PowerPoint and Presenting Blog

Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words?

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

A picture is worth a thousand words -- we've all heard that a thousand times and more. Frankly speaking, that observation may not be true all the time! So what are those scenarios when this is not true?

Actually, there are so many scenarios that I had to share an entire list with you!

Speak your picture's story: A picture on a slide can certainly tell a story, but that story needs to be retold by the presenter. Many presenters and slide designers take the analogy of a picture being equal to a thousand words quite literally -- and while they believe a message or story has been provided to the audience, it is quite possible that the audience thought of a different story -- especially since the presenter did not explain why he or she had to show a picture of an airplane in a presentation about managing finances!
Relevance is the key: A picture is only effective if it is relevant to the content of your slide -- just any picture will not work. In situations like this, it is better not to use a picture than using the wrong visual. Many times, slide designers and presenters fall into this trap of using a visual that is so generic that it might be used to explain a hundred concepts. A classic example is a picture of the light bulb, or a picture of people shaking hands. These cliche pictures have been used so often, and audiences have seen them in so many slides -- resulting in them not being so relevant any more!
Use fewer pictures: More than one picture to illustrate a single concept is a picture too many. Remember, two pictures may not be worth two thousand words! Yes, you can use multiple pictures if one builds upon the other. For example, you may show a famous building in one picture, and a close-up of some carving on its exterior in another picture. That way, the second picture would add value to the first picture.
Explore silhouettes: A picture that distinctly shows a human being of one race may not work too well in a multi-racial or international audience -- in that case, explore using silhouettes. It is surprising how much more you can express with a mere silhouette.
Captions describe pictures: A picture worth a thousand words sometimes may need a caption of five to seven words -- don't shy from using captions that explain the picture!
Pictures of the same style stay together: The right picture style is also important. The contemporary trend for the last few years has been to use photographs rather than cartoon-style clip art. However, do remember that a commissioned cartoon is entirely different from cartoon-style clip art -- if you use a great cartoon that has a message which is relevant to your presentation, then that's very acceptable. As already mentioned earlier, silhouettes are also a great option.
Pristine pictures speak better: Picture quality is a very significant issue. Do not use visuals that are blurred, pixelated, or pictures that are out of focus.
Crop out the unrequired: Picture cropping can be very useful. Try to crop to an area of the picture where you want to focus the audience's attention.
Respect copyrights: Finally, any picture worth a thousand words is worth none at all if you do not respect copyrights. Don't steal images from online image searches. In future blog posts, I'll explore how you can get great pictures for free or almost next to nothing -- and also why you should respect copyrights.

Categories: design, pictures, powerpoint, presentation_skills

Learn PowerPoint 2011 for Mac: Formatting Connectors

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:30:00 +0000

After you explore connectors, you may believe that they are indeed different from mere lines in certain ways because they are linked to the shapes or slide objects they connect with. Move the object linked to any connector, and the connector itself repositions itself to adjust to the new position of the object. However, when you explore formatting options for connectors, you will discover that they work just like conventional PowerPoint lines. You can add arrowheads to your connectors (or remove them), make your connector a dashed line rather than an undashed one, and also change the thickness of the connector in the same way as you do for lines.

Learn how to format connectors in PowerPoint 2011.

Categories: office_mac, powerpoint_2011, shapes, tutorials

Indezine News Released

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

This month we will talk about pictures and how you can effectively use them in your slides. With a camera on every phone, it's easier than ever before to click pictures that you can add to your PowerPoint and Keynote slides. And the presentation pundits have been saying it for years now that you should use more visuals and less text. Finally, it's easy to heed to their advice since pictures are aplenty -- and when you cannot find the perfect picture, chances are you can go ahead and click one! Or two, three or many more. If you end up with 5 pictures that are suitable for a slide, how do you choose just one of them? Or do you go ahead and add at least 3 of them to the same slide? There's no clear and obvious answer to that question -- you have to decide what works best in any given scenario. As a rule of the thumb, try to use just one picture -- and also add a second picture only if it adds some extra value to the first picture. For example, you may show a famous building in one picture, and a close-up of some carving on its exterior in another picture.

Read more here.

Categories: ezine, powerpoint

Learn PowerPoint 2010: Advanced WRM Permissions

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:45:00 +0000

You have learned to sign up for Windows Rights Management (WRM) in a previous tutorial. Once you are signed up, you can provide permissions using WRM from within PowerPoint 2010. In this tutorial you will learn how to revoke permissions, add new permissions, and also create custom permission levels. For any of the permissions to work, users need to be connected online so that the WRM servers can be accessed for authentication. So, make sure you are connected online, and thereafter follow these steps.

Learn about advanced Windows Rights Management permissions in PowerPoint 2010.

Categories: powerpoint_2010, security, tutorials

Doodleslide: The Indezine Review

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

It's always good to be different -- and canned slides with Calibri or Arial text over those same template or Theme backgrounds can look so monotonous! Doodleslide is a PowerPoint add-in that enables you to add a human touch by inserting hand-drawn images and organic looking slide templates. The Doodleslide add-in consists a library of around 350 high-resolution doodle images with transparent backgrounds. These are divided into 25 categories. In addition, it also comprises over 50 slide templates that match the look of the doodles. Both these elements: the doodles and the slide templates can be accessed by two buttons that are integrated into the Insert tab of the Ribbon in PowerPoint.

Read the Indezine review of Doodleslide.

Categories: add-in, graphics, powerpoint, templates

Learn PowerPoint 2011 for Mac: Change Connector Type

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:30:00 +0000

You have already learned that there are essentially three types of connectors that you can use to link shapes or other slide objects in PowerPoint 2011 -- also you can add any of these three connectors (straight, elbow, or curved) as per your requirements. However, what if you add a connector of one type and later realize that you should have used a different type? You need not delete that connector, and place another type of connector in its place because PowerPoint 2011 allows you to change from one connector type to another very easily.

Learn how to change between connector types in PowerPoint 2011.

Categories: office_mac, powerpoint_2011, shapes, tutorials

Animated Slide: Blueprint

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

This blueprint slide essentially is not an architectural blueprint, but it could have been! This slide is more of a lesson in how you can slowly introduce slide objects one after the other so that they animated almost like performing in sync – in a ballet or concert. Every shape is a native PowerPoint shape that either has a white fill or outline, or even both. Then we used the Spin animation to primarily get all shapes rotating together. We used PowerPoint 2010 to create this presentation, and it works best in either that version or in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac.

Download and use this slide for your own presentations.

Categories: animation, powerpoint, presentation_samples

Reduce Stress and Save Time: by Claudyne Wilder

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

One of my clients' major issues is the time, or lack of it, they have to prepare between presentations. Needless to say, this causes stress. Consider the following scenario.

Ginger has a presentation to give to new customers. She was told about it last week. She worked on it to the detriment of a key project, even practicing out loud the night before the talk. She gives it and feels successful. But she has some revisions to make before she sends it to the customer.

At the same time, she has to prepare a talk next week to division managers about her project (the one she has been neglecting). Now she has two presentations to work on simultaneously, one to revise and the other to create from scratch. She has no time to rehearse for the second talk and feels nervous. She doesn't sleep well. Although acceptable, she feels tired, overworked and frustrated. But today she’s got to revise the first presentation.

Yes, it's stressful to be constantly getting over one presentation while preparing for the next. There is no one solution. The best way to reduce stress is to analyze the way you go about creating presentations, and figure out where you can save time. If you don't use the following strategies, then you are probably taking twice as long as you need. Use them, save time, reduce your stress level, and get more work done. And you'll never give a mediocre presentation again!

Create a PowerPoint file for each type of presentation. For example, create a project update file with all the slides set up exactly as you need them. Then you just need to put in your new content.
Learn to use the Slide Master. It's the best time investment you can make. People waste hours creating every slide themselves rather than inserting a slide from the Slide Master that already has a layout. Pay someone to explain how to use it and to create several Slide Master looks you can use over and over again.
Keep a file of artwork, tables, images, and shapes. I am not talking about looking at other presentations for ideas every time you are preparing a talk. I am talking about a file with all these images in the right background and color scheme. You open the file and choose several to use.
Know how to use PowerPoint effectively so you can save even more time. Taking a PowerPoint class may not help you that much. You need a class on how to create a presentation using PowerPoint.

If you want an example of a project update file with all the slides set up exactly as you need them, just contact me through my web site.

Claudyne Wilder coaches executives, managers, and salespeople on how to deliver presentations that get to the message. Her clients give compelling, passionate presentations. Her company has an ongoing contract to give her Get to the Message: Present with a Purpose workshop at a Fortune 100 Global Pharmaceutical Company. Claudyne brings a unique and invigorating perspective to her work from her years of studying the Argentine Tango.

Do visit Claudyne's site at Wilder Presentations to sign up for her blog, her tweets or to download some free presenting tools.

Categories: guest_post, opinion, powerpoint, presentation_skills

Learn PowerPoint 2010: Using Windows Rights Management

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:45:00 +0000

We already explored how you can get started with Information Rights Management (IRM) in PowerPoint 2010 by first signing up for the Windows Rights Management (WRM) service. This service implements Microsoft's access controls for documents across Office 2010 applications such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel, etc. Once you have signed up for WRM, you can set permissions for all presentations that you need to share as long as you and all other recipients for your files fulfil these two requirements: All users have a Windows Live ID, and all users have signed up for WRM using their Windows Live IDs.

Learn how to to use Windows Rights Management in PowerPoint 2010.

Categories: powerpoint_2010, security, tutorials

Learn PowerPoint 2011 for Mac: Drawing Connectors

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 03:30:00 +0000

Connectors are lines that link different shapes or any other slide objects, and yet they are somewhat different from conventional lines because connectors, as the name implies stay connected to the shapes they are linked from. You have already learned about connectors and the types of connectors in previous tutorials -- in this tutorial, you will learn how you can draw connectors that link shapes. Although we use shapes as examples in this tutorial, you can attach a connector to any other slide object using the same process.

Learn how to draw connectors in PowerPoint 2011.

Categories: office_mac, powerpoint_2011, shapes, tutorials

iPad Presenting 09: Picture Slides on the iPad

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

One of the many ways in which you can adapt your PowerPoint slides to an iPad friendly format is by converting all your slides to pictures. This approach will work well for slides that have no animation or multimedia -– and the good news is that great presentation slides can be created without animation or multimedia of any sort!

The bad news is that this is a one-way street -– and if you want to make any changes to your slides, you will have to edit your original presentation and convert the slides again to individual pictures.

Figure 1 shows the 16 slide presentation I started with -- these are all slides from a Photo Album presentation, and each slide has a photograph and caption. Your slides may be like more conventional PowerPoint slides, and it does not matter because the process for all types of slides is the same.

Figure 1: All slides ready to be exported from PowerPoint

To convert your individual slides to pictures in PowerPoint, you summon the Save As dialog box and choose JPG or another graphic format as the file type. We have instructions on exporting your slides as PNGs in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows, and the process works the same way to export JPGs in any PowerPoint version on both Windows and Mac. You will ultimately end up with plenty of pictures that are suffixed with their original slide numbers –- the first slide in your 16 slide presentation will be named Slide1.JPG. The last slide will be named Slide16.JPG. Of course you may not have 16 slides -- that's just the number of slides that I started with, as shown in Figure 1 above.

At this time, it is a good idea to rename your first 9 slides so that Slide1.JPG now reads Slide01.JPG (see Figure 2 below). You can click Figure 2 to see a larger view of the screenshot.

Figure 2: JPGs exported from PowerPoint

Thereafter place these slides in a folder that is indexed by iTunes. To learn more about how iTunes indexes picture folders, search the term add photos to iTunes library on Google –- depending upon which version of iTunes you are using, or if you use Windows or a Mac, the process may differ. Apple also has a great tutorial called Syncing photos using iTunes.

The next time you sync your iPad (both iPad 1 and 2) with your iTunes, the slide pictures will be copied, and available within your iPad's Photos app.

Once you have synced your iPad, launch the Photos app on the device to see if all your slides have been imported as pictures –- also make sure that they are sequenced in the order you want to show them as slides, as shown in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3: Your slides on the iPad

Thereafter you can show these picture slides off your iPad -– moving on to the next slide is as easy as moving on to the next picture. And since the Photos app is AirPlay aware even on iPad 1, you can use it with an Apple TV or even a VGA cable connected to a projector! This may not be the most elegant way to transport your PowerPoint slides to an iPad, but it does work!

Note: Even though Apple's documentation says PNGs are supported by the Photos app on iPad -- and by iTunes to sync, I found that iTunes ignored all PNGs -- that may be just a coincidence but JPGs do work the best!

See Also:
01: iPad Presenting - First Questions First
02: Presenter’s View in PowerPoint on iPad
03: Air Display - Conversation with Dave Howell
04: Add an Apple TV
05: What is AirPlay?
06: Connecting a TV or Projector to Apple TV
07: Wired iPad to VGA with the Apple Digital AV Adapter
08: Business use of Tablet Computing Surges

Categories: ipad, powerpoint

Learn PowerPoint 2010: Sign Up for Windows Rights Management

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 03:45:00 +0000

Microsoft has been providing a permissions system based on their Information Rights Management (IRM) concept for several years now, but with Office 2010 (including PowerPoint 2010), this whole concept has been implemented so intuitively that almost anyone can use IRM for their PowerPoint presentations and any other Office documents. Depending upon which version of Windows you use, you may need to download and install a Windows Rights Management module unless you use Windows 7 -- if you use the latter configuration, the entire IRM implementation process is painless. If you use an earlier version of Windows, such as XP or Vista -- then you might have to download and install a small WRM client that takes a minute or two.

Learn how to sign up for Windows Rights Management in PowerPoint 2010.

Categories: powerpoint_2010, security, tutorials

Indezine News Released

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Working with visuals can be so much fun, especially when you need to add them to your PowerPoint or Keynote slides. But more often than not, finding the right picture can be a challenge. Sometimes we end up with a perfect picture -- at other times, we all compromise with something we think works great -- but not everyone in your audience may share your enthusiasm. That's because pictures tend to tell a story -- and your story may be different from the story that the audience interprets. At times like these, you need a visual element that's neutral, does not speak loud, and is effective at the same time. In this issue, and in some future issues we will explore what sort of pictures work well in all scenarios -- and we will also share some tricks and tips.

Read more here.

Categories: ezine, powerpoint

Learn PowerPoint 2011 for Mac: Types of Connectors

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:30:00 +0000

We explored what Smart Connectors are in a previous tutorial -- to paraphrase again, Smart Connectors are type of lines with special "smart" characteristics that connect one slide object to another. Move a slide object which is connected to a Smart Connector -- the Smart Connector automatically resizes and reorients itself to stay connected. In this tutorial, we will explore the various types of Smart Connectors. PowerPoint 2011 provides three types of connectors -- you will learn more about them in this tutorial.

Learn about different connector types in PowerPoint 2011.

Categories: office_mac, powerpoint_2011, shapes, tutorials

Embrace Space - 5 Tips on Slide Composition by Chris Borales

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

PowerPoint and other presentation software packages try to aid novice presenters by providing pre-designed templates. These templates often clutter slide real estate and detract from your presentation’s message.

Don’t use them. Here are 5 tips on how to effectively use the solid background:

Embrace Space

Designers call the empty space "white space." White space is your friend. Using it gives the text on your slides more impact.
Your True Colors

Believe it or not, the color of your slide affects your presentation.

White: Clean and Clear.
Blue: Trustworthy and Dependable.
Green: Soothing and Relaxing.
Red: Enthusiastic and Energetic.

Use these colors accordingly. Think of the topic of your presentation and imagine which color suits it best.
The Rule of Thirds

Placement of text, images, charts and graphs is important, but where to place them?

Photographers have been using this trick to create more interesting photographic compositions. Before you place your content onto a slide, divide your slide into thirds and place your slide content into these thirds.
Templates and the Unavoidable

My company typically wants all of its presenters to use specialized, branded templates, so sometimes templates are unavoidable. When you have to use templates do two things:

Less Text: Only keep the essential text on the slide. This means trimming away any unnecessary text that can muddle the slide.
Keep Images Interesting: Use images that enhance your points.
The Background Image

Background images are great ways to captivate your audience. High quality stock images or pictures that you have taken yourself work best.

As a marketer with Blackboard Inc., Chris Borales uses effective communication techniques and in-depth technical knowledge to create presentations that truly engage the audience. His ability to take design concepts and translate them into PowerPoint presentations led him to create his Tumblr blog: theartfulpresenter.tumblr.com. His site provides visitors with creative design ideas and techniques that can help elevate their presentations.

See Also: Pictures in Slides: Conversation with Hermann Narez

Categories: design, guest_post, powerpoint, presentation_skills

Learn PowerPoint 2010: Backstage View - Info

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:45:00 +0000

Information is power, and within PowerPoint 2010 all the information that you need about your presentation is available in a single convenient location. This is the new Info panel of the Backstage View. This panel gives you information about permissions set for the active presentation, helps you prepare your content for sharing, and also lets you recover older versions of unsaved files. In addition, it also provides access to all the properties for a specific presentation. To access the Info panel, open the File menu, and choose the Info option.

Learn about the Info section within Backstage view in PowerPoint 2010.

Categories: powerpoint_2010, tutorials

Animated Slide: Lines All Over

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

These animated lines are essentially all shapes set to fit the space on the slide close enough to each other to form a geometrical pattern. The first slide contains these shapes filled with a single, gradient color while the next slide uses gradients created with the six accent colors that are part of the active, applied Theme. Change the Theme and all colors will miraculously change. We used PowerPoint 2010 to create this presentation, and it works best in either that version or in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac.

Download and use this slide for your own presentations.

Categories: animation, powerpoint, presentation_samples

iPad Presenting 08: Business use of Tablet Computing Surges

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

As expected, the iPad has led the revolution in tablet computing, even for business users. A survey-based study released by IDG shows that iPads are increasingly being used for business use -- for everything from web browsing to communication, and social media to reading. You can download a copy of this survey as a PDF from the IDG Connect site. The survey findings are also available as a white paper on Apple's AppStore.

Although the survey does not explore presenting on an iPad as a separate category, it goes without saying that the iPad has emerged as a mainstream work platform, albeit one where more content is consumed rather than created.

The following excerpt from the survey will certainly want you to explore the iPad as a business tool:

Fully 51% of IT decision-makers say they "always" use their iPad at work (and a further 40% say they sometimes use it at work). Out-of-home usage is even more intense, with 79% of IT decision-makers saying that they "always" use their iPads "on the move".

And if you think that users have the same sort of fascination for tablets other than the iPad, then hear what IDG Connect, a mailer that I subscribe said:

An astounding 83% surveyed said they would not consider buying a different tablet next time.

Significantly, IDG's survey results came in from respondents in all continents, representing a worldwide phenomenon -- and these findings will play a very important role in how both vendors and users will look at computing platforms like the iPad.

At Indezine, we have already seen a huge surge in interest from readers about presenting using the iPad -- we predict this interest will only grow higher! Watch this space for more stories on iPad Presenting!

See Also:
01: iPad Presenting - First Questions First
02: Presenter’s View in PowerPoint on iPad
03: Air Display - Conversation with Dave Howell
04: Add an Apple TV
05: What is AirPlay?
06: Connecting a TV or Projector to Apple TV
07: Wired iPad to VGA with the Apple Digital AV Adapter

Categories: ipad, keynote, powerpoint

Learn PowerPoint 2011 for Mac: Smart Connectors

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:30:00 +0000

Connectors are lines that join two shapes or objects, and can be found within the Lines and Connectors category within the Shape gallery in PowerPoint 2011. These connectors link between (or join) two shapes like rectangles, triangles, scribbles, etc. to create a relationship. In addition, they also work with other slide objects such as pictures. Since these connectors are linked to slide objects, they move automatically when the linked objects are moved. That's the reason why they are called "Smart Connectors" -- you'll learn more about all the other smart things these connectors do in subsequent tutorials of this series.

Learn about Smart connectors, and how they are different from conventional lines in PowerPoint 2011.

Categories: office_mac, powerpoint_2011, shapes, tutorials

Learn PowerPoint 2010: Guidelines on Changing Proofing Language for an Entire Presentation

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:45:00 +0000

While it is easy to change proofing language for selected text containers, that happens to be a piece meal approach and can be a great time waster if you need the language changed across all content in 100 or more slides! There are two ways to set the proofing language for your entire presentation -- and you can use one or both of these approaches. Make sure you have the proofing tools installed for all or any of the languages that you need to work within PowerPoint. Then follow these steps.

Learn how to set proofing language for an entire presentation in PowerPoint 2010.

Categories: powerpoint_2010, proofing, text, tutorials

iPad Presenting 07: Wired iPad to VGA with the Apple Digital AV Adapter

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

So much about presenting with an iPad depends upon how you can send the visual signals from your iPad to the projector or television outputs. We have already established that the wireless way of connecting the iPad to an output is far superior since it lets you hold the iPad in your hand and control your slides wirelessly – that way you are free to move around in your presentation venue – more often than not this approach requires an in-between device such as an Apple TV 2.

What we have not discussed so far is how you can use a wired option that lets you cable your iPad directly to an output such as a VGA capable projector or television. Well, this has been actually possible much before the advent of Apple TV 2 or even the iPad 2. What you need is the Apple Digital AV Adapter, and this product has been available in some form (or some name) or the other since the launch of the original first generation iPad. You can see how this looks in the picture below.

If you go to the Apple Store page for this product, you will read all sorts of bad reviews! One of the reviewers says: "People buy these accessories mostly to do demos of apps, or to mirror whatever's on their device's screen?...I found that it only works when playing video..." Yes, the reviewer has got it right -- this product has limitations depending upon which iPad you are using:

iPad 2 users can use this product to mirror whatever they see on their iPad screens with few exceptions -- even in those cases, you may see something else on the iPad screen but you will see what you expect to see on the larger screen projected.
iPad 1 users are not so lucky -- and that's because on iPad 1, only the Photos and Videos apps can send audio-visual signals to a projector or television output.

Beyond these limitations, the product works as advertised!

Trivia: When first released, Apple called this product the iPad Dock Connector to VGA Adapter even though you never needed to connect this to the iPad Dock! You could connect it straight from the iPad to the VGA output. Maybe they just wanted to sell some iPad Docks by confusing buyers -- but then they later renamed the product to Apple Digital AV Adapter.

See Also:
iPad Presenting 01 - First Questions First
iPad Presenting 02 - Presenter’s View in PowerPoint: Conversation with Rikk Flohr
iPad Presenting 03 - Air Display: Conversation with Dave Howell
iPad Presenting 04 - Add an Apple TV
iPad Presenting 05 - What is AirPlay?
iPad Presenting 06 - Connecting a TV or Projector to Apple TV

Categories: ipad, keynote, powerpoint

Learn PowerPoint 2011 for Mac: Curved and Straight Line Segments

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 03:30:00 +0000

A line (outline) in PowerPoint contains both points and segments. You already learned about the three types of points in PowerPoint 2011 in a previous tutorial. Now we are going to show you how to work with segments, the lines that connect one point and another. There are two types of segments: straight and curved. You can edit these segments and also convert a straight segment to a curved segment and vice versa, as you will learn in this tutorial.

Learn about Curved and Straight line segments in PowerPoint 2011.

Categories: office_mac, powerpoint_2011, shapes, tutorials

Indezine News Released

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Many of my clients, friends, and readers (including you) are super busy these days! And in between these busy days, you need to create slides, practice them, and deliver them to an audience. Very often, your work does not end there -- you then need to remove any extra meta-information from these presentation slides and mail it to clients and colleagues. Of course, you may have to do this so often for the multiple presentations you need to deliver -- and presenting may be just one of the tasks you do in your job role!

Read more in this issue of Indezine News.

Categories: ezine, powerpoint

Learn PowerPoint 2010: Setting Proofing Language for Text

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:45:00 +0000

Do you have a presentation that contains text that needs to be spell-checked in more than one language? Or do you and your client or colleague work with different localized versions of Microsoft PowerPoint? It may be that you use English (US) and color is a perfectly valid spelling -- but someone else in another part of the world uses English (UK) and their spell checker suggest that the word color be changed to colour. Or if they use the French version of PowerPoint, then both spellings of color/colour would be flagged as incorrect -- they use the term couleur. You first need to have the proofing tools installed for all or any of the languages that you need to work within PowerPoint.

Learn how to set proofing language for selected text containers in PowerPoint 2010.

Categories: powerpoint_2010, proofing, text, tutorials

Animated Slide: Spinning Snowflakes

noreply@blogger.com (Geetesh) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:00:00 +0000

Three snowflakes that move randomly with the breeze in PowerPoint – actually a clever combination of multiple animations and setting their timings make this look so random! We used the Spin, Grow and Shrink, and a Spiral motion path to create the effect. All colors used are Theme aware – so if you move this slide to another presentations, the colors may change! We used PowerPoint 2010 to create this presentation, and it works best in either that version or in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac.

You can download and use this slide for your own presentations -- but please do let our credit link remain so that others can also know where the slides originated from.

Categories: animation, powerpoint, presentation_samples