is accessed from the Insert tab of the ribbon. Click the Insert tab on the ribbon. The ribbon will change to show you your insert options as shown below. In the Images section of the ribbon you will find four options. You can insert a picture, clip art, screenshot, or an image from the photo album. Before you click the Screenshot button it is important to understand what it does. The Screenshot button allows you to take a screenshot from any screen that is not minimized You can select a screenshot of an entire by clicking on a thumbnail image You can capture a screenshot of a screen s area by clicking Screen Clipping You can t take a screenshot of a PowerPoint screen 2

3 Click the Screenshot button. The Available Windows panel will appear and resemble the illustration on the right. Note that the actual window thumbnails that you will see depends on which programs you have open. To add one of the screens in the panel simply click the appropriate thumbnail. The image will be added to your slide. An example is shown below. You can now edit or customize the inserted image in the usual manner. See the hanout titled Working with Images in PowerPoint 2010 for more information. 3

4 You can also select an area of a screen. Click the Screenshot button. The Available Windows panel will appear. Click Screen Clipping at the bottom of the panel. Your monitor will switch to the screen that you will make a selection from. After an instant the screen will turn hazy white. This is illustrated on the right. You mouse pointer will turn to a cross. Left click and hold the button down. Drag a box around the area you want to select, then release the mouse button. + 4

5 That area will now be placed in your slide. If you have more than one window open it can be a little bit tricky to select the one you want to take the screenshot from. You have to open the target window first. Once the target window is open you must immediately switch right back to PowerPoint. The steps follow here: 1. Select the slide in which you want to place the screen shot 2. Click the window from which you will take the screen shot a. This will cause that window to open on your monitor 3. Switch back to PowerPoint without opening another window 4. Click the screenshot button 5. Click Screen Clipping 6. Make your selection Using Traditional Keyboard Shortcuts to Make Screenshots Computer users who remember the old DOS machines from back in the day will recall that by clicking Alt + PrtScn (Alternate and PrintScreen at the same time) on the keyboard they could cause a screenshot to be sent to their printer. What many people do 5

6 not realize is that in the modern Windows operating systems the PrintScreen command still functions, but in ways that they may not expect. For PowerPoint users (and users of many other Office programs, too) this is an excellent feature to know about because it can make the creation of tutorials and demonstrations easier. In this next section we will explore the use of the PrintScreen command. Note that the PrintScreen button can be labeled several different ways. Among those ways are: PrintScreen PrtScn PrtScreen The PrintScreen feature is often shared with the SysRq option, so be sure to look closely at your keyboard to find the location. Because it is rarely used, it is sometimes difficult finding the key for the first time. After you make a PrintScreen screenshot capture, click Control + V to paste the screenshot into PowerPoint. With a simple screen open, click Control + PrintScreen to take a screenshot of everything on your screen including the taskbar. With a simple screen open, click Alternate + Printscreen to take a screenshot of the application s screen only. The taskbar will not be captured. 6

7 Pressing Shift + PrintScreen works the same as Control + PrintScreen. The entire monitor screen is captured. If you have a secondary panel or window open, as shown on the right, and press Control + PrintScreen you will capture the entire screen, including the panel. Pressing Shift + PrintScreen will do the same thing. However, if you press Alternate + PrintScreen you will capture only the panel. If you have more than one panel or window open you will capture the topmost one. 7

8 When you have more than one window open, as you might have if you are working with several programs at the same time, pressing Conrol + PrintScreen will capture everything on your monitor. If you click Control + PrintScreen you will capture only the active screen. Once you have captured the screenshot you can edit it in the same ways that you edit a photograph.. See the hanout titled Working with Images in PowerPoint 2010 for more information. The illustration on the right shows a screenshot that has had several effects applied to it. 8