February 2006 / PowerPoint Design Tips and Tricks

Show a Portrait-Oriented Slide in a Landscape-Oriented Presentation (or vice-versa)

One of the most frequently asked PowerPoint questions is “how do I create a presentation that features both landscape and portrait-oriented slides?” Unfortunately PowerPoint does not support both orientations in the same presentation, but there is a workaround for this issue. If, for example, you want to show portrait-oriented slides during a landscape-oriented presentation, you can link two presentations giving the effect of one presentation that contains slides of both orientations.

Linking two presentations: To link two presentations, one having landscape-oriented slides and the other having portrait-oriented slides, do the following: 

• In the first presentation, select the text or object that you want to click to link to the second presentation (you have to select an object to click, simply going to the next slide will not enact the link)
• On the Slide Show menu, select Action Settings
• Click Hyperlink to, then Other PowerPoint Presentation from the dropdown list
• Browse to and select the second presentation, then click OK
• In the Slide title list, select the slide title that you want to link to in the second presentation, and then click OK.

Now create a link from the second presentation back to the first presentation by using the same steps. When presenting the slides, click on the objects that you hyperlinked to jump between presentations.

Note that when you present this slide show, you must have both presentation files in the same folder on the computer that you use to give the presentation.

Adding Slide Numbers

Slide numbers are helpful during authoring as well as during your presentation for easy navigation.  

• Display the Slide Master by choosing View, then Master, then Slide Master  
• In the Slide Master view, choose View then Header and Footer to open the header and footer dialog box
• Check Slide Number and click Apply to All

Numbers will now appear on all your slides

Nudging an Object

Sometimes you may want to move and object that you’re working with just slightly. To nudge an object, simply select it then use the arrow keys to move it instead of the mouse. For even more control, hold down the CTRL key as you press an arrow key – this moves objects in increments of .02 inches. For manual control, press the ALT key as you drag an object.

Aligning Objects

For a professional-looking layout, make sure your objects line up.  

• Choose two or more objects by holding down the Shift key while selecting
• In the Draw toolbar, click on Draw then Align or Distribute
• Select one of the alignment options

Note: if you can’t find the Draw toolbar, try selecting View, then Toolbars, then Drawing.

Distributing Object Equally

To make three or more objects equidistant, select them all and choose Align or Distribute from the Draw menu (use the same steps outlined above in the Aligning Objects tip). Then select Distribute Horizontally or Distribute Vertically. To distribute the objects equally across the entire slide, first choose Relative to Slide.

Proportionately Resizing an Element

To resize an element (image, text box, etc.) but maintain its proportional dimensions, hold down the Shift key while resizing with your mouse.

Resizing Multiple Elements Together

Sometimes when resizing elements in PowerPoint, you may want to size them so that all remain the same size in relationship with each other. You can do this by making sure that when you're resizing something, that you are resizing everything at once. To do this, simply select all the elements you want to resize (using the Shift key), then with your mouse resize any one of the elements and the rest will automatically change size in relation.

Creating a Hyperlinked Questions Slide

If you like to reference slides while taking questions from the audience after a presentation, a great tip is to create a hyperlinked question slide. This should be the last slide in your presentation and it will contain links to every slide in the presentation that you can use for quick reference.  

• Create a “Questions” slide that contains a text box with all the names of the slides contained in the presentation that you would like to link to
• Highlight one of the slide names, then on the Slide Show menu, select Action Settings
• Click Hyperlink to, then Slide from the dropdown list
• Browse to and select the appropriate slide, and then click OK
• Click OK  in the Action Settings box to finalize the hyperlink
• Repeat the same process for the remaining slide names

While presenting, to jump from the “Questions” slide to another content slide, simply click on the appropriate slide’s title.

Jumping to a slide during a presentation

This simple tip allows you to quickly jump to any slide while in a presentation. While viewing a slide show, type the number of the slide you’d like to jump to on the keyboard and PowerPoint will automatically switch to it.

Blacking or Whiting Out the Screen Before a Presentation

If you stop to discuss a point and don't want people staring at the screen, you can black it out. By pressing the B key. Or, you can also white it out by pressing the W key. Press B or W again to continue your presentation.

Marking Up a Slide During a Presentation

Here’s an interesting tip that will allow you to draw over a slide. While your presentation is running, Right Click on the screen and choose Pointer Options (then select either Ballpoint Pen, Felt Pen, or Highlighter). You can then use the mouse to draw over your slide. To return to a normal pointer, press the Escape key. 

To erase what you've drawn, Right Click on the screen and choose Pointer Options. Then select either Eraser to erase individual markups, or Erase All Ink On Slide to clear all markups. 

Whiteboarding during a Presentation

This tip expands on blacking or whiting out the screen and allows you to create a “Whiteboard” in PowerPoint. While your presentation is running, select a Pointer Option (detailed in the previous tip) then press the W key on your keyboard. This will white out the screen but allow you to draw on it with your pointer. Press W again to return to the presentation. (note that pressing B will bring up a black screen that you can draw on as well)

These are just a few simple tips that will help the everyday PowerPoint user increase their productivity and understanding of the program. If you would like information on more in-depth PowerPoint or Microsoft Office training, Contact Me.

Sincerely,

Dylan O'Connor, MCSE, CCA
Chief Technology Officer

email: doconnor@thrivenetworks.com
phone: 978.461.3999
web: www.thrivenetworks.com